Kennedy Center: The Ceiling Is Falling, the Money Is Running Out - and Trump’s Name Is Supposed to Go on the Facade

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is just weeks away from a possible financial collapse. A 57-page packet prepared for a special meeting of the board of trustees on Tuesday shows that the leadership installed by Donald Trump is now expecting possible insolvency. Payroll and routine maintenance contracts could go unpaid within weeks. Two resolutions are supposed to decide the future of the institution. One of them leads straight to Trump himself: His name is supposed to be displayed prominently on the building so the president will raise money to save it.

According to the officials in charge, the center faces "certain fiscal collapse" without quick help. Trump has offered to raise the necessary money while the building undergoes a sweeping renovation. According to the documents, however, his willingness to oversee the project and take the lead in raising money depends on his role receiving appropriate public recognition. Help now comes with a price that can be measured in letters on a facade.

The board has 10 different wording options for the outside wall. One would state that the renovation and endowment were overseen by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Kennedy Center Fund. Back in August, the board approved a similar inscription: "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump." A cultural institution bearing John F. Kennedy’s name could now tie its financial survival to yet another name being carved onto the building. Money speaks many languages. In Washington, it is getting stone and metal.

Legally, the ground is already mined. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled in May that only Congress had the authority to rename the Kennedy Center and ordered Trump’s name removed. Cooper still has to rule on another legal challenge to the new facade proposal. Since Trump made himself chairman last year and installed his own people, financial trouble and leadership turnover have followed the institution. Several lawsuits have followed as well.

The financial situation looks far worse than the turnaround the new leadership had publicly claimed for months. Internal budgets and forecasts show that ticket sales and donations fell sharply after Trump’s name was added to the building in December. By May, officials expected the center to bring in only about $124 million in revenue for the fiscal year, even though $220 million had been budgeted. Even after major spending cuts, the projected deficit remained about $23 million. A Kennedy Center spokeswoman said the problems were the result of financial mismanagement by the previous leadership. Trump’s name, she said, had also attracted new donors. Trump and his allies repeatedly portrayed his leadership as essential to saving the institution.

While people argue over names, pieces of the building are now falling from the ceiling. During a severe storm on September 4, a section of ceiling plaster measuring about 1.2 by 1.5 meters broke loose in the Grand Foyer and fell roughly 18 meters near the entrance to the Concert Hall. No one was injured. Subsequent inspections reportedly found at least 7 other areas with visible water damage.

The findings on the outside are even more serious. Engineers examined roughly half of the 278 cladding panels beneath the overhang that wraps around the building. They found severe structural corrosion in 46 of them and mild to moderate damage in 93. According to the experts, about 1 third need to be replaced immediately. Ceiling assemblies weighing about 1.13 metric tons hang roughly 18 meters above public walkways. Architecture can very suddenly stop being just scenery.

Executive Director Matt Floca, whom Trump installed in March, told the board that the main building was no longer safe for continued occupancy. Delta Consulting Group, which reviewed the renovation plans, reportedly reached the same conclusion. Every delay increased the danger to employees and visitors. Kennedy Center representatives declined to comment on the new proposals. Spokeswoman Roma Daravi referred to an earlier statement saying the ceiling collapse showed the urgency of the shutdown Trump had been pushing for months. The damage, she said, was the result of decades of neglect and deferred maintenance under previous leadership.

Trump had already proposed closing the Kennedy Center for 2 years back in February. He argued that an empty building could be renovated more quickly. The board approved the plan in March. Judge Cooper blocked the shutdown in May. The board had based its decision on insufficient information and had failed to adequately consider the consequences, the judge found. Cooper allowed the board to vote again after a more thorough review.

On August 13, the board once again approved a 2-year shutdown as part of a renovation costing about $250 million. The resolution scheduled for Tuesday goes considerably further. The main building could close immediately, possibly that very day. Approval is considered likely. According to management, the work could not be carried out safely while the building remained in normal operation. Structural work and electrical shutdowns would affect interconnected parts of the building as well as public areas. The danger could not be adequately controlled while performances and events were still taking place.

The newer section of the complex, The Reach, is supposed to remain open. Performances and other events could be moved to other venues. The Kennedy Center would therefore keep operating while its main building goes dark.

On Tuesday, the board will therefore decide on more than $250 million in renovation costs. A national cultural institution faces the prospect of shutting its doors immediately while at the same time relying on a president whose public recognition, according to its own documents, has become part of the financial rescue. At the very moment ticket sales and donations have collapsed under his leadership, Trump’s name is now supposed to help raise the money. The ceiling is crumbling, the money is running out. Another name may soon be hanging over the door.