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Developing a Vision
In 1955 President Eisenhower established a commission to consider a new public auditorium in Washington, D.C. Two years later, the commission proposed a center that the New York Times called “the largest in the world” with a 100,000 square foot great hall, 4,200-seat auditorium and music hall, 1,800-seat theater, and parking for 2,000 cars. The federal government would provide the land, and private donations would pay for the estimated $36 million budget. Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act into law in 1958, but it would take the support of President and Mrs. Kennedy to jumpstart fundraising and move the project forward. |