Posted on 06/03/2026 12:22:26 PM PDT by DFG
The Egyptians had their pyramids. The Anglo-Saxons had their barrows. And the Americans have their presidential libraries – the chief difference being that the leaders the US venerates are usually still alive at the opening.
Lacking a royal family or a state religion, the US presidency has swelled to fill the void, transforming over the decades into a national personality cult, complete with its own secular temples to these powerful men. The latest pharaonic edifice is about to open on Chicago’s south side, where it looms on the skyline as a towering totem to the 44th president, Barack Obama. He might have seemed humble in office, but in his post-presidential, Netflix-producing afterlife, Obama has erected the largest, costliest and most audacious complex of them all. Behold the $850m Obamalisk – or, as it sometimes feels morbidly like, the Obamausoleum.
Previous presidential libraries have taken many forms, reflecting the values of their creators. Franklin D Roosevelt began the tradition in 1940, building a library in Dutch colonial style alongside his grave in upstate New York, which he hoped would be swarmed with “an appalling number of sightseers”. Since then, every president has followed suit in their quest for immortality, dreaming up ever larger museums and archives, conceived as hallowed places of pilgrimage. Lyndon B Johnson commissioned a brutalist hulk for Austin, Texas, a fitting symbol, its architect Gordon Bunshaft remarked, for “an aggressive … big man”. Ronald Reagan opted for a sprawling California hacienda, with a dedicated hangar for Air Force One, while Bill Clinton conjured a cantilevered metallic box in Arkansas – a literal interpretation of his promise to “build a bridge to the 21st century”.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
“Franklin D Roosevelt began the tradition in 1940”
Why am I not surprised.
That just might be the ugliest building ever constructed.
When did Barack Obama ever seem humble?
Looks like a big chunk of s**t that got stuck up his behind. Perfect symbol of his gay pushing presidency that rammed us all up the rear with Obamacare, destroying the worlds best healthcare.
It’s ugliness is very fitting. The fact that they charge admission is as well. I doubt many Freepers will ever darken its halls.
Albert Speer would agree.
Kaaba in Chicago.
"Brutalism Is Back" by Felix Torkar, translated by Oscar Davies
August 16, 2025
https://jacobin.com/2025/08/architecture-brutalism-neobrutalism-aesthetics-ecology
OMG....can you believe statues of the Dumbocrat duo?
People were paid to design THAT?
It’s a good representation of Obama.
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