Local company helps build Obama center

Monday, July 20, 2026

By Matt Petry | mpetry@northofboston.com

NEWBURYPORT — A local woodworking company’s work is now proudly on display at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, which opened its doors to the public on Juneteenth.

“To be a part of the construction of something that is going to be around for a long time and open to the general public is magnificent,” Mark Richey, president of Mark Richey Woodworking, told The Daily News on Friday. “From a woodworking standpoint, we’re always looking for projects that show off our craft and our skills on a grand scale at a very high end.”

The center is the result of years of work to offer the public a glance at President Barack Obama’s eight years (2009-17) in the White House through a museum and also provide space for community resources such as the Chicago Public Library.

“The Obama Presidential Center was created as a beacon of hope, a monument to our unshakable values, the ones my husband has exemplified his entire life – equality, empathy, honesty, inclusion, fairness, ”Michelle Obama said in a statement, sent by Mark Richey Woodworking.

For its part, Mark Richey Woodworking supported builder collaborative Lakeside Alliance and architect Tod Williams Billie Tsien’s vision for many of the center’s community spaces, including the public library, presidential reading room, forum, restaurant and auditorium as well as outdoor spaces.

“When this project came along, we were invited by the general contractor, a collaborative formed specifically for this project called the Lakeside Alliance,” Richey said. “They knew of us because one of the contractors in the Lakeside Alliance, Turner Construction, is a company we’ve done a lot of work with over the years in the Boston area and across the country.”

The Mark Richey team constructed library and presidential reading room shelving; interior and exterior benches; forum, auditorium and restaurant walls and ceilings; restaurant banquettes and counters; and various desks, doors, ceilings, paneling and casework.

The materials primarily included white oak and walnut solid wood and veneer, fabric and faux leather, Corian solid surfacing, and bronze and stainless steel in interior spaces, and Ipe (a premium, ultra dense tropical hardwood mostly harvested in South America also known as Brazilian walnut) outside.

The statement from the company said some of the more "challenging” components were a solid walnut, three-panel security gate operating on a single-floor channel and auditorium ceiling and walls. Auditorium paneling took on complex shapes; integrated significant HVAC, lighting, and AV; was built for acoustics; and, in some cases, moved to allow access to windows and technology.

Richey said another reason they were chosen was because they are a minority-, woman-owned business with his wife, Teresa Richey, serving as the company’s majority owner.

“The Obamas and the Lakeside Alliance were looking to find a company that, No. 1, had the capacity and experience to build such ahigh-end woodworking project, and if possible, had some percentage of woman-owned or minority-owned status,” Richey said. “We happened to have both.”

The team first began building the project in 2022 and has been collaborating locally to install it since 2024. The Mark Richey Woodworking company name, along with key project personnel, namely Project Manager Joshua Pease and Director of Engineering Ritch Winokur, are engraved on the Worker Appreciation Wall at the center.

While all the woodworking was done in Newburyport, Richey said one of the commitments they made as part of the project was to hire a Chicago-based installation network.

He said that they were especially happy to do this project for Obama.

“For Teresa and I, and while I can’t speak for every person in our company, I would say for many of our employees – being part of the Obama Presidential Center meant so much because he was a president that we admired so greatly,” Richey said. “Honestly, we feel he was one of the greatest presidents within our lifetimes.”

Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.