John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Totally Explained

Everything about Kennedy Center totally explained

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (named on the building the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center), is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.. It opened in 1971.
It represents a unique public-private partnership, since it's both the nation's living memorial to President John F. Kennedy and the "national center for the performing arts" which includes educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely paid for through ticket sales and gifts from individuals, corporations, and private foundations.
Designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, it was built by Philadelphia contractor John McShain and is administered by a bureau of the Smithsonian Institution. It receives federal funding each year to pay for the maintenance and operation of the building.

History

The idea for the center dates back to 1933 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt discussed ideas for the Emergency Relief and Civil Works Administration to create employment for unemployed actors during the Great Depression. In 1935, Congress held hearings on plans to establish a new Department of Science, Art and Literature and to build a monumental theater and arts building on Capitol Hill near the Supreme Court building. A small auditorium was added at the Library of Congress, but it had restrictions on its use. A congressional resolution in 1938 called for construction of a "public building which shall be known as the National Cultural Center" near Judiciary Square, but nothing materialized.
In 1950, the idea for a national theater resurfaced when U.S. Representative Arthur George Klein of New York introduced a bill to authorize funds to plan and build a cultural center as a memorial to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The bill included provisions that the center would prohibit any discrimination of cast or audience. From 1955 to 1958, the idea was debated in Congress, amidst much controversy. In the summer of 1958, a bill was finally passed in Congress and on September 4, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the National Cultural Center Act which provided momentum for the project.
This was the first time in history that the federal government helped finance a structure dedicated to the performing arts. The legislation required a portion of the costs, estimated at $10-25 million, to be raised within five years of passage of the bill. Edward Durrell Stone was selected as architect for the project in June 1959. He presented preliminary designs to the President's Music Committee in October 1959, along with estimated costs of $50 million, double the original estimates of $25-30 million. By November 1959, estimated costs had escalated to $61 million.

Fundraising

Fundraising was led by the National Cultural Center Board of Trustees, which was set-up by Eisenhower on January 29, 1959. President John F. Kennedy was interested in bringing culture to the nation's capital, and provided leadership and support for the project. In 1961, President Kennedy asked Roger L. Stevens to help develop the National Cultural Center, and serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees. Stevens recruited First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as Honorary Chairman of the Center, and former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower as co-chairman. National Cultural Center was renamed as the Kennedy Center in 1964, following the assassination of President Kennedy.
The total cost of construction was $70 million. Other major donors included J. Willard Marriott, Marjorie Merriweather Post, John D. Rockefeller III, and Robert W. Woodruff, as well as many corporate donors.

Construction

President Lyndon B. Johnson was present at the groundbreaking for the Kennedy Center on December 2, 1964. Though, debate continued for another year over the Foggy Bottom site, with some advocating for another location on Pennsylvania Avenue. Excavation of the site got underway on December 11, 1965, and the site was cleared by January 1967.
The first performance was on September 5, 1971, with 2,200 members of the general public in attendance to see a premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass in the Opera House, The Concert Hall was inaugurated on September 9, 1971, in a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Dorati. Overall, the building is high, long, and wide. The Kennedy Center features a long, high grand foyer, with 18 massive crystal chandeliers and red carpeting. The Hall of States and the Hall of Nations are both long, high corridors. The building has drawn criticism about its location (far away from Washington Metro stops), and for its scale and form, A key consideration is that many aircraft fly along the Potomac River and overhead the Kennedy Center, as they take off and land at the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Helicopter traffic over the Kennedy Center is also fairly high. To keep out this noise, the Kennedy Center was designed as a box within a box, giving each auditorium an extra outer shell.

Venues

The three main theaters at the Kennedy Center are the Opera House, Concert Hall, and the Eisenhower Theater.

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall, on the south side, seats 2,518. When it opened in 1971, the Concert Hall had a seating arrangement, similar to that used in many European halls such as Musikverein in Vienna. The Center has awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor since 1998.

Regular performances

The Kennedy Center houses a number of groups and institutions, including:

National Symphony Orchestra, directed by Leonard Slatkin and principal guest conductor Iván Fischer

Washington National Opera

Washington Ballet

Washington Performing Arts Society, WPAS: an organization which sponsors performances of all kinds

American College Theater Festival

Other events

During the American Bicentennial, numerous special events were held at the Kennedy Center throughout 1976, including six commissioned plays. Free performances by groups from each state were also held at the Kennedy Center. In December 1976, Mikhail Baryshnikov's version of The Nutcracker ballet played for two weeks.
   The Kennedy Center also hosts special inauguration events and galas.
   In 1977, the Opera House hosted George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra with Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Ashley. The American Ballet Theater has also frequently performed at the Kennedy Center.
   Productions of The Lion King musical, and Trevor Nunn's production of My Fair Lady choreographed by Matthew Bourne are slated for the 2007-2008 season.

Renovations

On June 16, 1971, Congress authorized appropriations for one year to the Board of Trustees for operating and maintenance expenses. In following years, the appropriations were provided to the National Park Service for operations, maintenance, security, safety and other functions not directly related to the performing arts functions. The agreement didn't specify who was responsible for long-term capital improvement projects at the Kennedy Center, along with only periodic funding by Congress for one-time projects, the condition of the facility had deteriorated by 1990. In 1994, Congress gave full responsibility to the Kennedy Center for capital improvement projects and facility management. From 1995 to 2005, over $200 million of federal funds were allocated to the Kennedy Center for long-term capital projects, repairs, and to bring the center into compliance with modern fire safety and accessibility codes. The renovations projects were completed 13 to 50 percent over budget, due to modifications of plans during the renovations resulting in overtime and other penalties. Renovations to the Eisenhower Theater are taking place into 2008. is the current President. Earlier he headed the American Ballet Theatre, and founded a successful consulting firm called Kaiser Associates. He oversees all the artistic activities at the Kennedy Center, has increased the Center’s already broad educational efforts, established cross-disciplinary programming with opera, symphony and dance, established an Institute for Arts Management, created theater festivals celebrating the works of Stephen Sondheim and Tennessee Williams, and arranged for continuing visits by Saint Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater Opera, Ballet, and Orchestra, and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

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