Obama Presidential Center opens with up to 1 million

The Obama Presidential Center has started welcoming early visitors ahead of a Juneteenth grand opening, with officials projecting up to 1 million guests a year to the museum, community center, and park area. In a media preview, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jar

The first visitors began to trickle into the Obama Presidential Center, and the museum’s eighth-floor views were already doing what officials promised they would: turning a long wait into something visitors could physically stand inside.

Over the past month, the center held a series of “soft opening” events. On Wednesday, officials gave reporters an early look inside the eight-floor museum ahead of the grand opening on Juneteenth. The plan is to welcome up to a million visitors each year to the Jackson Park museum. community center. and park area.

Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett didn’t sugarcoat what she expects the center will become. “This is an economic engine. not just for the South Side of Chicago … most certainly here. but it’s going to be an engine for the city and the region. ” Jarrett said. “It’s going to be a beacon of hope to the world at a time where I think we can all use a little hope.”.

The project has been years in the making. The $850 million presidential center is a sprawling concept first announced more than a decade ago. At its core is a museum that chronicles the rise of Barack Obama from Chicago’s community organizing circles to the White House. alongside South Side-born first lady Michelle Obama.

The campus around the museum is designed as more than a destination for ticketed tours. It includes a playground. green space. sledding hill. public art installations. public forum. a Chicago Public Library branch. and an athletic facility. among other attractions. located in the heart of historic Jackson Park.

Jarrett acknowledged that the location itself sparked debate before construction moved forward. “There was a little controversy about building these beautiful buildings in a park. ” she said. paraphrasing years of federal reviews. lawsuits filed by parkland advocates and neighborhood activists demanding community benefits agreements.

She pointed to changes intended to address the parkland question. “It’s important for you to know that because we tore out Cornell Drive. which separated us from the Museum of Science and Industry. we have 3.7 additional acres of parkland that wasn’t here before. ” Jarrett said. underscoring the vistas of the park and city from the museum’s eighth floor. “That view really tells the story about Chicago.”.

City leadership emphasized the scale of local work tied to the construction. Incoming Obama Presidential Center executive vice president John Roberson. a longtime City Hall leader. touted 5. 000 construction jobs created through the privately funded institution. which he described as the most expensive presidential center ever built. He also cited a “lengthy list of top donors” that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Airbnb founder Brian Chesky.

Roberson framed the investment as overdue for the neighborhoods around it. “It’s this level of investment that has been lacking on the South and West sides for way too long. And the president and Mrs. Obama understood what bringing that level of investment would mean to our city,” he said.

The museum itself includes a museum tower featuring a Text from Obama’s 2015 speech in Selma displayed as a feature of the building. Among the art and design elements highlighted during the preview are “Sky of Hope” by Idris Khan in the Nelson Mandela Skyroom. Other exhibits and areas shown during media access included the “Toward a More Perfect Union” exhibit. “We the People. ” miniature rooms that replicate rooms in the White House. and an interactive feature that allows people to share their stories. Visitors also saw former President Barack Obama’s good luck charms on display. videos and photos projected on a wall. and a video of former President Barack Obama as part of an exhibit.

Outside the museum. the preview also pointed to the John Lewis Plaza and to public-facing spaces such as The Forum. where Theaster Gates’ “To See What They Could See” is displayed in the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium. The campus includes Home Court, featuring a basketball court and community spaces, as well as the Great Lawn.

Even in the early days, the center’s community-facing design was already taking shape beyond the museum doors. Nia Cunningham. a horticulturalist at the Obama Presidential Center. was shown pulling weeds in the fruit and vegetable garden. alongside imagery of the playground and the green spaces meant for day-to-day use.

All of it is set to culminate with a Juneteenth grand opening—an event officials are positioning as the official start of a project they say is meant to last far beyond the ribbon-cutting, drawing visitors in the millions while reshaping the area around Jackson Park.

Obama Presidential Center Juneteenth Jackson Park Valerie Jarrett Michelle Obama Barack Obama museum John Lewis Plaza Chicago Public Library economic engine