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See the full story · 1 sourcesI visited the Obama Presidential Center during its opening week. It was different from what I expected. Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
The Obama Presidential Center opened in Chicago's South Side this summer.
The $850 million center features a roughly 19-acre public campus and an immersive museum.
Former US President Barack Obama has the first-ever fully digital presidential library.
For over a decade, headlines have been written about the development of former US President Barack Obama 's $850 million presidential center in Chicago — from how it would impact the surrounding community to its visually striking design .
Now, it's open. Located on the city's South Side, the sprawling 19.3-acre campus opened to the public on June 19.
I visited the Obama Presidential Center during its opening week, expecting an experience akin to those at other traditional US presidential libraries .
Instead, the Center challenged my assumptions through an immersive experience featuring massive art installations , interactive exhibits, and panoramic views of Chicago .
Here are some of the most surprising things I saw at the Obama Presidential Center.
Surprisingly, the Obama Presidential Center isn't located near the usual Chicago tourist attractions.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
Your typical Chicago travel brochure might include sights from The Loop, the Chicago River, or the historic Grant Park, but the Obama Presidential Center isn't located near typical tourist attractions like The Bean, the Chicago Theatre, or the Art Institute of Chicago.
Instead, the Presidential Center is located eight miles south of the city's downtown, in the historic Jackson Park in the Woodlawn community. The over 551-acre park was the site of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and is home to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.
While the center isn't in the city's downtown, it is only a three-minute walk from a train station that connects to the city in an under-20-minute ride.
The campus is surrounded by lush greenery and walking trails.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
The center has the breathing room to house its 19.3-acre campus. The surrounding parkland, residential streets , schools, and community institutions give the grounds a spacious, neighborhood-scale feel.
While I unfortunately visited during a gray, rainy week, I was amazed by how present the outdoors felt throughout the campus.
With almost 552 acres of surrounding parkland softening the landscape, I found that the center's brutalist, 225-foot, granite-clad tower felt far less sterile than it does in pictures.
I especially enjoyed strolling along the surrounding paths and the Wetland Walk, which connects the campus with the larger park.
The campus includes a sports center, a playground, restaurants, and a public library.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
Beyond the eight-story museum building, the campus is also home to two restaurants, a community garden, an auditorium, a public library, multiuse spaces, a media suite, conference rooms , a kids' playground, and a 60,000-square-foot athletic center with a basketball court.
While I wouldn't expect a basketball court to be part of a presidential library , the Home Court gives the campus a holistic feel.
It's more like a community space rather than a tourist attraction .
Unlike other presidential libraries, the Obama Presidential Center does not house his records.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
The Barack Obama Presidential Library is the first all-digital presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.
The federal agency has legal and physical custody of the official presidential records and artifacts, which are kept at the agency's College Park, Maryland, facility.
The Obama Presidential Center, which is privately operated through the Obama Foundation , serves as a physical, immersive interpretation of the presidency and displays selected NARA materials through a loan partnership.
The National Archives website says that the "vast majority" of the presidential records transferred to the federal agency from the Obama administration were "born digital," including 300 million emails, which equals over a billion paper pages, as well as more than 3 million digital photographs, and 600 cubic feet of audiovisual material.
An 88-foot-tall video screen welcomes visitors as soon as they enter the museum.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
When I entered the museum's 225-foot tower, I was surprised to find a larger-than-life video display spanning all four museum exhibition levels. The installation features historic speeches, images, videos, songs, and poetry, guiding visitors through America's civic history.
Visitors on the lower level can look up from the atrium, and those on the higher floors see the installation from balconies. Its scale means the image changes with the viewer's position.
The display feels immersive and gigantic in its own dynamic way.
The museum covers a broad sweep of American history leading up to the Obama presidency.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
It's not just about the Obamas, like I previously thought. Surprisingly, the museum begins with a broader account of American history before introducing the Obama presidency. The first exhibition level traces the country's democratic experiment and the movements that shaped the years leading to the 2008 election.
Through standout displays, the museum walks visitors through pivotal points in history, including emancipation, women's suffrage, organized labor, and the rise of the Civil Rights Movement.
Before even mentioning the Obamas, the museum lays the groundwork of establishing the context of the America they were born into and all its historic nuances.
I was surprisingly moved by the personal keepsakes from the Obama family's history on display.
Kristine Villarroel/Business Insider
Two displays walk visitors through the f...
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