Obama Presidential Center Opens On Chicago’s South Side With Oval Office Replica and Skyline Views of Chicago
The Obama Presidential Center is preparing to open its doors to the public on Juneteenth, bringing a deeply personal and political tribute to the nation’s first Black president to Chicago’s South Side.
The nearly 20-acre campus reflects Barack Obama’s life, presidency and long connection to Chicago, from the neighborhood where he began his political career to the city where Michelle Obama was raised. The center includes an admission-based museum tower, a new Chicago Public Library branch, a basketball court, green space, a garden, playground and picnic areas with grills.
The project, estimated at roughly $850 million, has already welcomed early visitors, including students, journalists, staff families and invited guests, ahead of its official public opening.
Josh Harris, the Obama Foundation’s vice president of public engagement, told The Associated Press the center was designed as a place for people to reflect on history while also thinking about change in their own communities.
“This is a safe space for people to come and, yes, reflect on the historic moments of this presidency and the campaigns, but also to come together as a community to think about what change you can bring to your own neighborhood,” Harris said.
Inside The Oval Office Replica
One of the biggest attractions inside the Obama Presidential Center is a life-sized replica of the Oval Office.
Visitors will be able to sit behind a version of the Resolute Desk, take photos and experience a room designed to place them inside one of the most recognizable spaces in American government.
The replica includes personal details tied to Obama’s presidency, including a copy of a handwritten letter from former President George W. Bush and Obama’s BlackBerry phone.
“We want to make sure that people from all walks of life have the opportunity to sit behind the Resolute Desk,” Harris said. “You think about the possibilities that if a young organizer from the South Side of Chicago can be president, you can be president too.”
The museum will be the first fully digital presidential museum of its kind. Instead of displaying official presidential papers, the museum uses digital and interactive exhibits to tell the story of Obama’s campaigns, presidency and time in the White House.
Exhibits also cover major moments from his administration, including the Affordable Care Act and immigration policy. One section revisits Obama’s emotional 2015 eulogy after the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where he sang “Amazing Grace.”
Louise Bernard, the museum’s director, said the goal is not just to look back, but to push visitors to consider their own role in shaping the future.
“We’re passing that baton and inviting people to bring change home, however change may be defined, both small or large,” Bernard said.
Michelle Obama’s Gowns And Personal Touches
The Obama Presidential Center also highlights former First Lady Michelle Obama’s role, style and influence.
Roughly a dozen of her outfits are displayed behind glass, including the black and red Narciso Rodriguez dress she wore on Election Night in 2008 in Chicago.
Visitors will also be able to touch fabric swatches connected to some of her most memorable fashion moments, including the rose gold chain mail Atelier Versace gown she wore at her final state dinner in 2016.
During the center’s 2021 groundbreaking, Barack Obama joked that people would be eager to see Michelle Obama’s famous dresses.
“We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research,” Obama said at the time. “It won’t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle’s ballgowns, although I know everybody will come see those.”
South Side Roots Shape The Campus
The center’s location is central to its story.
Barack Obama launched much of his political life on Chicago’s South Side, taught law at the University of Chicago and lived in the area with his family. Michelle Obama also grew up on the South Side, making the campus both a presidential landmark and a hometown tribute.
That connection shows up across the grounds.
Obama, a lifelong basketball fan, requested a glass-paneled, professional-grade basketball court that will be used for community programming. Michelle Obama helped design a garden where lettuce and strawberry plants are already growing.
There are also charcoal grills available for public use, a detail tied to Obama’s memories of gathering in Chicago parks.
“President Obama always talked about his feelings of being in Chicago and one of his memorable moments was grilling in the park,” Harris said.
The campus also includes commissioned artwork and spaces named after historic figures. The central John Lewis Plaza, named for the late congressman and civil rights leader, is designed as a public gathering place.
Inside the new Chicago Public Library branch, a 70-foot mural features literary figures including Walt Whitman, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. Morrison is shown reading to a young boy in an orange shirt, representing a young Barack Obama.
The presidential reading room includes thousands of books chosen by the Obamas, from presidential biographies to best-selling fiction. Two high-backed striped chairs were personally selected by Obama and modeled after reading chairs similar to ones he has at home.
Ticket Prices And Free Public Access
Admission to the museum tower will cost $30, making it the most expensive ticket among U.S. presidential museums and libraries.
By comparison, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California charges $29. The nearby Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago charges $25.95, while the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield charges $15.
Obama Foundation officials say the price reflects the scale and technology of the new facility. They also note that most of the campus is free.
Only four floors of the museum tower require paid admission. Visitors can walk the campus, use the playground, visit the library, enjoy the sledding hill, gather at the grilling area and access the tower’s top floor, which offers panoramic views of Chicago, without buying a museum ticket.
“The idea behind this institution, this campus, was to make it accessible to as many people as possible,” Harris said.
