Kennedy Center board votes again to close main building for $250 million renovation
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The Kennedy Center board approved a second vote to shut down the main campus for a two-year, $250 million renovation, while keeping the REACH venue open, and also voted to restore President Donald Trump’s name on the entrance.
The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted Thursday to close the complex’s main building for a two-year, $250 million renovation, leaving the 2019 REACH addition open for limited programming and as a memorial to the late president. The plan calls for structural repairs, new marble flooring, about $12 million in acoustic upgrades and the temporary relocation of the eight-foot bronze bust of Kennedy in the foyer. The board also approved restoring President Donald J. Trump’s name on the center’s entry, labeling the venue “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.”
The decision follows a March vote that was temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who ruled that board members lacked sufficient information to approve a full shutdown. The latest vote will also require judicial approval. The meeting was held by Zoom and was not open to the public.
Democratic legislators who serve as ex-officio trustees said they have not received assessments of the closure’s impact on the institution’s long-term health. The board, chaired by Trump and composed largely of his appointees, has faced multiple lawsuits. Representative Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a suit to reverse the name change and halt the renovation, while a coalition of architecture and culture groups filed a separate action. A federal judge temporarily blocked the closure plan, noting the board’s lack of adequate information.
The center’s programming has been disrupted since the name change was announced in December 2025, with resident organizations such as the Washington National Opera departing and the National Symphony Orchestra reporting a severe financial strain. A recent court order required the center to pay a jazz musician more than $252,000 in legal fees after he canceled a performance in protest of the name change.
A large tarp continues to cover the building’s entrance, which was installed after a court order to remove Trump’s name. The renovation timeline projects reopening of the main campus in the summer of 2028.