In December 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson broke ground for the construction of architect Edward Durrell Stone’s original design for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Nearly fifty years later to the day, Vice President Joe Biden will be joined by Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein, Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter, Kennedy Center Trustee Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, and architect Steven Holl, Hon. FAIA, to break ground as they live stream plans for the Kennedy Center’s new underground expansion project.
The live stream, which will be broadcasted at 10:30 a.m. EST, will reveal the details of the center’s 60,000 square-feet below-ground addition. Located south of the existing facility, the expansion adds classrooms, a lecture hall, meeting rooms, rehearsal rooms, and an event space.
Outside, an exterior wall will double as a projector screen for broadcasts and simulcast performances.
A connection to the Potomac River will provide direct access to the Georgetown waterfront, as Edward Durell Stone had originally designed. A new room on the Potomac River—River Pavilion—will establish an interactive space for small-scale performances, intimate concerts, poetry readings, and the like.
Today’s stream will take place at the Kennedy Center Lower South Plaza and Grand Foyer. A free live stream broadcast for the general public will be projected at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage North, or you can follow the event here: http://www.kennedy-center.org/pages/expansion/index#anchorlink
