'That's intentional': Obama team defends concrete prison-esque presidential library * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh
The presidential library intended to hold digital versions of Barack Obama’s presidential records is soaring above the south side of Chicago, a concrete prison-esque structure that looks like it escaped from one of the criminal worlds in the Star Wars fantasy.
It’s been dubbed by some the “Obamalisk.”
Of course, Obama doesn’t have the same fundraising obstacles facing his vice president, Joe Biden, who analysts have suggested will be fortunate to end up with a “bookmobile.”
But Obama’s project long has been controversial, with disputes over the property on which is it built, the focus of a lawsuit accusing the city of illegally transferring public property to Obama’s foundation, its design, appearance and more.
Its look has been the subject of repeated jokes, and now Kim Patterson, an official with the Obama Foundation, is responding.
The building in gray, looking like a prison fortress, and it is mostly windowless.
That, Patterson explained, was the goal, and the style specifically was chosen.
The no-windows agenda actually had a basis, she said.
“There are not a lot of windows on the building, but that’s intentional, because sunlight is just not a friend to the artwork and the artifacts that are going inside of the building,” she explained to CBS during a tour of the still-unopened structure.
The tall obelisk-type structure also was a goal, which was to have the building look like “four hands coming together.”
“The shape of the building was actually meant to mimic four hands coming together to show the importance of our collective action,” Patterson explained.
The report called the architectural style used “brutalist.”
Biden’s campaign for a record of his presidency is different.
His library foundation confirmed to the IRS it expects to raise only about $11 million by the end of 2027, far short of an amount needed for a project.
The New York Times suggested there already are talks going on to have a “library” established at some location where Biden already has donated papers, such as the University of Delaware.
John Morgan, a longtime Democratic donor, said in the Times report, “He’ll be lucky to have a bookmobile.”
WND has reported President Donald Trump has expressed that Obama “needs help” on his project.
During an Oval Office ceremony to honor the Hindu holiday Diwali, President Trump was asked what he thought about President Obama’s still-under-construction presidential library in Chicago.
WATCH:
.@POTUS on Obama’s presidential library: “He needs help… it’s not too pretty.” ? pic.twitter.com/zMIevrwVZu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 21, 2025
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Bob Unruh