Former Presidents Turn Out for the ‘Obamalisk’ Grand Opening

Former US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were joined by Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush for the bipartisan opening of the Obama Center in Chicago, a presidential museum, library, and arts center surrounded by parkland.

In his speech on June 18, Obama recalled arriving in the South Side in late summer 1985, “entering the city through the very spot where this center now stands.”

“I can still picture myself heading down what was then Cornell Drive in a janky used car that I’d bought in New York, with all my worldly possessions stuffed in the trunk and the back seat," joking that he was a traffic hazard.

The center features commissions by numerous artists, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby, who this week unveiled the Obamas’ first official double portrait.

Performers at the grand opening included Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and John Legend.

Costing around $850m, the Obama Center is the most expensive presidential museum and library to date. Its 225-foot tower, designed by architects Todd Williams and Billie Tsien, has been nicknamed the “Obamalisk” — not always as a compliment.