An Inside Look at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
The $850 million campus opens with a museum tower, library branch and community spaces after lawsuits and neighborhood objections over its parkland site.
- The Obama Presidential Center opens to the public on June 19 in Chicago's Jackson Park, marking completion of a complex built over more than a decade of planning.
- Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the roughly $850 million campus faced years of community opposition regarding its location on 19.3 acres of historic parkland.
- The five-building complex features the 225-foot Museum Tower, the Nelson Mandela Sky Room offering panoramic South Side views, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.
- Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett stated the campus aims to provide unique experiences, though critics like Shannon Bennett of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization argue it risks displacing low-income residents.
- Moving away from traditional National Archives oversight, the project reflects a shift toward privately managed memorials, a model President Donald Trump's foundation is also pursuing in Miami.
22 Articles
22 Articles
An inside look at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago
Eight stories now rise 225 feet tall on Chicagos South Side the centerpiece of a campus set to tell the story of former president Barack Obama.The Obama Presidential Center is opening on June 19, and the Obama Foundation says the 19-acre campus aims to be a global hub for inspiring, empowering and connecting people to make change.Its focal point is a towering granite-clad museum that sits on the northern end of the campus in Chicagos Jackson Par…
The Obama Presidential Center is more than its granite tower
The imposing granite tower of the new Obama Presidential Center that’s risen from a public park on Chicago’s South Side is, depending on one’s aesthetic and political views, either jarring or monumental. But for all the hand-wringing that has come and will follow about the $850 million tower, it’s not the most important, or even the most interesting, thing about the project. In addition to being a significant piece of architecture representing t…
The Morning Sun
In a city with an iconic skyline, the Obama presidential museum aims to reshape Chicago architecture
For some, it’s a jarring choice in Barack Obama’s hometown after a grueling battle over its location in a lakefront park where classical style buildings are more common. To others, it’s a bold addition that will shape Chicago’s iconic skyline for decades to come.
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