{"id":2384919,"date":"2026-04-22T21:34:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2384919"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:34:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:34:31","slug":"inside-the-kennedy-center-as-it-prepares-for-a-2-year-renovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/inside-the-kennedy-center-as-it-prepares-for-a-2-year-renovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Kennedy Center as it prepares for a 2-year renovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen following a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House is seen during a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n

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Water damage in the concert hall electric room is seen at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during a media tour, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n

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Structural damage is seen at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during a media tour, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n

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Matt Floca, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ new executive director and chief operating officer, shows an expansion joint during a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 To President Donald Trump, the Kennedy Center is a \u201ctired, broken, and dilapidated\u201d building in urgent need of repair. To artists like Jane Fonda and Billy Porter, it\u2019s a protest site symbolizing the administration\u2019s effort to reshape the nation\u2019s cultural institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For the Kennedy Center\u2019s new leadership, it\u2019s a gargantuan structure corroded by water damage so severe that steel in some places is tissue-thin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Away from the political controversy that has consumed the iconic performing arts venue for the better part of Trump\u2019s second term, Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center\u2019s new executive director and chief operating officer, guided a group of journalists through the building on Wednesday. They viewed the outdoor terrace overlooking the Potomac River, along with parking decks, loading docks, an electrical vault, and the Opera House stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A theme emerged at virtually every stop: the water damage was real, apparent in some places through discoloration and pooling. Some equipment, including several 800-ton chillers that help cool the building, is decades old and in need of replacement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And the building is so massive \u2014 sprawling across more than 1.5 million square feet \u2014 that repairs will require time to finish.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two years of time, in fact.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump plans to shutter the building for a massive renovation slated to begin in July, supported by nearly $257 million provided by Congress to fund repairs. The institution is expected to turn to private donors to help support refurbishing some of the building’s more exclusive areas, such as lounges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Kennedy Center is hardly the first fixture of the Washington skyline to undergo lengthy renovations. The Smithsonian Castle, one of the most recognizable buildings along the National Mall, has been closed for renovations since 2023. The Washington Monument was shrouded in scaffolding from 1998 to 2001 and covered again at points in 2013 and 2014 to repair earthquake damage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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None of those changes, however, were guided so closely by a sitting president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Trump, who is also trying to build a ballroom on the grounds of the former East Wing of the White House and is pushing for the construction of a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, is deeply involved in the Kennedy Center plans. That’s in line with the far more hands-on approach he’s taken to the institution during his second term, ousting its previous leadership and replacing it with a handpicked board that named him chairman.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His name is now bolted to the building’s facade along with that of John F. Kennedy, the slain president that the venue memorializes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s a public building, and I completely acknowledge that, but the president is really great at this, and I think his input is invaluable,\u201d Floca said. \u201cHe\u2019s in the details, and it\u2019s amazing. I really respect the input he\u2019s given.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As Trump tightened his grip on the building, artists abandoned the institution in droves, prompting concern that the closure is more of an effort to cover for plunging sales. The Kennedy Center hasn’t released sales figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Still, the tour offers the institution something of a reset opportunity after more than a year of tumult, demonstrating the need for repairs while easing some fears. A bipartisan group of lawmakers and their staff, along with representatives for Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and some corporate and individual donors, have received a similar walk-through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For example, there will be scaffolding around the building but the construction won’t be so dramatic that someone could see through the building. That’s notable considering Trump has suggested the steel supporting the structure could be \u201c fully exposed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It’s not entirely clear how much change will be apparent to the general public once the Kennedy Center reopens. Much of the structural repairs, which will unfold during the renovation’s first year, will happen in the building’s private core.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The venue’s more public elements, including the red-on-red decor of the Opera House, are expected to be maintained, though with some updating. There aren’t plans at the moment to change the presidential boxes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Quotes attributed to Kennedy will stay on the building’s walls and the famous bust of the former president that sits outside the Opera House will be there again when the building reopens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI can\u2019t think of any JFK changes,\u201d Floca said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s unclear, however, whether there will be additional tributes to Trump, who will be in the final months of his presidency when the public can return to the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.michigansthumb.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen following a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House is seen during a media tour intended to show building damage, Wednesday, April 22, 2026, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2384920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[359140,372005,22389,364855,353554,464755,454214,361616,345440,313298,464756,345436,345437,396573,345439],"class_list":["post-2384919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-billy-porter","tag-district-of-columbia","tag-donald-trump","tag-jane-fonda","tag-john-f-kennedy","tag-kennedy-center-trump-renovation-closure","tag-matt-floca","tag-muriel-bowser","tag-package-100024-ap-online","tag-package-100373-mc-complete-state-national","tag-product-30117-ap-washington-dc-state-news-no-weather","tag-product-30598-ap-national-news-report-a-wire","tag-product-31388-premium-entertainment","tag-product-31998-ap-online-national-news","tag-product-33328-ap-premium-entertainment-other"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Inside-the-Kennedy-Center-as-it-prepares-for-a-2-year.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2384919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2384922,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384919\/revisions\/2384922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2384920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2384919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2384919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2384919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}