This month’s opening of the Obama Presidential Center is arguably the biggest investment in this city’s South Side in more than a century.
The 19.3-acre campus, built at a cost of about $850 million, is expected to attract approximately 700,000 visitors annually. Former President Barack Obama—and many Chicagoans—hope it becomes an engine for an economically challenged part of the city where he began his political career as a community organizer and state senator.
The project has faced plenty of challenges. It was initially projected to cost around $300 million and took roughly five years longer than originally planned to build, after preservationists slowed construction in court and the pandemic brought delays.
The complex will host a June 18 opening ceremony that is expected to draw most of the nation’s past living presidents, before opening to the public the following day. Here’s an early look at the museum as well as the broader campus commemorating the 44th president.
Level 4
Prepare for some bottlenecks on this level. Visitors can stand in line to view a replica of the Oval Office as it appeared during the Obama era at the White House. They can also sit at the Resolute Desk and have someone snap their photo. At the desk is a copy of a note of encouragement that former President George W. Bush left inside the desk for Obama for his first day on the job. “There will be trying moments. The critics will rage. Your ‘friends’ will disappoint you. But, you will have an Almighty God to comfort you, a family who loves you and a country that is pulling for you, including me,” the handwritten note from Bush says in part.
The floor also has a “10 Letters” exhibit, which Obama has called probably his favorite in the building. It explains how he made it his tradition as president to read, after they were screened for threats, 10 letters each day from among the roughly 20,000 letters and emails sent to him daily. An aide picked them in an attempt to give him a glimpse of life outside the presidential bubble. On occasion, Obama would write a personal response.
Level 5
President Trump is working to eradicate the notion of diversity, equity and inclusion from American institutions, but it is alive and well on this level, where Obama’s efforts on those topics are featured. The floor also highlights science at the White House, including an “extreme marshmallow cannon” brought there by a 14-year-old inventor. Among other items is a display showing the 13 species of flora and fauna named after Obama.
Sky floor
The top floor’s Sky Room is designed to be a reflective area and offers views of the rest of the center’s campus and surrounding neighborhood, as well as Lake Michigan and the downtown skyline in the distance. Also in the near view is the Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, named after the billionaire investor, philanthropist and mega Republican donor. Below a lighted area at the building’s peak are thousands of hand-stamped words referring to Obama’s speech in Selma, the same one carved on the building’s exterior. Access to this floor, like many parts of the campus, does not require an admission ticket.