The Bay Area has long been crucially influential to some of history's most prominent music, movies, and movements, and a popularly asked question is if we had a role in one of Star Wars' most iconic figures.
The AT-AT snow walkers are immensely towering machines that roam the Hoth landscape in "The Empire Strikes Back," but many believe that isn't the first time we've seen these structures. We're here to uncover the truth to the urban myth that Oakland's container crates at the Port inspired the form and creation of these characters, which comes with some out-of-this-world answers.
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Whether you're riding on BART or just driving down the 880 highway, chances are that you've seen these regal cranes guarding the Port of Oakland off in the distance. Standing at over 250 feet tall, with some even being the largest of its kind in North America at over 370 feet, these white cranes provide massive help to unloading precious cargo from the Port, which stretches nearly 20 miles and is ranked the fifth in the nation's most busiest container docks.
Here is a video of the momentous day these gargantuan cranes arrived to the Bay to be erected in 2021.
With its long neck-like beams and tall foundational legs holding them upright, it can be easy to see just how similar they are to the AT-ATs, leading to years of pondering if our area holds another legendary claim-to-fame.
It wasn't until 2008 when George Lucas himself was approached with the question during an interview with San Francisco Chronicle journalist Peter Hartlaub, to which he finally clarified, "That's a myth, that is definitely a myth." The notion had officially, and unequivocally, been cemented as being a total misunderstanding.
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Hartlaub even went to further investigate, reaching out to the stop-motion animator who led the AT-AT production, Phil Tippett. Tippett also graciously, but with certainty, declared, "I think everyone would pretty much disavow it."
Tippett actually further elucidated that the original design of the snow walkers resembled "more like big armored vehicles with wheels," initially meant to be bulky and radio controlled as opposed to the imposingly majestic creatures seen in the final design.
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While we may not take credit for being the muse for Star Wars, we can certainly still be proud of all of our other Bay creations and contributions to history, such as our many film and television locations that could not have been set anywhere else.
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Here's to hoping our illustrious and gorgeously otherworldly landscape can be used as a backdrop for a future Star Wars film!
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Photography by: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
