Kennedy Center Building Closed for at Least a Week Over Safety Risks
The Kennedy Center shut its main building without warning on Wednesday, Sept. 16, for at least seven days over what its operations chief called acute risks to public safety.
Matt Floca, the center's executive director and chief operating officer, disclosed the closure in a federal court filing on Sept. 17, ABC News reported. The filing is a written statement submitted to a court as part of a legal case. Floca holds the top management job overseeing the building's day-to-day operations.
Floca said the building faced continued structural deterioration. The decision followed an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse earlier in September. The closure will allow staff to assess safety risks in portions of the main building showing severe deterioration.
That shutdown could last longer. Floca said the building will stay closed for at least seven days, with a possible extension after an evaluation next week.
The weeklong closure is separate from a broader vote this week. The center's board voted Tuesday to close most of the performing arts venue indefinitely for repairs, according to AP News, which described the board as Trump-aligned. That vote cited financial strain and structural safety hazards.
President Donald Trump said the closure was needed for safety repairs, AP News reported. Center officials had earlier recommended that the board close the main building immediately, warning that staying open would endanger lives, according to The Washington Post.
The Sept. 17 filing came in response to a legal challenge. A Democratic congresswoman who serves as a trustee, a voting member of the board with a legal duty to the institution, had sought an emergency hearing to block the building's closing. Floca's statement laid out the temporary shutdown as that request moved through federal court.
For ticket holders, this means two tracks to watch. One is the immediate safety review now underway. The other is the board's longer-term plan to close the venue for repairs.
