Obama Presidential Center's art-filled tower evokes Gothic cathedral, critics divided

The Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's South Side, opened in June, has drawn large crowds despite mixed architectural reviews. The $850 million, 19-acre campus features a 83-foot tower by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, nicknamed the 'Obamalisk'. Inside, Julie Mehretu's 'Uprising of the Sun' glass mural, Mark Bradford's 'City of the Big Shoulders' atrium piece, and a collaborative tapestry by Marie Watt and Nick Cave span multiple floors. The Sky Room houses Idris Kahn's 'Sky of Hope' text installation with phrases from Obama's 2015 'You are America' speech, while Pentagram's typographic intervention wraps the facade. Critics have compared the tower to a monolith from 'Ancient Aliens' (Anjuli Rao) or a sci-fi villain's lair (Oliver Wainwright), but the interior is described as uplifting, with art integrated like a modern Gothic cathedral. The center's exhibitions trace Obama's political journey from Harvard Law Review to presidency, with art drawing visitors upward through the museum.