The Obama Presidential Centre in Chicago's South Side is a Brutalist ziggurat that towers over its surroundings, with a Soviet science-fiction look that's reminiscent of 1980s Moscow.
Opening to the public on June 19th after years of construction and a cost of around $850m, it boasts the dubious distinction of being the most expensive presidential library in history.
Presidential libraries have a public function: to preserve the former leader's papers, which are deemed state property. But they also have a more personal one: to let presidents present their achievements, justify their actions and tell their life story without quibbles from opposition politicians, pesky journalists or protesters.
The Obama Presidential Centre is exceptional in several ways. It boasts of being the first 'fully digital presidential library': Mr Obama's papers will be available to everyone online.
The centre is also not subject to government oversight in the usual way. While NARA will maintain the digital archives and some physical papers and artefacts off-site, Mr Obama's foundation will fund and manage the entire complex, running it like a private museum.
Valerie Jarrett, Mr Obama's longtime adviser and the foundation's chief executive, insists that this will help it preserve its 'independence', which may be code for defending against Mr Trump trying to tamper with its budget.
The Obama Presidential Centre is focused on culture as well as politics, with a grand interior that feels like a contemporary-art museum, wreathed in dark wood and accented by bright paintings.
The huge price-tag reflects its deluxe amenities, including a professional-size basketball court and practice areas, as well as vegetable gardens that sprawl over the roof of the library.
Mr Obama's fans will love the museum; his detractors will doubtless see it as they viewed his presidency: slick, facile and overproduced.
