The Kennedy Center celebrated its 55th anniversary this month with the lights off. The performing arts venue on the Potomac, which opened September 8, 1971, with Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” is currently shut as a dispute grows between President Trump and the Washington arts community over the building’s future. Trump has called the center dilapidated, reviewed a poster reading “Kennedy Center Demolished,” and wants his name on the facade. A judge ordered the name removed, citing the building’s legal status as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The history here runs deep: Eisenhower signed the legislation creating a national cultural center in 1958, and LBJ designated it a JFK memorial after the 1963 assassination.
For five decades, the Kennedy Center has been the home stage for the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington Opera, hosted touring Broadway productions, and offered free performances open to anyone who walked through the doors. Bernstein’s words at the opening still resonate: “Art knows no national boundaries. Genius can speak at any time, and the entire world will hear it and listen.” The building’s fate beyond the coming week remains unclear, and the fight raises bigger questions about presidential power over cultural institutions.
Here on the Suncoast, we know something about landmarks that define a community and bring people together. From the Ringling to our local theaters and music halls, the places where we gather to experience art tell the story of who we are. What do you think should happen with the Kennedy Center? Should it be renovated, protected as-is, or is demolition even on the table? We want to hear from you.
