A group of eight associations representing preservationists and architects will ask a federal district court to halt the Trump administration’s renovation of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which was announced suddenly last month, sparking fears that the storied building could face radical changes or even demolition.
The group intends to file the lawsuit at 9 a.m. Monday morning, a representative told The Post. In the lawsuit, the coalition requests that the court require the administration to comply with historic preservation laws and obtain permission from Congress to undertake the renovation, which is expected to close the arts venue for about two years. The group will seeking a preliminary injunction that would immediately stop any destruction of the structure or significant redesign until requirements are met.
The Kennedy Center’s “Modernist design, grand public spaces, and role as a premier cultural institution together form an irreplaceable legacy of history, architecture, and civic purpose,” a copy of the lawsuit, which was reviewed by The Post, says. “That legacy is in peril.”
The lawsuit also advances a claim for “anticipatory demolition,” which has not been used in previous cases challenging the Trump administration’s treatment of historic sites. It alleges that the White House has already altered essential elements of the Kennedy Center’s design by repainting the exterior columns white and adding President Donald Trump’s name to the facade without approval. In so doing, it says, the administration has triggered a violation that can bring about denial of permits, funding and related authorizations for the overarching project.
“The Kennedy Center is not a personal project of any president. It is a national cultural monument built to honor John F. Kennedy and to serve the American people,” said Rebecca Miller, executive director of the DC Preservation League, one of the plaintiffs. “Federal law requires transparency, expert review and public participation before it can be fundamentally altered.”
The president’s announcement on social media last month that the venue would close starting July 4 shocked the performing arts world, upended scheduled programming, and sent performers and staff scrambling. Shortly after, Trump told reporters, “I’m not ripping it down. I’ll be using the steel,” a comment that only exacerbated concern about the fate of the building, which is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The president said the project would cost about $200 million.
The outcome of the case could set a precedent for how historic civic buildings across the country fare under an administration that has repeatedly overlooked preservation norms, most notably in tearing down the East Wing of the White House in the fall without notice.
The new legal challenge follows Rep. Joyce Beatty’s motion this month asking a federal court to block the venue’s shutdown, halt any plans for demolition or renovation, and stop employees from being terminated and performances from being canceled. The Ohio Democrat also requested that the administration provide a number of documents related to the renovation, an ask that was granted by the court on March 14.
Renderings of the new Kennedy Center, shared by Trump on social media on March 13, seemed to suggest a less invasive revamp, but some were skeptical such images could be trusted.
“We’re concerned that, as with the White House East Wing, the potential scope of planned changes is understated and will result in irreparable loss,” Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, another group on the suit, said in a statement.
Greg Werkheiser, founding partner at Cultural Heritage Partners, one of the legal firms representing the plaintiffs, echoed the concern: “When decisions about America’s heritage are made behind closed doors, the rule of law is the only safeguard,” he said.
In addition to the DC Preservation League and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the other plaintiffs are Docomomo US, a modernism conservation group; the Committee of 100 on the Federal City; the American Institute of Architects; the Society of Architectural Historians; the American Society of Landscape Architects; and the Cultural Landscape Foundation.
The coalition is represented jointly by three law firms that have been leading legal battles against the administration, alleging the White House has attempted to alter historic federal sites without following legally required reviews. Cultural Heritage Partners sued the Trump administration in November over its plans to paint the exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is a designated National Historic Landmark. Foley Hoag, meanwhile, has challenged Trump’s ballroom plans, while Lowell & Associates last month took legal action against the administration for its planned development of the historic East Potomac Golf Links and dumping debris from the East Wing there.
Last week, a federal judge in the ballroom case grilled the White House on its legal justification for the $400 million project and said he hopes to issue a ruling by the end of the month on requests from preservationists to pause the project.
Over the past year, the Kennedy Center has been at the center of the president’s efforts to reshape arts and culture in the nation’s capital to his liking. He took over the institution in February 2025, and its board voted in December to rename the institution the Trump Kennedy Center, a change that brought about a flurry of performer cancellations and has been criticized as disrespecting a memorial to a slain president. Beatty sued over the name change shortly thereafter, and the legal action this month over the closure was an update to that filing.
Visual alterations have already been underway at the venue. The original gold columns on the exterior have been repainted white. Trump has also reportedly talked about tearing up the signature red carpets and posted online about installing marble armrests in theater chairs.
The Kennedy Center has been eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places since 2012. Such a status means it is subject to a Section 106 review, which would assess what historic elements might be at risk in a renovation project, seek public and expert input, and create mitigations against any identified harms.
The building, completed in 1971, was designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, who also worked on the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, which bears a striking resemblance to the Kennedy Center. Stone’s design for the performing arts venue is notable for its bilateral symmetry; long, low horizontality; organized, hierarchical facades; and clear, geometric form, according to a 2012 Determination of Eligibility Form from D.C.’s Office of Historic Preservation.
The structure uses both modern and classical design. It features a masonry and glass curtain wall system, exemplifying the modernist experimentation with prefabricated parts, while also using classical elements such as columns and marble, the latter a gift from Italy.
Stone sought to complement the nation’s landmarks, writing in an architecture journal in 1964: “Although I do not copy classical architecture, my interest in the monuments of the past has led me to give my buildings a formality and, I hope, a dignity that echoes theirs.”
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