Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago

On a beautiful Thursday in Chicago, the Obama Presidential Center opened in Jackson Park on the South Side amid a diverse crowd of dignitaries, superstars, and everyday citizens.

The June 18^th dedication ceremony preluded the Juneteenth opening of the center, which was the result of years of work to offer the public a glance inside Pres. Barack Obama’s eight years in the White House through a museum and also provide space for community resources like a Chicago Public Library.

Between musical guests such Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Wonder, Bono, and Marc Anthony, Obama Foundation leaders spoke before former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama took to the stage.

Messages were of gratitude, community, and humanity.

“To the thousands of talented folks who made this center …thank you,” said Obama Foundation Chief Executive Officer Valerie Jarrett.

“… the construction workers, landscapers, designers, the architects, artists … Barack and I simply cannot thank you enough for the care and brilliance you poured into every square inch of this campus,” said Michelle Obama.

Mark Richey’s part

For its part, Mark Richey Woodworking was honored to support 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 spaces as well as outdoor spaces.

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

Among 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.

Mark Richey team first began building the project in 2022 and has been collaborating with locals 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 forever engraved on a Worker Appreciation Wall at the center.

Messages of hope

Now complete, it’s the community spaces that impact Pres. Obama the most.

“We wanted it to be a vibrant, living celebration of community, where we can learn together and share the joys of art and music and sport and play, because it’s in those moments that we’re reminded of our common humanity …,” said Pres. Obama.

It was recollections of his humanity by Michelle Obama that brought the former president and the crowds present and watching via livestream to tears. “… 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. Those traits, she said, are not unique to her husband as millions of Americans choose daily to live “decent and purposeful lives.”

“… Every last one of us is an invaluable contributor to the greatness of America,” she said.

See it for yourself

To see that greatness on display, get future tickets to visit the museum and learn more here: https://www.obama.org/visit/

So much coverage has come out on the center. See some of Mark Richey Woodworking’s beautiful work here with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker: https://www.facebook.com/GovPritzker/videos/1526765655572014/

And here:

https://www.obama.org/visit/campus/chicago-public-library/

https://www.obama.org/visit/dining/

https://www.obama.org/visit/campus/forum/auditorium/