A portion of the Kennedy Center’s ceiling fell in the building’s grand foyer on Friday evening during stormy weather in Washington, according to Roma Daravi, the center’s vice president for public relations. The collapse caused a large hole in the high ceiling and scattered debris across the red carpet in the hallway connecting the venue’s three main performance auditoriums. No injuries resulted from the incident.
The Kennedy Center’s board, which is aligned with President Donald Trump, has seized on the ceiling failure as evidence supporting its push to close the historic arts venue for a two-year renovation project. The proposed $250 million revitalization effort remains the subject of ongoing litigation. Daravi characterized the structural failure as stemming from “decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership” and called the incident “another example of the urgent need to close for renovation.”
The board’s renovation plans are intertwined with efforts to add Trump’s name to the building’s facade. In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the addition of Trump’s name had occurred illegally and ordered its removal. The judge also blocked the administration from proceeding with the closure for renovations. However, an August board vote approved returning Trump’s name to the facade with the inscription “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” Justice Department lawyers have argued that securing donations for renovations depends on including Trump’s name on the building.
Grace Terpstra, founder of Keep the KC, a community group opposing the closure, expressed skepticism about the board’s motivations. She suggested the board may use the ceiling damage as justification for shutdown, potentially inflating the severity of the structural issues to support broader renovation claims.
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