Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

Philo T. Farnsworth, who helped invent the television, is depicted holding a cathode ray tube and a roll of patents

Tucked amid the greenery of the Presidio is George Lucas’ sprawling Letterman Digital Arts Center. In front of Building D is a statue commemorating Philo T. Farnsworth. Though not a household name, Farnsworth was responsible for pioneering one of the most common household items: the television.

Tube Time

Farnsworth worked out of a laboratory at 202 Green Street in the North Beach section of San Francisco, where he successfully projected his first image on Sept. 7, 1927: a simple straight line. Later that year, he projected a symbol for investors that they could relate to: a dollar sign.

Four Noble Statues

The Farnsworth statue, installed in October 2008, was sculptured in bronze by Lawrence Noble. Three more statues of media superstars made by Noble also populate the arts center’s campus: Eadweard Muybridge, the photographer; Willis O’Brien, the stop-motion animation pioneer; and Yoda, the Jedi master.

THX for the Memories

Farnsworth, 1906-71, is depicted holding a cathode ray tube, used to project images in classic television sets, and a roll of patents. He stands next to an early television. Noble said the set was styled after a 1948 Bush model made in England that looks like a mix between “a Coca-Cola machine and R2D2.” On the back of it, Noble has added a reference to one of Lucas’ early works: one of a set of several dials is labeled “THX,” for his 1971 dystopian science fiction film “THX 1138.”

Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

Farnsworth Steps

According to popular lore, Farnsworth Lane in the Inner Sunset area is named for the inventor, and the nearby Farnsworth Steps lead to a house he once owned on Edgewood Avenue. A 1949 biography of the inventor by his financial backer, George Everson, makes no mention of the Edgewood house, but does say Farnsworth lived in a home in the Marina district overlooking the Presidio.

Swords to ‘Star Wars’

The Presidio was a United States Army Base until 1989. The land is still peppered with old barracks and relics but most recently has become a hub of popular entertainment. In addition to the Digital Arts Center, which opened in 2005, the Walt Disney Family Museum opened its doors in October 2009.

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.