Serving as a heart for the performing arts in the United States, this center offers a free performance every night of the year.
Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, or simply The Kennedy Center, is a mecca for live entertainment in the U.S. With multiple theaters, there’s a venue to perfectly match every type of event. Buy tickets for a performance by the Washington National Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra, the center’s own ballet company or a current event.
Share the dream that became a reality years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower first conceptualized it in 1958. He believed a major cultural establishment was required in the nation’s capital. President John F. Kennedy continued pursuing the dream and conducted a number of fundraising events at the White House.
In 1964, the year following Kennedy’s assassination, President Lyndon Johnson turned the first soil to begin the center’s construction. Visit the center, which serves as a memorial to the 35th president for his contribution to the arts and the nation. The site is commemorated with a 1.5-ton (1.4-metric-ton) bust of Kennedy. With the center’s status as a memorial, the federal government maintains the building’s maintenance however, ticket sales, donations and private gifts fund ongoing cultural components.
The center opened its doors in September 1971 with a show by Leonard Bernstein honoring President Kennedy. Part of the center’s mandate is to make the arts accessible to everyone. Attend a free daily event held in the early evening at the Millennium Stage.
The most recent extensions to the building have provided additional classroom and rehearsal space, public gardens and an outdoor video wall. Take a free tour of the center, which has full accessibility. At the end of the tour you’ll be on the roof terrace with a panoramic view of the city. Reserve a table in advance for dinner at the rooftop restaurant.
Find The Kennedy Center in the city’s northwestern quadrant on F Street on the banks of the Potomac River. A free shuttle runs between the center and Foggy Bottom-GWU-Kennedy Center Metro station. Parking is also available for a fee in the center’s garage.
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