The Museum Tower at the Obama Presidential Center continues its rise upward at 6001 South Stony Island in Jackson Park. While wood construction forms at the top of the tower add intrigue to progress viewing, the tower is now being clad with granite panels, adding texture and color to the stark gray concrete.
Pallets of granite cladding await installation. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Construction on the Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Ground was broken for the Presidential Center back in September 2021, a ceremony attended by the former President and First Lady. Three tower cranes have been erected on the site during the construction process; only the Museum Tower crane remains. The 235-foot-tall tower, a design by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is just one entity of the center. Also included will be a Forum Building, serving as a community space for local organizations to hold meetings and workshops, a public library, and a large, landscaped campus.
Three tower cranes at the Obama Presidential Center in March 2023. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower construction. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower construction. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower rising behind the Museum of Science & Industry. Photo via Building Up Chicago
Obama Presidential Center Museum Tower through the trees of Jackson Park. Photo via Building Up Chicago
The three-quarters of a million estimated annual visitors to the Obama Presidential Center will be able to utilize a 425 vehicle parking spaces should they choose to drive, but there are also a myriad of public transportation options serving the Jackson Park area. Along Stony Island Avenue is CTA bus service for Routes 2, 6, 15, and 28. Short distances from the park allow access to Routes 10, 59, 63, 171 and 172. The Metra Electric Line has stop at 59th Street and 63rd Street just two block west of Jackson Park.
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I only wish it were 10 times taller.
It would be much better if it stayed as raw concrete…
If only they used Joliet Limestone. Could’ve been in the ranks of other Chicago Icons.
The warmth of limestone would’ve helped soften the stark form. The original renders showed something of the similar and I thought they were fairly successful.
This grey is taking it towards a more brutalist direction at a time when the community needed something less oppressive and more welcoming.
Maybe the final product will show different. A good landscape always softens the edges. Symbolism matters.
But why did it have to take precious, irreplaceable parkland and thousands of trees?
The OPC should have been at Garfield Boulevard & MLK Drive across from Washington Park
That is where Lee Bey wanted it