Chicago’s South Side is now home to the highly anticipated Obama Presidential Center (OPC). The public space opened on June 19, with the 225-foot building and 19-acre campus representing more than a community space.
The Obama Foundation announced on September 28, 2021, that they broke ground on-site with then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Governor JB Pritzker, 44th President of the United States Barack Obama, and Mrs. Michelle Obama. After more than a decade of work, the $850-million-dollar center opened on Juneteenth.
President Obama said at the groundbreaking: “We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research…. We want to look forward.”
The museum focuses on Obama’s life from childhood in Hawaii to the start of his political career in Chicago. It also touches on historic events related to race, slavery, and civil rights.
Louise Bernard, the museum director, highlighted a few objects for the Smithsonian. From Michelle Obama’s dresses to the ring of Jim Obergefell, whose lawsuit against the state of Ohio for refusing to recognize his marriage to his husband, led to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the U.S.
The OPC finally opened this past weekend, with a weekend-long Juneteenth grand opening celebration.
Smithsonian Magazine described the center as a “departure from presidential institutions that came before.”
There is a museum and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library, but there is so much more. A garden on the center’s campus, a gift shop, a basketball court, a restaurant, café, and the Sky Room—a rooftop space that has a beautiful view of both Chicago’s South and West sides.
The opening ceremony began on June 18, with speeches from both the former president and former first lady. They both highlighted hope and optimism in the current state of the world, while expressing love and gratitude for each other, their constituents, and, of course, Chicago.
With the Obamas present, there was also an array of star-studded celebrity appearances and performances to honor the opening. Singers like Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Wonder, U2, Bruce Springsteen, and John Legend made their appearances to honor the center’s opening.
Politicians, actors, comedians, athletes, and more made public appearances at the opening ceremony. This included Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Stephen Colbert, Tom Hanks, Billie Jean King, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau, and Mark Hamill.
The center is seeing an influx of visitors, with the Associated Press reporting that general admission tickets are sold out through the end of October, with more than 1 million expected visitors this year.
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