By Erick Johnson
When the doors swing open to the Obama Presidential Center on Juneteenth, there will be plenty for visitors to see and do inside the $850 million facility. The Center’s features include a plush high-tech auditorium, a sky room with panoramic views of Chicago, an atrium named after slain student Hadiya Pendleton, a restaurant, a café, a basketball court, a library and a museum.
This summer, visitors to the newly opened Obama Presidential Center can step inside a full replica of the Oval Office, modeled after America’s most famous office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
The room is part of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood and will open on Juneteenth after a large celebration, the Obama Foundation announced March 7.
Located on the fourth level of the Center, it is a full-size replica of the famous room at the White House that many Americans have seen in movies, television and newspapers. The Oval Office is where many U.S. presidents have greeted and met with America’s Who’s Who, world leaders and A-list celebrities. Sasha and Malia, Barack and Michelle Obama’s daughters, experienced it personally during their eight years living in the White House.
After his historic victory in 2008, it is where Barack Obama led the nation as America’s first Black president.
With its high ceilings and stately walls, the room adds grandeur to a presidential center that took a decade to plan and build on 20 acres in Jackson Park.
The Center will be dedicated on Thursday, June 18, and the campus, including all free areas as well as the Museum, will open to the public on June 19.
Grand opening celebrations will continue June 20 and 21 with live performances, family-friendly activities, food, art and storytelling across campus. The public events will be preceded by gatherings for alumni, community members, supporters and young people.
“We have always believed in the power of ordinary people to come together to make extraordinary change,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation. “The opening of the Obama Presidential Center will be a beacon of hope to the world and a place where we hope guests will be inspired to bring change home to their communities.”
On June 18, a dedication ceremony will be held in the Center’s John Lewis Plaza, with a global livestream featuring legendary performances and remarks from prominent voices.
On June 19, the campus and Museum will open to the public. On June 20 and 21, celebrations will be held throughout the campus.
The Center will be the largest and most expensive presidential library in U.S. history. Its 225-foot museum tower anchors a campus that will feature an auditorium, a museum whose exhibits help tell the Obamas’ historic journey to the White House, a Chicago Public Library branch, an athletic center, gardens and new parkland. Visitors will find a restaurant headed by Chicago chef Cliff Rome and Bon Appétit.
But the Center’s replica of the Oval Office may be a major draw for visitors, especially those who have never been inside America’s most famous office.
At the White House in Washington, D.C., the Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. According to the White House Historical Association, the Oval Office has been the main office of America’s commander in chief since President William Howard Taft began working there in October 1909. The office was demolished after President Franklin D. Roosevelt had a new one designed as part of an expansion of the West Wing in 1934.
Stately and grand, the Oval Office has three large windows with views of the mansion’s iconic South Lawn. In front of the windows is the ornate wooden presidential Resolute Desk, used by most presidents since Rutherford B. Hayes, except Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Shaped as an oval, the office is known for its deep blue or beige carpet with the President’s Seal in the middle. Within its circular walls, the office has a fireplace and built-in bookcases. Gold-framed historic pictures adorn the walls along with busts of historical figures. Near the middle of the room are two sofas facing each other, separated by a coffee table.
On its website, the Obama Foundation shows a model of the Oval Office with the caption: “Ever wonder what it’s like to sit in the seat of the President? Now’s your chance to find out! Visit Level 4 of the Museum and walk through a full-size replica of President Obama’s Oval Office: sit behind the president’s desk and examine items that are unique to his presidency.”
Billionaire filmmaker Tyler Perry has a replica of the Oval Office at his massive television and film studio complex in Atlanta, where he uses it to film his show “The Oval” on BET.
While Perry’s replica of the famous office is off limits to most people other than actors and staff, the Oval Office at the Obama Presidential Center will be open to all visitors.
“This grand opening is just the beginning,” said Jarrett.
“The Obama Presidential Center is about the everyday people who make our democracy work, not just those we see in the headlines. As President Obama said: It is easy to look around right now and feel like the challenges we face are simply too big. But hope is not about ignoring the hard stuff. It is that thing inside us that insists something better awaits if we are willing to work for it. That is the spirit of the Obama Presidential Center.
“We can’t wait to welcome people this June.”