Chicago and national media were given a preview of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Wednesday ahead of it welcoming the public later this month.
A statue of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama from the 2009 inauguration greets visitors as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A visitor sits in the Sky Room as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Exhibits from the 2008 campaign are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Workers replace a glass window panel as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A stairway links the main floor with the garden level as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A sensory exhibit invites visitors to touch a reproduction of the Shephard Fairey campaign poster as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Exhibits in the museum feature the 2008 campaign as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A replica of the Oval Office is on display as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A letter from President George W. Bush to President Barack Obama is displayed in the desk drawer inside a replica of the Oval Office as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A sign is visible on a replica of the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Some of Michelle Obama’s dresses are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Exhibits encourage political participation as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)The President's Reading Room is prepared inside a branch of the Chicago Public Library preparing to open at the Obama Presidential Center campus, June 3, 2026, in Chicago's Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Artwork fills the entry level as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Visitors tour the Sky Room as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Plants grow in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)The Museum of Science and Industry is visible from the top of the Obama Presidential Center as it prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago's Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Campaign buttons from 2008 are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Exhibits are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Exhibits are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Aidan Jacobs works in the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)People enter the museum as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Artwork by Mark Bradford fills a wall between the garden and entry levels of the museum at the Obama Presidential Center as it prepares for opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A view from the Home Court shows the playground and the campus of the Obama Presidential Center as it prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)The Women’s Garden at the north end of the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)A view of the campus from the Sky Room on June 3, 2026, as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)The Obama Presidential Center on May 6, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)The quote from President Barack Obama’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery is seen on the exterior of the Obama Presidential Center Museum building on Feb. 25, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Lewis DeJan outside the Obama Presidential Center, Feb. 25, 2026. DeJan worked on fabricating the individual letters for the words from President Barack Obama’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the marches from Selma to Montgomery adorning the exterior of the museum. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Workers finish installing words from from President Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march, on the exterior of the Obama Presidential Center Museum building, Feb. 17, 2026, (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Construction on Home Court, the 45,000-square-foot multipurpose space on the Obama Presidential Center campus, is seen on Oct. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Work continues on the Obama Presidential Center on Jan. 13, 2026, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Wetland Walk, a natural area that will capture and transform with stormwater, on the Obama Presidential Center campus, Oct. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)Sledding hill on the Obama Presidential Center campus, Oct. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)The Obama Presidential Center is reflected in the West Lagoon in Jackson Park on Sept. 4, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)Former President Barack Obama visits the site of the Obama Presidential Center to sign a metal beam as the concrete infrastructure of the Museum building reaches its full height Monday June 10, 2024 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)Former President Barack Obama talks with workers while visiting the site of the Obama Presidential Center to sign a metal beam as the concrete infrastructure of the museum building reaches its full height on June 10, 2024, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
