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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)Exhibits encourage political participation as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)Exhibits are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)Exhibits are displayed as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for its opening on June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)People enter the museum as the Obama Presidential Center prepares for opening, June 3, 2026, in Chicago’s Jackson Park. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)The Obama Presidential Center on May 6, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)Work continues on the Obama Presidential Center on Jan. 13, 2026, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)Wetland Walk, a natural area that will capture and transform with stormwater, on the Obama Presidential Center campus, Oct. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)Sledding hill on the Obama Presidential Center campus, Oct. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)The Obama Presidential Center is reflected in the West Lagoon in Jackson Park on Sept. 4, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)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/baiduhai)
