500 Republica / Legends 500 Republica was the most exclusive residential tower on Coruscant . A building in the Ambassadorial Sector of Galactic City ' s Senate District , it was home to some of the wealthiest and most famous individuals in the Galactic Republic and Galactic Empire . One of the tallest buildings on Coruscant , 500 Republica was a mountainous structure holding more technology and people than some entire worlds . From the square kilometers of machinery at its base that kept it running , to the spire at its pinnacle above the clouds , 500 Republica featured fifty - three skydocks , hundreds of private turbolifts , a security staff the size of a small army , and a large number of security armaments including plasma weapons in its crown , all within a tower over a thousand stories tall . Celebrities , businessmen , and Senators of the most privileged classes made their homes in 500 Republica . Among its inhabitants were Jheramahd Greyshade , Simon Greyshade , Padmé Amidala , Bail Prestor Organa , Raith Sienar , and Jenna Zan Arbor . Palpatine kept his residence at 500 Republica for over a decade , during his time as Senator , Supreme Chancellor , and Galactic Emperor . It was there that he met with his Sith apprentice Darth Maul , convinced then - Queen Amidala to call for a Vote of No Confidence in Finis Valorum , and kept a hidden command center in the building ' s depths during the Clone Wars . Valorum spoke with Bail Organa about opposing Palpatine ' s moves towards tyranny in Organa ' s 500 Republica residence . Republic Intelligence and the Jedi tracked Palpatine ' s alter ego , Darth Sidious , to the building ' s basement in 19 BBY , at the end of the Clone Wars . While the Jedi were distracted by the battle breaking out above the planet , Captain Dyne of Intelligence located Sidious ' lair , but he and his team were killed . During the battle , the upper part of the building was attacked by Separatist General Grievous as part of an ultimately successful strike to kidnap Palpatine . Description . 500 Republica was located in the Ambassadorial Sector of Coruscant , a prestigious area of the Senate District , and was considered to be the crowning jewel of both . A mountainous structure over a thousand stories high , 500 Republica was taller than any of its neighbors and one of Coruscant ' s tallest buildings , rising above the clouds in an organically stepped fashion , and topped with a ring of penthouses and a narrow spire at its apex . Plasma weapons were concealed in the crown of the building . The " steps " that made up 500 Republica could mass as much as whole buildings in the Senate District , and were topped in a variety of ways , some flat and some rounded ; several atria decorated the building as well . The massive structure was supported by the towers around it , allowing it to reach the size it had . Its foundations covered square kilometers . The building was large enough that weather patterns formed around its upper reaches . 500 Republica contained more technology than many worlds in the Outer Rim . Hundreds of private turbolifts ran the height of the building , from the very top penthouses down to the deepest sublevels , transporting the building ' s residents directly to their doors . These lifts could be the size of small rooms . Other sets of turbolifts were used to transport waste and supplies . The building was fitted with fifty - three skydocks , large enough to accommodate everything from private vessels to Coruscant ' s largest air taxis . Landing instructions for arriving vehicles were routed through the tower ' s systems . Upon arrival , residents entered a small reception room , decorated in azurite , from which they could take a turbolift to their apartment . Protocol droids waited on hand to take the cloaks or coats of the arriving individuals . A maglev train line stopped at 500 Republica as well . Palpatine ' s apartment had a secret turbolift running down to a mid - level skydock , used in case of an evacuation . A repulsorlift speeder running through a deep network of tunnels linked 500 Republica , as well as a number of other important government locations , with the Chancellor ' s hardened bunker in the Sah ' c District . The building ' s lowest east and west skydocks , located at the bottom of Coruscant ' s urban canyons , connected by tunnel to the level - one sub - basement . A series of tunnels linked the sub - basements of 500 Republica with the LiMerge Power building in the Works that the Sith used as their lair in the days of the late Republic . 500 Republica ' s lobby opened out , via a massive pair of transparisteel doors , onto a plaza in front of the building . Below the lowest levels lay 500 Republica ' s sub - basements . The level - one sub - basement lay a hundred meters above the Coruscant Underground proper , and two hundred meters above the planet ' s bedrock . While many of Coruscant ' s larger buildings sat on top of older structures that they used for support , 500 Republica ' s foundations ran down to Coruscant ' s actual bedrock . Ferrocrete and durasteel made up the building ' s supports , and the rest of the sub - basement was filled with a plethora of machinery that supported , stabilized , climate controlled , secured , and provided water and power to the building above . A large staff of custodial and maintenance droid s was kept on hand in these depths . The lowest levels of 500 Republica were virtually unexplored . Deep underneath the building , below the level - one sub - basement , Darth Sidious kept a secret installation during the Clone Wars . A shaft fifty meters deep and four wide , covered by a hydraulic lift , provided access to the underground facility , created from a maintenance node of an ancient building that had once stood at that site . A large metal door leading from the node ' s corridors opened into a command center , filled with computers and holoprojectors for monitoring data that Sidious sought to keep an eye on . Occupants . 500 Republica was the most exclusive address on Coruscant . It was home to thousands of Coruscant ' s wealthiest individuals , from Senators to celebrities to shipping and media barons . It held more people than some planets . From the very top , the most privileged of individuals could literally look down on Coruscant . 500 Republica became a symbol for the disenfranchised classes of the galaxy of the excess of Coruscant and the Galactic Senate . 500 Republica had its own security staff , the size of a small army , and the building was protected by many discreet security armaments . As Senator , Supreme Chancellor , and Galactic Emperor , Palpatine kept his quarters in 500 Republica . Palpatine ' s senatorial apartment was located high in the building . The walls and floor were decorated in red , and the Senator filled every spot he could with works of art , mostly from the galaxy beyond Naboo , a sign of the Senator ' s worldly view — as well as a statue of Sistros that concealed the Sith Lord ' s lightsaber . It was a modest dwelling , compared with those of other Senators . Palpatine allowed few outsiders into his home , and it remained the domain of his most trusted confidants . The Senator used his apartment to meet with his Sith apprentice as well . As Chancellor , Palpatine owned a penthouse suite at the top of 500 Republica ; though it was publicly known that Palpatine lived in the building , the exact location of his quarters was a well - kept secret . Red Guard s kept watch outside . Like his senatorial home , Palpatine ' s apartment as Chancellor was decorated with unique statuary and holoart . As Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious , he also had his command center in the depths of 500 Republica , which he staffed with Geonosian guards and assassin droids . 500 Republica apartments were extremely difficult to get . Many wrangled to get one , resorting to everything up to bribery , and lifelong feuds had started over the apartments there . Besides Palpatine , several other Senators were able to get apartments in 500 Republica . Jheramahd Greyshade , Senator of the Commonality , kept a dwelling in the building . After he was killed by an assassin , his position and home were given to his cousin Simon Greyshade . Bail Organa of Alderaan had a residence of his own in the building , as did Senator Orn Free Taa of Ryloth . Padmé Amidala kept an apartment there , as well , in her tenure as Senator for Naboo . So , too , did Raith Sienar , shipbuilding magnate of Republic Sienar Systems . Under the Empire , Imperial Senators , bureaucrats , and even Inquisitors jockeyed for apartments in 500 Republica . Grand Inquisitor Malorum was placed on the waiting list for one shortly after the rise of the Empire . The scientist Jenna Zan Arbor negotiated for an apartment on a high floor as part of her financial compensation for giving her services to Darth Vader . Zan Arbor ' s apartment took up an entire floor , and was inhabited by herself and her assistant Linna Naltree . History . 500 Republica was built centuries before the rise of the Galactic Empire . From its beginning , it was a majestic building , constructed in the classical style . Republica grew over the years , with terraces and towers and roofs being built bit by bit on top of the old structure . Surrounding towers buttressed the growing edifice , allowing it to rise above all its neighboring buildings , until eventually it topped out in a spire far up in the clouds of Coruscant . Senator Palpatine ' s dealings . Senator Palpatine of Naboo took up residence in the building in 46 BBY . In 34 BBY , he violated his usual strict standards of privacy to host an informal gathering of politicians , including Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum , at which he convinced Valorum to take military action against the rebellious world of Yinchorr . In 32 . 5 BBY , Palpatine spoke with the newly elected Queen of Naboo , Padmé Amidala , by holocomm . Amidala informed him of the death of her predecessor , Ars Veruna , under mysterious circumstances , and spoke to Palpatine about providing him additional security ; they then discussed the upcoming vote on the taxation of the Republic ' s Free Trade Zones , on which Palpatine promised to vote in the interests of Naboo and the Republic . The taxation vote passed , but the resulting uproar led the Trade Federation to blockade , and eventually invade Naboo under the orders of Palpatine ' s alter ego Darth Sidious . When Sidious learned Amidala had escaped , he met with his apprentice Darth Maul at 500 Republica , on his own balcony . Sidious ordered Maul to track down Amidala and kill her Jedi protectors , then bring her back to Naboo . Maul failed , and soon Amidala and her retinue arrived on Coruscant to speak to the Galactic Senate about the invasion . The Naboo party and Palpatine retired to Palpatine ' s 500 Republica apartment to prepare for the Senate hearing . There , Palpatine expounded on the corruption of the Republic and inefficacy of Chancellor Valorum to Amidala , warning her that the Senate might not hear her plea . Palpatine counseled that she could call for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum , paving the way for the election of a stronger Chancellor who would listen to her ; the only other way , he said , would be the slow process of the courts . Amidala went before the Senate later , but Palpatine ' s warning had proven true ; the Senate wanted to call a committee to look into the matter , and Amidala , angry that her people would continue dying while they deliberated , called for the Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum . At the same time , Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis came to Palpatine ' s apartment in search of Anakin Skywalker , a young boy strong in the Force , but learned that Skywalker had left for the Jedi Temple to be submitted for training . While the Senate voted in the wake of her motion , Amidala returned to 500 Republica . There , her traveling companion Jar Jar Binks told her how his people , the Gungans , had an army of their own that they could use to fight off the invaders . When Palpatine returned with the news that he was in the running for the Chancellery , Amidala decided to wait no longer and return to Naboo to fight the Federation herself . With the help of the Gungans , the Naboo were able to drive the Federation off , and Palpatine won the election , becoming Supreme Chancellor . Intrigues and assassinations . In 23 BBY , Senator Jheramahd Greyshade was killed by the assassin Tsian in his apartment in 500 Republica . The body was thrown off the building from his quarters , causing a massive and fatal pile - up in the traffic outside the building , and launching an investigation by the Senate Guard . Jheramahd Greyshade ' s constituency , the Commonality , appointed his cousin Simon Greyshade to fill in the late Senator ' s position . Simon Greyshade was given Jheramahd ' s apartment as well , and to prevent any assassination attempts on him , two Jedi — Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker — were appointed to guard the Senator . That night , Greyshade spoke with Venco Autem , Tsian ' s employer , who was now threatening Greyshade to vote the way Autem wanted him to on a critical Financial Reform Act . Greyshade , however , would not comply . As Greyshade left his office to speak with the Jedi , the apartment ' s protocol droid suddenly revealed a set of concealed blasters and opened fire on the Senator . The Jedi moved to defend him , and even with a second assassin droid coming in through the window , they were able to stop the attack . The Jedi were able to discover that the droids were under Tsian ' s control , and herself in Autem ' s employ , and the plot against Greyshade was foiled . When Padmé Amidala was appointed Senator in Palpatine ' s old position , the Chancellor gave her exclusive use of a 500 Republica guest suite , though Amidala kept her primary quarters in a separate building . Years later , when Anakin Skywalker became a Jedi Knight , he visited Amidala in her 500 Republica apartment to give her his Padawan braid . Within the next three years , the state of the galaxy changed as the Clone Wars broke out across the Republic . In 21 BBY , Finis Valorum returned from his two years of seclusion to visit Bail Organa at his apartment in 500 Republica . Valorum was concerned at how much power Palpatine had been gathering , and he believed that the Supreme Chancellor was shaping himself into a tyrant . Valorum believed Palpatine to be behind several assassinations of his opponents , even an assassination attempt on Organa himself . The former Chancellor warned Organa that Palpatine was going to push a security act through the Senate , a resolution that Organa had opposed for its removal of the Republic ' s freedoms . Organa vowed to act against it , and asked Valorum to stay ; Valorum intended to leave Coruscant as soon as possible , however , and he left Organa ' s residence . Unknown to either man , Palpatine had had their conversation monitored through a cleaning droid . Only days later , Valorum was killed while leaving Coruscant , by a bomb detonated on his transport . His death gave the Senate its push to pass the security act . Security for Palpatine ' s suite was heightened as the war escalated . A pair of LAAT gunships and squad of patrol skimmers hovered outside the Chancellor ' s apartment window , and Palpatine was put through a series of familiarization drills in case an evacuation was needed . The pursuit of Sidious . In 19 BBY , near the end of the Clone Wars , an investigation was launched into the identity of Darth Sidious . Upon finding Sidious ' hideout in the sector of Coruscant known as the Works , a team consisting of Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Shaak Ti , Captain Dyne of Republic Intelligence , and ARC commander Valiant and his clone troopers were able to track Sidious ' path from the building by his footprints . The trail led them through a system of tunnels beneath Coruscant ' s urban surface , eventually arriving in the sub - basements of 500 Republica . The investigation was halted by 500 Republica ' s security , who held the team up for hours as they were cleared , but eventually they were allowed in . However , Sidious ' trail disappeared in the middle of an unremarkable ferrocrete floor , and numerous other footprints covering the floor masked where it might have picked up again . Dyne wanted to requisition more probe droids to help scan for the Sith Lord ' s whereabouts and begin scans of the walls and partitions of the basement , a process he estimated would take weeks . Sidious had been alerted to their investigation , however , and seeking a distraction , he had ordered the Separatist General Grievous to attack Coruscant . Dyne and the Jedi were interrupted by the first shocks of 500 Republica shaking as destroyed ships plummeted to the ground , only to be joined moments later by the building ' s own plasma weapons opening fire . Grievous had jammed communications , and with no way to learn what was going on other than the danger they sensed in the Force , Windu and Ti took half of Dyne ' s soldiers and left the building through one of its skydock tunnels . Outside , they could see that the planet was under attack , and Ti was dispatched to find Palpatine while Windu put the clones on crowd control and left to get backup . Meanwhile , having learned of the attack , Dyne briefly considered leaving to help in the battle , but was convinced by Valiant to remain and continue the search . As he waited for the additional droids to arrive , Dyne began a relatively superficial scan of the basement with what he had on hand . Realizing that transmissions on regular frequencies were jammed , the intelligence officer set the droids to search for more unusual frequencies ; they found one , emanating from the very spot Sidious ' trail had disappeared . The droids realized that embedded in the floor was a hydraulic turbolift , and they were able to discover it was controlled by audio signals . After having the shaft of the turbolift scanned to get an idea of its depth , Dyne tried to contact Windu , but with communications still down , he and Valiant made the decision to continue without the Jedi . The team loaded themselves onto the platform , the droids activated it , and they descended into the depths of 500 Republica . In the dark corridors below , the team discovered a large metal doorway , behind which , the probe droids said , was one organic and several droids . The team moved to advance on the door , but upon hearing someone speaking Geonosian , they turned around to find a pair of Geonosian guards aiming at them with sonic blasters . The Geonosians opened fire instantly , and their blasts sent Valiant and his soldiers ' mangled bodies flying into the door . Dyne slammed into a wall , his insides liquefied . As he lay there , the door opened and Sidious stepped through , observing the scene . In his dying moment , Dyne recognized him as Palpatine . The pursuit of Palpatine . Meanwhile , Shaak Ti returned to 500 Republica with fellow Jedi Stass Allie , Roron Corobb , and Foul Moudama , this time to Palpatine ' s suite . They were at first denied access by Palpatine ' s Red Guards , but when Palpatine completed his trip from the basement , the guards let the Jedi in just short of Ti forcing her way through . Palpatine , along with his advisor Sate Pestage and Director of Republic Intelligence Armand Isard , met with the Jedi inside . The Chancellor refused to evacuate to a secure bunker , insisting that he set an example by not hiding away , though Isard , Pestage , and even the captain of Palpatine ' s guards agreed with the Jedi that he needed to leave . Sensing a perturbation in the Force , Ti and Allie tackled Palpatine to the ground as the gunships outside the suite ' s window exploded , and a Separatist craft carrying Grievous and a band of battle droids rose into view . Grievous blew open the window and , as the battle droids poured into the room , Allie and the Red Guards set up a defense while Ti hurried Palpatine deeper into the suite . The skimmers , meanwhile , had taken up the attack on Grievous ' ship , and soon enough the general and his droids were forced to withdraw . As Isard alerted Homeworld Security that Grievous had broken through Coruscant ' s defensive perimeter , Palpatine had decided it was indeed time to evacuate . Grievous , however , quickly returned , bursting through the window . Palpatine stood his ground , facing down Grievous , but Ti pulled him back with the Force and the group ran , with a squad of clone troopers remaining in an attempt to hold back Grievous . Suspecting that the prepared escape routes had been compromised , Ti had the party hurry to one of Republica ' s private turbolifts , heading back down to the sub - basement . Having defeated the troopers blocking him , Grievous ambushed the Chancellor ' s party as they were waiting for the turbolift to arrive . Corobb , an Ithorian , used his four throats to emit a powerful blast that tore up the hallway and drove Grievous back long enough for them to enter the lift . Grievous attempted to catch up with the turbolift , but the Chancellor ' s clone trooper escort fired a rocket through the lift ' s wall , blowing Grievous off the side of the building . At the bottom , Ti saw no sign of Dyne and Valiant , and the group made their way through the tunnel to the east skydock . They had not escaped the Separatist forces yet , though ; Grievous was waiting with an army of B2 super battle droids outside . Corobb used his trick yet again , buying them the time they needed to escape . The Jedi decided that air vehicles would be too risky , and boarded a maglev train that would get them near the bunker . Grievous had been one step ahead of them , though , and he was able to capture Palpatine at the bunker . The Chancellor was ultimately freed by Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker . Dyne and Valiant were not heard from again , and Intelligence sent a second team to locate them with no success . The Jedi ' s suspicions , however , had been raised over what they had found in 500 Republica . Mace Windu wondered how Grievous had known to find Palpatine there , particularly as the location of the Chancellor ' s suite was kept secret . The Jedi came to suspect that Sidious was hiding in Palpatine ' s inner circle . All their suspicions on who it was , however , were incorrect , and when Palpatine at last revealed himself to be the Sith Lord , the Jedi were slaughtered . The night that Windu himself fought , and was eventually killed by , Palpatine , a bolt of lightning struck the spire of 500 Republica . With the Jedi gone , Palpatine declared the Republic to be a Galactic Empire , with himself as Emperor . Rise of the Empire . With the creation of the Empire , Palpatine continued to keep his residence in 500 Republica . Competition remained fierce , with even those as highly placed as Grand Inquisitor Malorum having to go on a waiting list for a 500 Republica apartment . As part of her payment for helping Darth Vader develop a memory - erasing drug , the scientist Jenna Zan Arbor negotiated an apartment for herself . Former Jedi Ferus Olin intended to free Zan Arbor ' s assistant , Linna Naltree , and sent his friend Trever Flume to inspect the security of 500 Republica . Under the guise of delivering a package of flowers , Flume entered the lobby without notice , then decided to go beyond Olin ' s orders by breaking into Zan Arbor ' s apartment . While Flume inspected the rooms , examining Zan Arbor ' s data for any stray unencrypted bits , another visitor looking for Naltree arrived , the fugitive Jedi Ry - Gaul ; the Jedi had received a message from Naltree via her husband that Zan Arbor intended to test her drug on her assistant first . Flume and Ry - Gaul decided that when Arbor returned in the evening , they would divert her vehicle to a dock on level 1010 , where they would ambush her . The two hid on the dock the rest of the afternoon , and Zan Arbor and Naltree returned at sunset . They intended to grab Naltree at the skydock ' s reception room , but sensing trouble , Ry - Gaul instead had them enter the turbolift while Zan Arbor was occupied with a protocol droid . As they escaped to the lift ' s roof , Darth Vader arrived and joined Zan Arbor on their way up . Vader harangued Zan Arbor on the speed of her research , wanting results faster . When Zan Arbor protested , the Sith Lord used the Force to push the turbolift back down , jarring it against the bottom of the shaft , then left . Ry - Gaul and Flume , taking advantage of the fact that Zan Arbor was off - balance , leapt into the lift . Zan Arbor pulled a small blaster and opened fire on Ry - Gaul , then attempted to shoot Naltree , who had dived to the floor . However , Naltree had withdrawn a syringe of the memory - erasing drug , and she plunged it into the scientist ' s ankle . As Zan Arbor felt her knowledge being erased bit by bit , the three others escorted her back up to her apartment , where they released her and left with her data . Vader later found her , and realizing she had lost the formula for the memory drug , broke apart the apartment ' s walls with the Force in his rage . Decades later , Lestra Oxic kept a fluted pedestal from 500 Republica among his collection of Republicana . Behind the scenes . 500 Republica was first named in " " by Kristin Lund . It was identified as the building in which Palpatine ' s apartment in was located , and illustrated with a shot from the movie indicating which building this was — in the film , the shot of it precedes an interior shot of Palpatine ' s apartment , but the two are not explicitly connected . The image from " The Phantom Menace " and the description of " Inside the Worlds " have been the main inspiration for almost every portrayal of 500 Republica , including the comic series " " , which bases its illustration of 500 Republica directly on the building from " The Phantom Menace " . However , there are a handful of anomalous portrayals of the building . " " includes a shot of 500 Republica that is very different from the other version , more resembling Padmé Amidala ' s apartment — though not the same building , as Bail Organa occupies the penthouse in that comic , while Amidala occupies her building ' s penthouse , as seen in works such as . 500 Republica is consistently stated as a single building , but whether " Dead Ends " tower is the same spire seen in other sources , with allowances made for artistic license , or whether it is meant to be a tower projecting from the rest of the building , is unknown . A different erroneous depiction occurs in " The Official Star Wars Fact File 32 " . This describes 500 Republica as another building seen in " The Phantom Menace " , in the " air taxi " scene appearing only on the DVD version of the film . In this scene , Padmé Amidala and her entourage are shown flying through the skylanes of Coruscant to Palpatine ' s apartment . The scene ends with them approaching the building identified by the " Fact File " , but it is not shown that this is their destination . The mentions Padmé Amidala having an apartment in 500 Republica , in which Anakin Skywalker presents his Padawan braid to her . This is not , however , Amidala ' s apartment as seen in " Attack of the Clones " and the movie of " " ; the scene described in the " Revenge of the Sith " novel is seen in " " — with some differences — and the setting of it does not resemble Amidala ' s apartment in the films . Leland Chee has confirmed that Amidala ' s apartment building is separate from 500 Republica , and the fact of the two apartments was later put into print in " " .