Barack Obama blasted for 'headache-inducing' latest addition to his sinister-looking Chicago presidential library
By Rachel Bowman
Daily Mail
Feb 17, 2026
The exterior of the museum building has been labeled 'headache-inducing' and an 'eye-sore' for featuring text of a speech that is difficult to read
Barack Obama is facing backlash for the latest 'headache-inducing' addition to his Chicago presidential library.
Scheduled to open in June, the Obama Presidential Center consists of several buildings sprawled across a 20-acre campus within Chicago's historic Jackson Park.
Among the amenities is an eight-story museum made of granite that stands at 225 feet tall, featuring four floors of exhibits from the Obama presidency and a Sky Room observation deck.
Large art installations will line the interior of the tower, including a including an 83-foot-tall abstract glass work collage inspired by African and American history and art history created by Julie Mehretu.
The exterior of the museum building will feature words taken from President Obama’s speech marking the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches.
However, the museum building was recently blasted on social media after an architecture critic pointed out that the text engraved on the outside is difficult to read.
The text is engraved across two sides of the building, meaning viewers looking at it from one angle find that it has mismatched run-over lines.
Others agreed, writing that the looming, concrete and granite building's design is an 'eye-sore' and gave them a 'headache' while looking at it.
Barack Obama is facing criticism for the latest addition to his presidential center that is schedule to open in June
The quote from his 2015 speech is: 'You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention. Unencumbered by what is, ready to seize what ought to be. For everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there is new ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed.
'America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word "We." "We The People." "We Shall Overcome." "Yes We Can." That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.'
However, Chicago Sun-Times critic Lee Bay wrote on LinkedIn that the quote looks like 'dummy' placeholder text rather than the quote when written out on the building.
'I'm outside the Obama Center museum tower right now. The new letters - an excerpt from Obama's Selma speech - are a tough read to me, giving off the lorem ipsum vibes,' Bay wrote.
Other social media users agreed, saying something about the design looked off to them.
'I gave up after developing a headache three lines from the top,' one person wrote on X. 'The dyslexic in me is not amused,' another person wrote.
'It's like a Klingon prison,' a second person added, comparing the building to a penal colony from Star Trek. 'It looks like a super max prison,' wrote a fourth.
A fifth person wrote, 'Not ideal. It looks horrible. Chicago the City of great architecture. Just sad.'
The text is engraved across two sides of the building, meaning viewers looking at it from one angle find that it has mismatched run-over lines
'My eyes still can’t track it with the tight leading, the broken words, and the lines between. Horrible,' wrote another.
Some people defended the design, saying they liked it and insisting it looks better from in the air.
'I noticed when I was in the air that the sentences wrap around the west and south sides of the building, and looks decent in a very specific spot on the ground or very good from the air, but like that’s not an ideal design in my opinion,' one person wrote.
'It actually does look good. Love or hate the guy, at least the presidential library will have a nice park for people to walk through,' a second person wrote.
Despite the concerns over its design, the CEO of the Obama Foundation, Valerie Jarrett, told CBS News Chicago in December that they are excited to open their doors.
Jarrett explained how this investment and project will demonstrate how diversity can 'better represent the community in which we're located and be a national model for how you can be inclusive and have a world-class product and a world-class operation.'
She also told the outlet that contracting with racially diverse businesses is a priority.
'Because we believe inclusion is actually a strength,' Jarrett said.
The Barack Obama Presidential Center has cost upwards of $850 million to construct
Jarrett, who grew up near the project, added that it's personally satisfying that the Obamas chose her community to invest in.
The foundation center has cost upwards of $850 million to construct.
'I hope they not only learn about President Obama and the people upon whose shoulders he stands, but also a little bit something about themselves and how they can go and bring change home to their own communities, and everyone can do something to be a force for good,' Jarrett said.
Daily Mail contacted the Obama Foundation for comment.
1 comment:
It's ugly.
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