When Obama, in turn, erects a monument to his own glory

The building is the latest, and perhaps the most audacious, of the kind of monuments that American leaders have erected for themselves after leaving office.

Its centerpiece: a 69-meter granite obelisk with almost no windows, which houses the museum dedicated to the first black president of the United States.

Officials at the Obama Presidential Center argue that the monument reflects the essential messages of his presidency (2010-2018). "It is a permanent home for hope," asserts Valerie Jarrett, executive director of the Obama Foundation and former close advisor to Obama at the White House.

The monolithic museum serves as the focal point of the sprawling South Side site in Chicago, where Barack and Michelle Obama lived for many years. Alongside a basketball gymnasium, a large playground, and a digital library, it stands in addition to the 15 other official presidential libraries.

"Obama burger"

The former president was very involved in the design – sometimes even too much, admits Valérie Jarrett. "He's a frustrated architect, in a way, and he had a lot to say about how the building was designed."

And it didn't matter that the complex was built on what was previously a vast green space, provoking protests from some residents. For the Foundation, it had to be built at the heart of the community.

The building is topped with enormous stone letters forming part of a speech Obama delivered in 2015 in Selma, Alabama, the birthplace of the civil rights movement. A slightly larger-than-life statue of the presidential couple depicts them waving to welcome visitors.

At the very top is a spectacular "Sky Room," overlooking Chicago, where visitors can literally look through the words of the speech. A restaurant offers an "Obama Burger" for $15,50.

The first floor displays objects from the president's youth, including a cast of his handprint. The second floor looks back at his victory in the 2008 election, and the third floor celebrates the achievements of his presidency.

An exact replica of the Oval Office, where visitors can sit behind the life-size Resolute Desk, is causing a sensation. Its minimalism contrasts sharply with the gilded decor favored by Donald Trump.

"Inspire"

In fact, the Republican billionaire is probably the ghost of the visit, having tried to dismantle everything his Democratic opponent had accomplished.

"We are not focusing on a narrow and particular slice" of Obama's legacy, Michael Strautmanis, the Foundation's director of institutional affairs, assured AFP. "It's primarily about inspiring new leaders."

Opinions are divided: The New York Times calls the architecture "cold and forbidding," while the Washington Post refers to it as a "time anomaly." Donald Trump—who dislikes both Obama and modern architecture—compared it to a garbage can.

"It's a landmark building, it's the marker of a particular presidency," explains Billie Tsien, architect of the project with Tod Williams.

Obama himself mocked the Star Wars comparisons, appearing in a video alongside actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), with the museum in the background. "It's not a monument to my legacy, it's a gateway to yours," the president argued.

Meanwhile, the current occupant of the White House, very jealous of his own greatness, has announced a project for a Trump Presidential Library in Miami, with his own Oval Office and an Air Force One plane.