ASLA Statement on the May 29 Kennedy Center Ruling

ASLA welcomes the recent court ruling that preserves safeguards protecting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts campus from wholesale demolition and reconstruction without proper review.

On May 29, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper halted, for now, plans previously stated by President Trump, in his role as Chair of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, to take the building “down to the steel” during a two-year closure beginning July 4, 2026.

ASLA joined seven other national design, cultural heritage, and historic preservation organizations in filing suit to stop this demolition before it began. The coalition took this action because the Kennedy Center campus is a nationally significant civic, cultural, and landscape resource. Landscape architects are entrusted with planning, designing, and stewarding many of our nation's most important public places, and we believe the safeguards established by federal preservation law, public participation requirements, and Congressional oversight exist for precisely these circumstances.

Landscape architects have helped shape the Kennedy Center campus since its earliest planning and design.

As a result of the court's rulings, needed repairs and improvements previously authorized by Congress may proceed, while major new alterations remain subject to the safeguards required by law.

For now, the Kennedy Center retains the safeguards designed to prevent any irreversible changes without proper public participation, informed review, and long-term stewardship. Through this coalition, ASLA will continue to advocate for the safeguards that protect the Kennedy Center campus and other nationally significant public places through lawful review, transparency, and informed decision-making.