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The Kennedy Center
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Living memorial The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, illuminated with blue and yellow lights at night, reflected in the water below. President Dwight Eisenhower, smiling and wearing a suit, sits at his desk in the Oval Office with papers, a telephone, and pens in front of him. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy sit together at a banquet table, dressed formally, with a curtain backdrop behind them. President John F. Kennedy, at left, stands with two men beside a large architectural model of the Kennedy Center, displayed on a table in an elegant room with tall windows. President Lyndon B. Johnson lifts a shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Kennedy family members and others watching. Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy and Mrs. Joan Braden look at architectural plans in front of a scale model of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Rose Kennedy, Edward M Kennedy Jr, Joan Bennett Kennedy, Kara Kennedy, and Senator Edward M Ted Kennedy dressed formally and walking together at the John F Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Large bronze bust of John F. Kennedy on a marble pedestal overlooks the red-carpeted foyer outside the Opera House at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis smiles while attending an event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, standing in front of large windows and a modern chandelier.
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The Kennedy Center: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Tracy Grant
    Tracy Grant is a senior editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. She previously served as editor in chief, the first woman to hold that title. 
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Updated with 2026 honorees. Nov 02, 2026
Media added. Sep 24, 2026
Added cross-references. Sep 23, 2026
Corrected display issue. Sep 23, 2026
Article revised and updated. Sep 22, 2026
Corrected display issue. Sep 22, 2026
In table of Kennedy Center Honors winners, “Geoge Lucas” changed to “George Lucas.” Sep 20, 2026
Updated Top Question on the closing of the center. Sep 16, 2026
Updated Top Questions and article with court ruling on the building name and board vote to close it. Sep 15, 2026
Updated to clarify the potential to add Trump's name after the renovation. Aug 13, 2026
Updated with vote by the board to go ahead with the closure. Aug 13, 2026
Added image of Berks bust; changed configuration of main image. Feb 09, 2026
Noted that the center would be closing for renovations and added a Top Questions section. Feb 01, 2026
Updated with name change. Dec 19, 2025
Article revised and updated. Aug 15, 2025
Added the 2025 honorees. Aug 13, 2025
Article revised and updated. Feb 11, 2025
Media added. Nov 29, 2023
Modified link of Web site: Official Site of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Feb 14, 2018
Added photograph. Jul 07, 2015
Added a table of the winners of the Kennedy Center Honors to the article. Jun 16, 2010
New article added. May 15, 2009
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