Preservation coalition challenges Trump’s Kennedy Center remake in federal court

A coalition including the AIA, Docomomo US, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and five other advocacy groups has filed suit in federal court to force public review of the Trump administration’s proposed overhaul of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The case centers on whether major changes to Edward Durell Stone’s 1971 landmark can move forward without historic preservation review, environmental process, and Congressional authorization, raising broader questions for architects, preservationists, and the future of federally stewarded civic monuments. 

According to the coalition’s press release, the lawsuit seeks to compel compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act before any substantial alteration proceeds, and a preliminary injunction is expected to follow. The plaintiffs say they are not opposing routine repairs and maintenance, but are instead trying to prevent irreversible changes to defining archi...