The Obama Presidential Center Puts the Spotlight on a Different Side of Chicago

For decades, many visitors to Chicago have followed a familiar route: the Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park, Navy Pier. Beginning June 19, city leaders hope they'll venture farther south.

The highly anticipated Obama Presidential Center officially opens to the public on Juneteenth, bringing with it not just a new cultural institution, but also the potential to reshape how travelers experience the city.

Its location is not an accident.

Nestled within the historic Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side—the neighborhood where Michelle Obama grew up—the 19.3-acre campus represents a significant investment in an area that tourism officials say has long been overlooked.

President Obama tours a replica of the Oval Office at the OPC. Photo Credit: The Obama Foundation.

It's where “there has been disinvestment,” according to Choose Chicago Chief Marketing Officer Lisa Nucci.

The center itself is designed to be far more than a museum. Anchored by an eight-story museum chronicling the Obama administration, the campus also features a branch of the Chicago Public Library stocked with book selections curated by the Obamas; Home Court, an athletic facility complete with an NBA regulation-size basketball court; and a selection of more than a dozen other outdoor spaces.

Among them are a 58,000-sq.-ft. Great Lawn designed for everything from summer picnics to winter sledding, a 21,000-sq.-ft.ADA-accessible playground, the Wetland Walk, the Women's Garden, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit & Vegetable Garden, which includes a Teaching Kitchen that reflects Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative to combat childhood obesity.

For Nucci, those community-centered elements are just as important as the presidential history on display. Free access to green spaces with so many meaningful touchpoints "connects back to the DNA of Chicago," she said. "We're a big city with a small-town feel."

The museum experience itself will carry an admission fee ranging from $15 to $30, depending on residency status and age. But the opening festivities are designed to draw a broader audience. In partnership with Choose Chicago, the center will host a weekend celebration to mark its debut. While Friday's kickoff event quickly sold out, Saturday and Sunday programming will be free with advance registration, featuring live performances, family activities, food, and art installations throughout the campus.

The OPC features campaign items highlighting the themes of the Obama administration. Photo Credit: The Obama Foundation

Once fully operational, Choose Chicago expects the ticketed museum to attract approximately 750,000 visitors annually. It equates to an estimated $3 billion regional economic impact and more than 2,100 ongoing jobs.

To help connect the South Side destination with traditional tourist corridors, Choose Chicago has partnered with Big Bus to launch a dedicated, $10 shuttle service between downtown Chicago, the OPC, and the Griffin Museum beginning June 19.

"Around the clock and daily," Nucci said of the bus service.

The effort reflects a broader ambition, to encourage travelers to see more of Chicago than they may have in the past.

“I think it’s going to change itineraries dramatically, in a really great way,” Nucci said.

And for city leaders, that's perhaps the center's greatest opportunity. “We're really excited for people to get to know the Obama story more,” Nucci concluded, but also to use it (the OPC) as a pathway to discover Chicago again."

Photo Credit: The Obama Foundation