Obama Presidential Center construction update Sept. 2025: Heading into fall

Get a glimpse into the construction work happening at the Obama Presidential Center campus.

An image of the Obama Presidential Center campus with construction. The picture features an aerial view of the entire campus. In the center is the Museum Building with a crane on top. To the left of the Museum Building is a lake and trees. To the right of the building is Jackson Park.

The Obama Presidential Center is less than a year away from opening, and construction crews are busy across the campus. Teams have been working together to bring several areas of the Center to life before we open our doors in spring 2026. The 19.3-acre campus will feature a one-of-a-kind Museum, a community hub, a new branch of the Chicago Public Library, and Home Court, an athletics and recreation space, as well as dozens of outdoors spaces available to visitors year-round. Built on Chicago’s South Side near where the Obamas’ story began, the Center will be a new global home for civic and community participation.

Take a look at what’s developing at the Obama Presidential Center campus!

The Museum Building

The Obama Presidential Center Museum features dynamic opportunities for visitors to explore the history of the Obamas and the incredible people who helped shape their legacy.

An image of the Obama Presidential Center landscape with the Obama Presidential Center Museum in the background. In the front of the image are planted trees surrounded by soil and dirt. In front of the trees and dirt are flags and construction cones. In the background is the Museum Building with a crane on top of the building. Next to the trees is a dirt path. It is daylight outside and the sky is blue.
A view of the Obama Presidential Center landscape with the Museum Building in the background.

  • Construction: Crews continue to make steady progress installing the last glass panels at the Sky Room Vista. In late August, bronze installation began around the windows of the Museum Building. The eight-story Museum Building is designed to look like four hands coming together and offers some of the most sweeping public views of Chicago from the South Side.

  • Exhibition Installation: The Museum Team has made significant progress on the installation of the Museum exhibition galleries, including the Opening the White House exhibit, which will feature iconic moments from the Obama Presidency in miniature. Once completed, the Museum will include immersive films, artifacts, art installations, and interactive digital programs for visitors to explore.

A rendering of the Obama Presidential Center Museum Building. The image is an aerial image of a conceptual rendering of the Museum tower. In the center of the image is the museum structure: it is a tall beige building. On the roof of the building is grass. On the side of the building are the words from President Obama’s speech on the 50th Anniversary of the March from Selma to Montgomery. Surrounding the building is an aerial of the grassy areas of Jackson Park.
A final rendering of the Obama Presidential Center Museum Building from the Southwest Corner.

The Forum Building

At the Forum Building, work continues on the Elie Wiesel Auditorium, the Hadiya Pendleton Atrium, and the Democracy in Action Lab. 

An image of construction of the Elie Wiesel Auditorium. The top and the back wall of the Auditorium is covered in brown wood paneling with light fixtures. In the center of the image are several beams and pieces of wood. These pieces will become the stage and seats in the Auditorium.
A behind the scenes look at construction on the Elie Wiesel Auditorium
A digital rendering of the Elie Wiesel Auditorium. Tiered seating surrounds an open floor space. Lighting and speakers hang from the ceiling.
Elie Wiesel Auditorium digital rendering, surround seating set-up

  • Elie Wiesel Auditorium: Named after Nobel Prize winner and human rights activist Dr. Elie Wiesel, wood panel installation has been completed on the ceiling in several areas, including the production booth. Workers are also assembling the platforms for the first three rows of auditorium seats that wrap around the stage. 

  • Democracy in Action Wing Lab:  The first white board-covered cabinets were installed in four program rooms. The space will be the campus’ home for all types of programming and civic action, giving burgeoning leaders an opportunity to explore solutions to our world’s most pressing issues.

  • Hadiya Pendleton Atrium: Named in memory of Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago teenager who was tragically killed just days after performing for the President’s inauguration, the atrium will be a welcoming space that allows people to gather and connect with each other. Workers recently installed the pendant lights in the lobby space of this atrium, where granite panels are being installed on exterior walls. 

Home Court at the Obama Presidential Center

This 45,000 square-foot space will host a variety of youth and adult programming, professional conferences, and community events.

An image of construction being done on Main Court, the Obama Presidential Center's basketball court, at Home Court. The wood panels are on one wall and are brown with blue borders. Each panel of wood is a triangular or diamond shape. Next to the wood panel wall is a glass window. In front of the off the wall are two construction workers on a red crane installing the panels.
Wood paneling being installed by a construction team on Main Court at Home Court
A rendering of Main Court at Home Court on the Obama Presidential Center campus. Main Court is a large basketball court with white ceilings and a wood basketball floor. On the floor is a blue logo of the Obama Foundation. On the left wall is the wood panel with a black scoreboard sitting on top of it. On the right wall are two levels of bleachers where people are seated. In the background are two levels of blue walls with murals on each. On the basketball court are several people wearing athletic gear.
A final rendering of Main Court featuring a basketball game!

  • Open Doors: The Home Court construction team installed the front doors to the main entrance of the building, allowing people to walk through the double set of fritted glass front doors for the first time.

  • Main Court: Inside Home Court is an NBA-regulation basketball court called Main Court. The installation of wood panels is near completion at Main Court and a black rectangle has been erected on the north wall, awaiting the installation of a scoreboard. 

  • Program Rooms: Home Court will also host seven program rooms to be used for community programming, wellness workshops, special events and other activations. Right now, wood cabinets, credenzas, and shelves are being installed, while finishing trimwork is being added around doors and windows. 

Outdoor Spaces

The Obama Presidential Center will feature dozens of outdoor spaces such as the Great Lawn, the Wetland Walk, the Playground, and the Women’s Garden, which are designed to promote wellness, and highlight native trees and plants.

  • Landscape: The first perennial plants recently arrived at the Center with groundcover being added at the south and east sides of the campus, and the first sod has been laid at the Great Lawn. The campus will feature dozens of native plants and vegetation for visitors to learn about, explore, and enjoy. 

  • Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit & Vegetable Garden: Exterior granite has been installed around on the exterior facade of the Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden pavilion, which is located above the campus’ Chicago Public Library Branch. It will serve as a warm and welcoming environment for people to explore gardening, food, and cooking as a pathway to wellness and community improvement. 

  • Playground: Swings have been added to the upper playground area, along with two large slides. When completed, the 21,000 square foot space will also include  a duck slide for toddlers, a giant dragonfly and spiders-web themed rope activities. 

A map of the various buildings and outdoor spaces of the Obama Presidential Center Campus. Green space and paths weave between them. The area is bordered by city streets and, on the opposite side, a lagoon.
Map of the Obama Presidential Center campus

This is a little sneak peek into what’s happening across the campus today. Keep an eye out for more updates as we build the Obama Presidential Center! 

SUPPORT THE OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER

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The Barack Obama Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 46-4950751).

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