Kennedy Center grand foyer ceiling partially collapses during Sept. 4 storms; no injuries
The center's board used the collapse to press for a $250 million, two-year closure a federal judge blocked in May.
A section of the ceiling in the Kennedy Center's grand foyer — the long hallway connecting the Opera House, Concert Hall and Eisenhower Theater — fell during storms on Friday evening (Sept. 4, 2026), leaving a hole and debris across the floor. Nobody was hurt. The building closed for the evening, and an internal email obtained by ABC News said the foyer would be off limits to visits and non-essential access through the weekend while the rest of the building stayed open. No performance has been canceled or moved. The center's leadership, appointed by Trump after he took over the board in 2025, blamed "decades of neglect and deferred maintenance by the previous leadership" and renewed its call for a $250 million, two-year renovation that requires closing the building. Judge Christopher Cooper blocked that closure on May 29. What next. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who barred the shutdown on May 29, is still weighing a separate request to let the board put revised language honoring Trump on the facade. No ruling date has been set.
What engineers flagged before the Sept. 4 collapse:
Roof sections over the terrace weigh 22,000 pounds each and drain poorly
Chillers and boilers are more than 30 years old; electrical systems date to the 1990s