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🇺🇸 United States /Culture & Society

Kennedy Center Foyer Ceiling Partially Collapses as Trump Pushes Renovations

From CBS News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources In the courts
  • Part of the Kennedy Center’s grand foyer ceiling collapsed during stormy weather in Washington, damaging the hallway and injuring no one.
  • A spokesperson for the Trump-aligned board called the incident evidence of an urgent need to close the arts venue for a planned two-year, $250 million renovation.
  • The renovation and plans to add President Donald Trump’s name to the building remain tied up in court after a judge ruled the naming change illegal and blocked the closure.

A section of the Kennedy Center’s high foyer ceiling fell onto the red carpet, leaving a large hole and scattered debris but no injuries. The damage occurred Friday evening during stormy weather in Washington, in a hallway connecting the center’s three main performance auditoriums.

The reality is, the place is falling apart and @realDonaldTrump wants to fix it

· Roma DaraviDaravi used the phrase in a social media post accompanying photos of the collapsed ceiling.

Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president for public relations, said the collapse underscored the need to close the historic arts venue for renovations backed by President Donald Trump. “The reality is, the place is falling apart and @realDonaldTrump wants to fix it,” Daravi wrote in a social media post showing photographs of the damage.

Daravi said the center’s Trump-aligned board wants to proceed with a two-year closure and $250 million renovation. “The longer the delay, the worse the infrastructure gets,” she wrote. In a statement to The Associated Press, she called the collapse another example of the urgent need for renovation and revitalization.

There is no legitimate reason to further halt the renovations

· Roma DaraviShe argued that the ceiling collapse supported moving ahead with the renovation plans.

She attributed the structural failure to decades of neglect and deferred maintenance under previous leadership. The board is also fighting in court to put Trump’s name on the building’s facade. The center was established to honor President John F. Kennedy after his assassination.

The longer the delay, the worse the infrastructure gets.

· Roma DaraviDaravi warned that postponing the planned work would worsen the building’s condition.

A federal judge ruled in May that Trump’s name had been added illegally and ordered its removal. He also blocked the administration from closing the venue for renovations. The judge is now considering an August board vote to restore Trump’s name to the facade. The broader changes have drawn opposition from Democrats and preservation groups.

This structural failure stems from decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership, and there's no justification for further delays in restoring America's cultural center

· Roma DaraviShe made the statement to The Associated Press while advocating closure and renovation.
About this summary

Originally published by CBS News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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