Here’s a look back at the Chicago places — and a few of the people — that shaped Obama before he became president.

If you travel to the Windy City this summer, one of the featured attractions will be the Obama Presidential Center. Nestled between the lakefront and the University of Chicago, the center sits on a

“It is a living, breathing legacy, because our hope is that people bring change back to their communities,” Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said in an interview with NBC News.

The Obama Presidential Center is opening in Chicago on Juneteenth weekend. USA TODAY visited the center in advance. Here's what it looks like.

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. ©2026. Visit

The campus will be open to the public from 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily, starting June 19. Weekend festivities will continue through June 21, with events including: Live music, DJs, music groups and dance performances on the campus plaza. Storytime and other activities at the Center's Chicago Public Library branch.

The estimated price tag for building former President Barack Obama's presidential center in Chicago has reportedly soared to $850 million — nearly triple the original $300 million estimate first proposed when the project was conceived. The Obama ...

The $850 million campus officially opens June 19 and is being celebrated as both a tribute to President Barack Obama's legacy and his major community investment.

Crews are putting the finishing touches on the Obama Presidential Center ahead of the official public opening on Juneteenth, more than a decade after the site was chosen. But the design of the roughly $850 million campus -- particularly the conspicuous 225-foot high rise at its north end -- still divides the city celebrated as the birthplace of the modern skyscraper.