Barack Obama Presidential Center in the context of Jackson Park, Chicago

Hyde Park is a community area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan 7 miles (11 km) south of the Loop. It is one of the city's 77 community areas.

Hyde Park is home to the University of Chicago and several seminaries and graduate schools of theology: Catholic Theological Union, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the Chicago Theological Seminary, and McCormick Theological Seminary (in addition to, UChicago's own Divinity School). The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry and two of Chicago's four historic sites listed in the original 1966 National Register of Historic Places—Chicago Pile-1, the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, and Robie House—are also in the neighborhood. In the early 21st century, Hyde Park received national attention for its association with U.S. president Barack Obama, who, before running for president, was a Senior Lecturer for twelve years at the University of Chicago Law School, an Illinois state senator representing the area, and U.S. senator from Illinois. The Barack Obama Presidential Center is currently under construction in Jackson Park, on its border with Hyde Park.

Jackson Park is a 551.5-acre (223.2 ha) urban park on the shore of Lake Michigan on the South Side of Chicago. Straddling the Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore neighborhoods, the park was designed in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and remodeled in 1893 to serve as the site of the World's Columbian Exposition. It is one of the largest and most historically significant parks in the city, and many of the park's features are mementos of the fair—including the Garden of the Phoenix, the Statue of The Republic, and the Museum of Science and Industry.

The parkland that would become Jackson Park was originally developed as part of an unrealized 1,000-acre (400 ha) addition to the Chicago park and boulevard system, other parts of which include Washington Park and Midway Plaisance. Initially called Lake Park, it was renamed in 1880 in honor of Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States. The aquatic islands and lagoons have since been developed to include boat harbors, playing fields, prairie restoration, a golf course, and three beaches. The park also hosts the Barack Obama Presidential Center and La Rabida Children's Hospital.