John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
	Kennedy Center seen from the Potomac River
Address	2700 F Street, NW
Location	Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′45″N 77°03′21″W / 38.8957°N 77.0559°W
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: 2,454; Opera House: 2,294; Eisenhower Theater: 1,161; Terrace Theater: 475; Theater Lab: 398; Family Theater: 320; Jazz Club: 160
Construction
Opened	8 September 1971
Architect	Edward Durell Stone
General contractor	John McShain
Tenants
	National Symphony Orchestra; Washington National Opera; Suzanne Farrell Ballet
Website
	www.kennedy-center.org

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (commonly called the Kennedy Center) is a performing arts center in Washington, D.C. The Center opened on September 8, 1971. It shows theater, dance, ballet, orchestral, chamber, jazz, popular, and folk music performances.

It is the busiest performing arts center in the United States of America. Each year, it hosts about 2,000 performances, and almost two million people watch one of these performances. The Center presents music, dance, and theater to the public; helps artists make new works and does arts education.

The National Cultural Center Act of Congress in 1958 requires that its programming must be paid for through private money. The center is a public-private partnership. It mostly gets its money from ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations. It also gets federal funding each year to pay for the maintenance and operation of the building. It is both the nation's public memorial to President John F. Kennedy and the "national center for the performing arts."

The building was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain, and is administered by a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution.