John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts
	Kennedy Center seen from the Potomac River
	John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Location within Central Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts (the United States)
Address	2700 F Street, NW
Location	Washington, D.C., United States
Coordinates	38°53′45″N 77°03′21″W / 38.8957°N 77.0559°W
Public transit	Washington Metro; at Foggy Bottom–GWU; Metrobus
Owner	United States government
Operator	John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; David Rubenstein, Chairman; Deborah Rutter, President
Type	Performing arts center
Capacity	Concert Hall: 2,465; Eisenhower Theater: 1,161; Family Theater: 320; Jazz Club: 160; Millennium Stage: 235; Opera House: 2,347; Terrace Theater: 490; Theater Lab: 398;
Construction
Broke ground	December 2, 1964
Opened	September 8, 1971
Architect	Edward Durell Stone
Structural engineer	Severud Associates
General contractor	John McShain
Tenants
	National Symphony Orchestra; Washington National Opera;
Website
	www.kennedy-center.org

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (officially known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. It was named in 1964 as a memorial to assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Opened on September 8, 1971, the center hosts many different genres of performance art, such as theater, dance, orchestras, jazz, pop, psychedelic, and folk music.

Authorized by the 1958 National Cultural Center Act of Congress,^[1] which requires that its programming be sustained through private funds, the center represents a public–private partnership. Its activities include educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely funded through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.

The original building, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone,^[1] was constructed by Philadelphia contractor John McShain, and is administered as a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. An earlier design proposal called for a more curvy, spaceship-inspired building similar to how the Watergate complex appears today.^[2] An extension to the Durell Stone Building was designed by Steven Holl and opened in 2019. The center receives annual federal funding to pay for building maintenance and operation.

^ ^a ^b "U.S. capital seeks to build culture center". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. October 21, 1962. p. 2.
^ Tom (February 24, 2014). "The Kennedy Center Could Have Looked Like This". Ghosts of DC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

[sbccstw-1] "U.S. capital seeks to build culture center". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. October 21, 1962. p. 2.

[2] Tom (February 24, 2014). "The Kennedy Center Could Have Looked Like This". Ghosts of DC. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

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