The Trump administration told a federal court that the aging Kennedy Center could eventually have to be demolished and potentially replaced by an outdoor amphitheater if restoration and fundraising efforts fail, while emphasizing that no active demolition plan is currently underway.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The Trump administration has raised the possibility that Washington’s Kennedy Center could ultimately be torn down and replaced with a large outdoor amphitheater if efforts to restore the deteriorating performing arts complex are prevented from moving forward.
The possibility was outlined in a new federal court filing made public Tuesday, although administration lawyers did not say that President Donald Trump or other officials currently have an active plan to demolish the landmark.
Instead, the filing presented demolition as a potential eventual consequence if the center’s physical condition continues to worsen without sufficient restoration, maintenance and fundraising.
The argument arose in litigation brought by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who holds a seat on the Kennedy Center board because of her congressional position. Beatty filed suit last year seeking to have Trump’s name removed from the building.
In responding to the lawsuit, administration attorneys argued that Trump’s efforts to raise money and restore the Kennedy Center are necessary to preserve the facility and prevent its condition from deteriorating to the point that continued use becomes impractical or unsafe.
“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down,” the administration said in the filing.
If the existing building eventually had to be removed, officials said the property could be redeveloped for another performing arts venue.
One possibility identified by the administration is a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River. According to the filing, versions of such an idea have been proposed for years.
Administration lawyers acknowledged that replacing the Kennedy Center with an outdoor venue would come with a significant drawback because such a facility would “fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy.”
At the same time, the filing argued that an amphitheater would be considerably simpler and less costly to construct, operate and maintain than the existing performing arts complex.
The administration’s argument therefore presents restoration of the current Kennedy Center as preferable to allowing the building to continue deteriorating until demolition becomes necessary.
The court filing does not establish that the administration has decided to raze the Kennedy Center or that a formal replacement project is being developed. Rather, it raises demolition and redevelopment as possible future outcomes if preservation efforts are unsuccessful or blocked.
The prospect nevertheless introduces a dramatically different long-term possibility for one of Washington’s best-known cultural institutions: either substantial restoration of the existing Kennedy Center or, if its condition becomes untenable, removal of the structure and consideration of a less expensive outdoor venue on its Potomac River site.
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