Today in History

September 08, 1971
Potomac Première
President Dwight Eisenhower had signed legislation in 1958 to create a National Cultural Center, but it takes President John F. Kennedy's arts advocacy to raise funds for its construction. Two months after Kennedy's assassination Congress also donates $23 million to the project, declaring the performing arts center a "living memorial" to Kennedy. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts opens on September 8, 1971, with a mass "for singers, players and dancers", composed and conducted by Leonard Bernstein.



Today's Feature History Article

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