Do you agree with Obama’s choice that Jackson Park be the site of his presidential library instead of Washington Park?
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A person familiar with the selection process says an exact location for President Barack Obama’s presidential library has been chosen.
Now the legacy of the first African-American president will have a permanent fixture in the city he called home for so many years, as President Obama has selected Jackson Park as the site of his presidential library.
With a location less than 10 miles from The Loop, the Obama Presidential Center will become the first presidential library to be built in the heart of an urban environment. The President and First Lady believe that locating the Presidential Center at Jackson Park will have the greatest long term impact on the combined communities.
Woodlawn’s Apostolic Church of God, led by the Rev. Byron T. Brazier, welcomed the news. According to Obama Foundation, they would be partnering with Interactive Design Architects (IDEA), a known firm that has previously designed museums and centers. “My thanks to the President and first lady for recognizing the enormous potential of the South Side and the many hardworking and talented residents who live there”.
The center was expected to be located in one of two parks on the city’s South Side, but a source confirmed to NBC News earlier this week that the president had picked Jackson Park.
The Barack Obama Foundation released an official statement on Friday through its chair, civic leader Martin “Marty” Nesbitt, describing the Obamas’ happiness with the decision and why it is so significant for their family and their legacy.
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“Bringing the Obama Presidential Center to the South Side will provide an array of new opportunities for our young people, and it will be a catalyst for economic development, cultural enrichment and community programming”. Programming for the Obama Presidential Center will begin in 2017.
