Former President Barack Obama’s dream of building his long-awaited presidential center is one step closer to becoming a reality, as ground has officially broken this week after years of delays and local opposition. The official groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday September 28 in Jackson Park, with both the former president and his wife taking to the podium to speak about their hopes for the highly-anticipated center, and what it will do to for the community.
Back in 2016, Obama chose a site in a historic lakefront park on the South Side of Chicago to build his presidential library. The location reportedly held a very special place in his heart, as not only is it where he began his political career, but also where he met and married Michelle, a proud South Side resident. “Chicago is where I found the purpose I’d been seeking,” the former president said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “Chicago is where everything most precious to me began. It’s where I found a home.”
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"It feels natural for Michelle and me to want to give back to Chicago and to the South Side in particular, the place where she grew up and I came into my own," he continued. "And the Obama Presidential Center is our way of repaying some of what this amazing city has given us."
According to the Obama.org website, "The Obama Presidential Center will be a place for people to come together" and is estimated to be complete in 2025. During the groundbreaking ceremony, the former First Lady also spoke about her hopes for the presidential center and what she thinks it means for the South Shore residents.
"Even as a child, I understood this disparity," the Becoming author said. "I continued to ask myself, why didn’t we have more places to gather and connect in our neighborhood? Why didn’t our part of town draw people from around the world just like Grant Park or Navy Pier, or the Art Institute? Why wasn’t there more investment in us?
"One of my greatest honors is being a proud Chicagoan, a daughter of the South Side. I still lead with that descriptor. I wear it boldly and proudly like a crown. See, to my mind, this city, this neighborhood, it courses through my veins."
We're delighted that work on the long-awaited presidential center is finally beginning, and can't wait 'til its official opening in 2025!
