Kennedy Center to Close For ‘Emergency’ Renovations After Judge Rejects Latest Attempt to Add Trump Name to Venue
The battle over affixing Donald Trump’s name to the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in D.C. took its most dramatic turn on Tuesday (Sept.
15) when the Trump-aligned board for the beloved arts institution voted to close most of the campus for what has been described as badly-needed renovations.
According to The Associated Press , the move by the board came just hours after a federal judge blocked the latest attempt to put Trump’s name back on the building after previous court rulings barred such action.
The abrupt closure came as Trump threatened to cancel a planned $257 million renovation to the building if he is not allowed to put his name on the façade.
The threatened closure and name fight have been going on for months, with judges ruling against both actions repeatedly.
The venue’s board — which is packed with Trump-affiliated appointees — appeared to defy the judge’s order to not close by declaring an emergency action on Tuesday to protect the public and staff from what it said were unsafe conditions in the 55-year-old arts center that was renamed as a “living memorial” in Kennedy’s honor two months after his assassination in 1963.
The New York Times reported that around 4:30 p.m.
ET on Tuesday employees heard an unexpected message over the P.A. telling them to immediately vacate the premises.
“The Center is now closed to the public,” it reportedly said.
“Please exit the Center by way of the Hall of States.” By Tuesday night, the paper reported that security guards were stationed outside entrances to the main lobby to turn away visitors.
The move, the third such attempt by the Trump-affiliated board to close the venue, came after the Center said in a statement that the temporary closure was necessary following a recent incident in which a five-foot-long section of ceiling plaster fell to the floor during a storm.
The planned two-year closure is expected to begin once a court approves the move.
Lawyers for Democratic ex-officio board member Rep.
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