CHICAGO—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.
The Obama Presidential Center is seen Thursday, April 9, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
The center, along one side of Chicago’s historic Jackson Park, includes a new public library, an NBA-regulation-size basketball court, a playground, gardens, an auditorium for performances or lectures, a recording studio, a teaching kitchen, classroom spaces and a winter sledding hill. The former first lady specifically requested the sledding spot to create a place for families to enjoy Chicago’s often snowy winters. The library includes reading chairs specifically selected by the former president. The campus features a geothermal heating and cooling system, and there are 507 solar panels installed.
Visitors tour the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Statues of former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
The center has a cafe, as well as a restaurant and bar. Some of the items available include “Obama family chili” and an “Obama burger.” But don’t look for a regular Coke or Pepsi to wash them down. Virtually all of the beverages at the restaurant are sugar-free, in keeping with Michelle Obama’s push as first lady to reduce childhood obesity and promote healthier lifestyles.
undefined Most visitors will likely first go to the 225-foot-tall, granite-clad obelisk that is the complex’s centerpiece. It is hard to miss the multistory installation of 5-foot-tall concrete words from Obama’s speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery civil-rights march.
Visitors tour a replica of former President Barack Obama’s oval office at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Some levels of the tower are free to access, but there is an admission fee to see the Obama artifacts and Oval Office replica. At $30 for adults, it will be the nation’s most expensive presidential library ticket. Illinois residents, who helped underwrite some infrastructure costs, will get in free on Tuesdays and receive a $4 discount other days.
Level 2
The first full museum level focuses on people, events and movements that shaped the lives of Barack and Michelle Obama. There is a handprint from Obama as a preschooler labeled “Barry,” the name he used as a child. There are also numerous nods to the civil-rights movement that he often credits for his ability to become president and a copy of the Declaration of Independence. This level includes the story of his historic 2008 presidential campaign. It will be a popular area for political junkies—at least Democratic ones. There are cases filled with political buttons, campaign signs, magazine covers and more.
Level 3
This level focuses on civic basics for young people as well as Obama’s presidential domestic policy, diplomacy, defense policy and his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize that critics and even some supporters said was awarded prematurely, not even one year into his first term. Scattered throughout the museum are roughly a dozen new videos recorded by Obama where he talks about his own history as well as the nation’s.
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.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s dresses on display at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
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, doesn’t require an admission ticket.
Write to John McCormick at mccormick.john@wsj.com and Jemal R. Brinson at jemal.brinson@wsj.com
