Obama Presidential Center museum tickets sold out through October, but rest of campus free and open to public
The Obama Presidential Center officially opens to the public on Friday, and even though tickets to get into its centerpiece museum are sold out through October, people can still explore other aspects of the $850 million campus that are free and open to the public
Many Chicago families couldn't wait until the official public opening to pay a visit, stopping by the campus after Thursday's formal grand opening ceremony.
Dwayne and Cheryl and their three children, E'leah, E'Rol, and E'Jae, watched the opening ceremony on TV, and then came down to see the campus in person. They said they're happy to see the potential impact of the Obama Presidential Center.
"Great for everyone to enjoy. As you can see, we're enjoying this with our family," Cheryl said.
The family hopes to return to see the full campus in the future.
The Obama Foundation has said it expects about 1 million visitors a year at the Obama Presidential Center.
Tickets have already sold out through the fall, so if you don't have one already, you'll have to wait until fall at the earliest to go inside the museum.
But other parts of the 19-acre campus are free and accessible.
As part of the opening weekend, people can access free tours for the campus' gardens and art installations. There will also be music and dance performances at the plaza.
A branch of the Chicago Public Library is also part of the campus and will host programming through opening weekend.
Dwayne said his family hopes the center's beginning is the start of more opportunities to witness history.
"It was wonderful, magnificent to be able to have the opportunity to come out and witness, just to see an historical event such as today, and hopefully we'll be able to see many more to come," he said.
For those planning to visit the center this weekend, city officials said some road closures and sidewalk restrictions imposed for the grand opening are still in place through the weekend. Visitors are encouraged to use the CTA or Metra to get there, as heavy traffic is expected.
