Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Back in August 2021, the Obama Presidential Center began to take shape in Jackson Park.
Trees went down, fencing went up, concrete was poured, and the sound of construction joined the bustle of traffic on Stony Island.
At that time, I lived in Hyde Park and would return often to Jackson Park on walks to the Garden of the Phoneix and 63rd Street Beach or runs around the harbor and golf course there.
You could see the area transform, and eventually, a tower began to rise — which will eventually house a museum dedicated to former President Barack Obama.
In today’s newsletter, we’ve got an update on the tower from architecture critic and Sun-Times columnist Lee Bey.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on a new emergency assistance center near Back of the Yards, a hand-picked list of plays to catch this spring and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Obama Center gets skin in the game with fancy granite cladding on its tower
Reporting by Lee Bey
Construction continues: The museum tower on the under-construction Obama Presidential Center campus is showing a little skin these days, as workers install granite exterior cladding that will eventually cover the 235-foot structure.
South Side skyline: The tower — which is about the height of the historic 16-story Monadnock Building at Jackson Boulevard and Dearborn Street — will be the most prominent building on the 19-acre campus. Even as it rises, the structure is visible from blocks away.
Difference in the details: The swirl-patterned granite panels will contribute much to the visual identity of the tower — while perhaps adding color and life to a structure that appeared cold and mausoleumlike in renderings.
A little drama: Mined in New Hampshire, the tower’s granite is called “tapestry.” Billie Tsien, founding partner of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, said her firm and the Obama Foundation picked the tapestry granite because “we wanted [stone] that has lots of movement in it. When it rains and the building gets wet, it becomes very dramatic — and [also] when it dries out.”
Taken for granite: The center’s forum and library buildings will be clad in kitledge granite from the same New Hampshire quarry that yielded tapestry, the Obama Foundation spokesperson said. About 120,000 square feet of granite will cover all three buildings. The cladding is expected to be done by year’s end.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Potential breakthrough discovery: Northwestern University astrophysicists have helped discover a neutron star crashing into a mysterious object, which they think is one of the lightest black holes ever seen. This would change scientists’ prior beliefs about what kinds of astronomical entities exist.
- Recall the mayor? A former technology salesman who lives in Lake View has formed a political action committee to raise money and at least begin the formidable challenge of putting a binding referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot asking Chicago voters whether they want the power to recall Mayor Brandon Johnson.
- Emergency assistance center opens: Chicago police and community organizations have opened an emergency assistance center near the scene of the Back of the Yards mass shooting that left a 9-year-old girl dead and 10 others wounded, to offer resources to residents affected by recent violent crime.
- $44M for Lyft driver’s family: The family of a 29-year-old Chicago man who was killed while driving for Lyft in 2022 has been awarded over $44 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.
- More trouble in Dolton leadership: Federal prosecutors leveled a bankruptcy fraud indictment Tuesday against Keith Freeman, a high-level official in the south suburb of Dolton, where Mayor Tiffany Henyard is already under fire.
- Remembering Hans Aeschbacher: As executive chef at the old Chicago Stadium and the United Center in the early 1990s, Mr. Aeschbacher cooked for athletes and their families and team owners. He later headed the kitchen for Smith & Wollensky and also worked at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. He died April 4 at age 80.
EXPLORING THE CITY 🎭
3 great shows to see this spring
Reporting by Mike Davis
This spring, Chicago theaters have a little of everything — from romance to sci-fi, to sword-fighting, an existential crisis and beyond.
Here are some shows worth checking out.
‘Purpose’
Through April 28
📍Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.
Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad, this three-hour, turbulent epic drama tells the story of a prominent Black political family — inspired by Chicago’s Jackson family, as in Jesse and Jesse Jr.
Tickets: $52+
‘Inanimate’
Through May 4
📍Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.
This humorously absurd play from Nick Robideau is intriguing. In the aftermath of her mother’s death, Erica, who has always been a misfit, is left contemplating the meaning of life. And she has recently fallen madly in love — with a Dairy Queen sign.
Tickets: $18+
‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’
Through May 12
📍 Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Resident director Charles “Chuck” Smith helms this production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” which follows Herald Loomis and his daughter as they search for his estranged wife. But in looking for her, Herald finds himself.
Tickets: $25+
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Brookfield Zoo to welcome its first koalas — ‘one of the cutest animals on the planet’
Reporting by Jessica Ma
Chicagoans will soon get a rare chance to meet two new mates from “Down Under” at Brookfield Zoo Chicago.
Visitors can see two 2-year-old koalas, named Brumby and Willum, for the first time in the zoo’s history, starting Memorial Day weekend. The male koalas, on a two-year loan from the Australian government, will find their new home in the Hamill Family Play Zoo.
The koalas will likely arrive at the zoo in early May, the zoo said.
The koalas will be placed in the former lemur habitat, which the zoo has refitted to be more koala-friendly. (The lemurs were moved to an old habitat for fishing cats that was modified for their use.) And, the zoo says, each koala will have its own indoor habitat, adjoined with an outdoor one they can use during warmer months.
“Besides koalas being one of the cutest animals on the planet, our guests will get an up-close and personal experience with koalas,” said Mark Wanner, associate vice president of animal care and conservation at Brookfield Zoo.
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
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