{"id":465843,"date":"2026-09-16T18:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465843\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T18:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T18:10:14","slug":"fencing-goes-up-around-the-main-kennedy-center-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/465843\/","title":{"rendered":"Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MATTHEW DALY and NATHAN ELLGREN<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board\u00a0voted to close<\/a>\u00a0most of the performing arts center for repairs.<\/p>\n

That vote came after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0name to the building.<\/p>\n

The Republican president had said in a social media post that the closure was needed for\u00a0safety repairs<\/a>. But he said the repairs, which Congress has allocated $257 million to cover, would only happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.<\/p>\n

Activists who have opposed the closure said there has been no vehicle or pedestrian access to the building. An Associated Press reporter who approached the main building was told by a security guard that it was closed.<\/p>\n

\"Fencing<\/p>\n

Fencing is placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

\"Fencing<\/p>\n

Fencing is placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

\"Barriers<\/p>\n

Barriers are placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

\"Fencing<\/p>\n

Fencing is placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People walk outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. ( (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)\n<\/p>\n

\"Gear<\/p>\n

Gear from a television crew is seen outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. ( (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A person jogs outside of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. ( (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)\n<\/p>\n

\"Barriers<\/p>\n

Barriers are placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 8<\/p>\n

Fencing is placed outside the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nathan Ellgren)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Laura Bligh, who has attended protests with the advocacy group \u201cHands Off the Arts,\u201d said she feared some or all of the building may be torn down before a legal case is concluded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst case scenario is a wrecking ball,\u201d she said, adding that the Trump administration can\u2019t be trusted because \u201clook what they did to the East Wing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The administration demolished the East Wing of the White House and is replacing it with a massive ballroom. Trump also plans to build a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and is eyeing a golf course renovation along the Potomac River.<\/p>\n

The Kennedy Center board\u00a0voted in August<\/a>\u00a0to inscribe his name on the Kennedy Center\u2019s facade so it would read \u201cThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.\u201d If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added reading \u201cEndowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would also be renamed in Trump\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n

All of those proposals were shot down Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who ruled that nothing could happen \u201cwithout Congress\u2019s blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spokespeople for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Maria Shriver, John F. Kennedy\u2019s niece and former first lady of California, called the standoff over the name \u201ca sad state of affairs\u201d and a \u201ctragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said in a post on X that it appears Trump \u201cwill not rest until his name is permanently connected to the name of a great president, whose memory this building was dedicated to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine spending your days focused on this, while a war rages under your leadership,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By MATTHEW DALY and NATHAN ELLGREN WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[47816,183443,74,76,75,183444],"class_list":["post-465843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-kennedy-center","tag-kennedy-center-closing","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-why-is-kennedy-center-closed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}