How did the construction go for the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts?
President Lyndon B. Johnson dug the ceremonial first-shovel of earth at the groundbreaking for the Kennedy Center on December 2, 1964. However, debate continued for another year over the Foggy Bottom site, with some advocating for another location on Pennsylvania Avenue. Excavation of the site got underway on December 11, 1965, and the site was cleared by January 1967. The first performance was on September 5, 1971, with 2,200 members of the general public in attendance to see a premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass in the Opera House, while the Center’s official opening took place on September 8, 1971, with a formal gala and premiere performance of the Bernstein Mass. The Concert Hall was inaugurated on September 9, 1971, in a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antal Doráti. On Friday, September 10, 1971, Alberto Ginastera’s opera, Beatrix Cenci premiered at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House. Sources:
