The Barack Obama Presidential Center was opened with three-hours of fanfare in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday evening.
The event was attended by thousands of guests at the center and in ticketed public viewing in the adjoining park. It was also livestreamed globally.
Thursday's event kicked off a three-day celebration coinciding with the center's public opening on Juneteenth (June 19).
The center, financed through money raised by the non-profit Obama Foundation, is situated on a landscaped 19.3-acre (7.8 hectare) site in Chicago's historic Jackson Park; near University of Chicago Law School, where Obama taught for 12 years.
The choice of location signals a commitment to Chicago's South Side, where the Obamas married and made their home.
