Chicago —
At the top of the Obama Presidential Center, in its sunlit Sky Room is where you’re meant to take it all in. The panoramic views are impressive: Surrounding the campus is Chicago’s South and West Sides, as well as the ultramarine of Lake Michigan. But, more than that, it’s a moment to pause after scaling several floors of history and Barack Obama’s political legacy — not-too-distant memories for many.
Overhead, a monumental artwork by the artist Idris Khan gives the illusion of continued ascent. Words from President Obama’s famed remarks in Selma, Alabama, are stamped and overlapping, sloping upwards as a swath of blue until they reach a rim of light. In Selma, and elsewhere, the former president often spoke about collectively shaping destiny. And that seems to be the final note as you climb up through the museum: the unwritten, wide-open future.
On June 19, coinciding with Juneteenth, the highly anticipated center will finally open to the public. It’s been in the works for more than a decade, and cost $850 million to build — a number that kept growing, becoming by far the most expensive presidential library in history.
That’s because it’s not just a single building. Instead, it’s an entire campus, designed by the architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, and featuring 28 new, site-specific installations from some of the most important artists today. The design shifts the traditional concept of an archival presidential library into a sprawling 19.3-acre campus that offers a museum, community events, a fruit and vegetable garden, NBA regulation-sized basketball court, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.
