In an emergency action on Tuesday, the leadership panel at the Kennedy Center, appointed by President Donald Trump, voted to close the iconic performing arts venue indefinitely. The board cited "dire" financial ruin and physical decay as reasons for the drastic measure.
The closure was enacted hours after a federal judge in Washington D.C. blocked the board's attempt to rebrand the building with Trump's name, a move the board had argued was necessary to prevent imminent bankruptcy.
Leadership pointed to a partial ceiling collapse in the Grand Foyer earlier this month as justification for the immediate lockdown. According to a draft resolution, the center's top director and a structural consultant have deemed the main building "unsafe for continued occupancy" and anticipate further risks to the public and employees if renovations do not begin promptly.
This is the third time since February that the board has proposed a two-year shutdown for renovations. Original plans had set a shutdown date of July 5, but legal challenges have delayed these plans.
Attorneys for the board have stated that ongoing litigation has hindered their ability to perform essential maintenance. However, the judge overseeing the case reiterated during Tuesday's hearing that emergency repairs were explicitly exempted from his previous court order that halted a full-scale lockdown.