The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center in America's capital. Fundraising for the center was launched by President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, in 1962. Following President Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Congress deemed the National Cultural Center a "living memorial" to the late president and authorized funding to begin construction on the Center for the Performing Arts in his honor, and the Kennedy Center opened its doors in 1971.

Hosting more than 2 million guests each year at the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center offers culture-defining artistic performances spanning ballet, hip-hop, theater, jazz, contemporary dance, and comedy. The Kennedy Center also strives to reach audience members of all ages and backgrounds though a robust slate of arts-education programming, in line with an ethos to celebrate the performing arts and embody the ideals of President Kennedy.