Kennedy Center says building closed temporarily due to 'acute risks to public safety'

Audio By Carbonatix

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top official at the Kennedy Center said Thursday that he closed the iconic performing arts center temporarily due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration" of the aging building.

Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center's executive director and chief operating officer, said in a federal court filing that the building will be closed for at least seven days to "assess existing safety risks in those portions of the main building exhibiting severe structural deterioration.”

The temporary closure, which occurred without notice Wednesday, is separate from a vote Tuesday by the Kennedy Center's board to close the performing arts center indefinitely for repairs. It was based on an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse earlier this month, Floca said. The closure may be extended after evaluation next week, he said.

The announcement of the closure came in response to a court case filed by a Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee and sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the building's “unlawful closing.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, has led efforts to block President Donald Trump’s name from being added to the building. Beatty had a verbal confrontation with the Republican president Tuesday during a virtual board meeting.

The Trump-aligned board, chaired by the president, voted to close the center after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning Trump’s name to the building.

Trump, who was named the Kennedy Center’s chairman last year by loyalists on the board, said Wednesday that his efforts to restore the aging building deserve recognition, “because frankly, if we don’t do that, it’s going to close. It’ll end up being ripped down. It’s in very, very bad shape, very dangerous shape.”

Congress has allocated $257 million to cover the repairs, but Trump said they only would happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.