The campus, sprawling across historic Jackson Park, houses basketball courts, gardens, a branch of the Chicago Public Library and an eight-story museum. The multi-use space is in sharp contrast with traditional presidential libraries.

WTTW News got a sneak peek of the Obama Presidential Center: Here’s what visitors can expect from the museum and the broader campus.

The Obama Presidential Center is kicking off its public programming with a three-day grand opening festival, June 19-21.

All entry to the museum is timed-ticketed, and visitors are strongly encouraged to reserve tickets online in advance, according to the center. Every Tuesday, the museum is free for Illinois residents.

Tickets to the highly anticipated Obama Presidential Center, which opens June 19, will go on sale to the general public May 6, the Obama Foundation has announced.

Announced in 2015, the Obama Presidential Center will open to the public June 19 at its 20-acre campus in Chicago’s historic Jackson Park.

The employees will serve as the public face of the Obama Presidential Center, helping to support the visitor experience for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected each year, according to a news release. Applications are open until Jan. 31.

The unanimous vote by the City Council’s Housing and Real Estate Committee means a yearslong fight to prevent longtime residents from being pushed out of South Shore is one step away from victory.

The former president shook hands with construction workers and signed a beam that will be used in the ongoing construction of the center in Jackson Park.

Nearly 80% of voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward endorsed a referendum asking whether Ald. Greg Mitchell and Mayor Brandon Johnson should support “a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo & home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”

Though lauded as “groundbreaking” by the Park District, the playground has met with significant opposition from neighbors, who have faulted the choice of the Plaisance's east end as too dangerous for a play space.

The Obama Presidential Center, which broke ground in September 2021, had been slated to open in October 2025.

Voters in two precincts of the 7th Ward will be asked whether Ald. Greg Mitchell (7th Ward) and Mayor Brandon Johnson should “support a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance to prevent the displacement of renters, condo & home owners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.”

The $500 million presidential center now under construction in Jackson Park has already made South Shore “ground zero” of Chicago’s housing crisis, with a high eviction rate and surging real estate prices, according to supporters of a City Council proposal.

Some South Shore residents have been without heat and hot water. Organizers said the situation highlights concerns over possible displacement and rising housing costs caused by the coming Obama Presidential Center, just blocks away.

The Obama Presidential Center has been the source of excitement and anxiety for residents in the South Side Woodlawn community, who are eager to benefit from the major development but are concerned about being priced out. The’re also raising concerns about the difficulty of getting around the massive construction site.