The Obama Library Tour
They carved a speech into the side of the Obama Presidential Center — four hundred and fifty-eight concrete letters, each one taller than you are — and the engineers nearly couldn't build it, because of the letter S. This is the story of the most expensive presidential center ever put up, told through the things you can actually stand in front of: a tower its own architects wanted smaller, a font borrowed off a men's fashion magazine, a granite skin cut to a sixteenth of an inch, a free public gym, a garden that replaced a garden, and a six-lane road Chicago simply deleted. It is also, technically, not a presidential library. Nearly all of this is documented. Two small things are mine.
What You'll Experience
Plan your walk
Know the route before you buy
- Starts at
- Introduction
- Ends at
- The Reveal
- Walking plan
- 55 min · ~1.0 miles
- Schedule
- Start, pause, and resume anytime
Included in the app
- Professional narration
- GPS-triggered stops
- Downloadable tour audio
- Ask the Historian Q&A
- Optional end-of-tour reveal
- All 12 story stops
A taste of what you'll hear
12 stops, each with its own story. Here's a preview.
"That tower in front of you is two hundred and twenty-five feet of Canadian granite, and near the top there's a speech carved into it. Four hundred and fifty-eight concrete letters, each one taller than you are."
"Home Court. Sixty thousand square feet, and inside it is a full N-B-A regulation basketball court. Free. Open to the public, seven days a week, noon till eight."
"Two things on that walk were mine. The stone rules. The algorithm is real, the nine design guidelines are real, the sixteenth-of-an-inch tolerance and the pineapple quote are both real."
Tour itinerary
Every stop on this walk
Explore the route before you go. Each stop has its own story preview, location details, and place in the larger tour.
- 11IntroductionThat tower in front of you is two hundred and twenty-five feet of Canadian granite, and near the top there's a speech carved into it.41.7850, -87.5870 Read this stop
- 22The Tower from Stony Island AvenueThe Obama Presidential Center. Two hundred and twenty-five feet of gray granite with almost no windows in it, which is not how museums...41.7850, -87.5870 Read this stop
- 33John Lewis PlazaJohn Lewis Plaza — the open stone square you're standing in. Somewhere near you there's a long wooden beam, thirty-four feet of it,...41.7847, -87.5856 Read this stop
- 44The Southwest Corner — The LettersLook up at the corner of the tower. Way up, near the top, wrapping around from one face to the other — those are letters. Concrete ones.41.7841, -87.5866 Read this stop
- 55The North Face — Wrapping the PineappleThis side of the tower has the color on it. Eighty-three feet of glass mural by Julie Mehretu, called Uprising of the Sun, which is the one...41.7856, -87.5847 Read this stop
- 66The Library Branch and the Reading GardenThe low building with the courtyard. In the reading garden there's a bronze sculpture of a bird coming up off an open book, and it's called...41.7837, -87.5850 Read this stop
- 77Home CourtHome Court. Sixty thousand square feet, and inside it is a full N-B-A regulation basketball court. Free.41.7827, -87.5858 Read this stop
- 88The Ann Dunham Water TerraceThe water terrace. There's a low stone form here that fills until it can't hold any more and then spills over its own edge, and near it an...41.7838, -87.5835 Read this stop
- 99The Women's GardenThe Women's Garden. Planted beds, low walls, a place laid out to be sat in rather than walked through.41.7829, -87.5841 Read this stop
- 1010The Great Lawn and the Road That Isn't ThereThe Great Lawn. Fifty-eight thousand square feet of grass, built for picnics, concerts, and a sledding hill in the cold months.41.7828, -87.5824 Read this stop
- 1111The Statue of the RepublicThe gold woman. Twenty-four feet of gilded bronze standing at a road junction in the middle of a park, arms up, holding a globe and a staff,...41.7799, -87.5806 Read this stop
- 1212The RevealTwo things on that walk were mine. The stone rules. The algorithm is real, the nine design guidelines are real, the sixteenth-of-an-inch...41.7799, -87.5806 Read this stop
Stories first
Every stop is built around people, conflict, ambition, and consequences—not a plaque read aloud.
Most of it is true. The extra mischief is just a wink at the end, but the story is what carries the walk.
Have questions? Just ask.
Curious about something you heard? Want to know more about a place? Ask us anything — we have a lot to say. It's more fun when it's a conversation.
Ready?
Download the app, head to the starting point, and press play. The stories start themselves.
Get the AppBefore you go
Quick answers
How much is this tour?
$9.99 as a one-time purchase in the iOS app. The Chicago city pack is $14.99 and includes every currently available tour in the city.
Can I use it with spotty cell service?
Download the tour audio on Wi-Fi before leaving. Cached narration plays without streaming; map tiles and other online features may still need a connection.
Do I have to start at a specific time?
No. Start when it suits you, pause for a detour or meal, and resume later. Check the opening hours of any venue you personally plan to enter.
Are admission tickets included?
The purchase covers the Bad Historian audio experience. Transportation, food, and admission to third-party attractions are not included.
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The Obama Library Tour
$9.99 · one-time