Kennedy Center says building closed temporarily due to ‘acute risks to public safety’

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top official at the Kennedy Center said Thursday that he closed the iconic performing arts center temporarily due to “acute risks to public safety resulting from continued structural deterioration” of the aging building.

Matt Floca, the Kennedy Center’s executive director and chief operating officer, said in a federal court filing that the building will be closed for at least seven days to “assess existing safety risks in those portions of the main building exhibiting severe structural deterioration.”

The temporary closure, which occurred without notice Wednesday, is separate from a vote Tuesday by the Kennedy Center’s board to close the performing arts center indefinitely for repairs and was based on an inspection of the roof terrace canopy and a partial ceiling collapse earlier this month, Floca said. The closure may be extended after evaluation next week, he said.

The announcement of the closure came in response to a court case filed by a Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee and sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the building’s “unlawful closing.”