For more than fifty years, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts has stood as a national hub for culture in the nation’s capital.
However, the institution was not conceived during the Kennedy administration. In 1938, a congressional resolution called for the construction of a National Cultural Center, but nothing happened. In 1950, a congressman from New York introduced a bill for such a center, but it didn’t get passed until 1958. In that year, President Eisenhower signed the legislation establishing a National Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. For the first time, the federal government was committed to supporting and partially funding a performing arts venue for the nation.
In the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy beat Eisenhower’s vice president, Richard Nixon, by maligning the Eisenhower administration (which obviously included Nixon), saying it had allowed a “missile gap” to develop between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. There was no truth to the charge, and the Kennedy campaign knew it, but it helped Kennedy win the election in a squeaker.
Once in office, Kennedy promoted the cultural center and kicked off a fundraising campaign, but serious funds were not raised until after Kennedy’s death and after the National Cultural Center was renamed for him.
Given Eisenhower’s critical role in the center’s creation, as well as his broader contributions to arts and culture in America, it is time to rename the center the Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts—an adjustment that would more accurately reflect the center’s origins and its enduring legacy.
Eisenhower recognized the need for a national stage for the arts, bringing together private and public funding to establish what was then envisioned as a cultural home for all Americans. Eisenhower’s vision helped lay the groundwork for an enduring institution that would showcase the best of music, theater, opera, and dance.
Eisenhower viewed the arts as a reflection of American values and democracy, supporting both classical and contemporary artistic endeavors, and he actively appointed individuals to oversee the formation of the center. While Kennedy was an admirer of the arts, he was not directly involved in the creation of the institution, nor was he an artist himself. The renaming was a political decision, driven by the national desire to memorialize Kennedy rather than a reflection of his substantive contributions to the project.
Kennedy’s most significant contribution to the arts was his rhetorical support of cultural endeavors. He emphasized the importance of the arts in American society and spoke eloquently about its role in our national identity. However, compared to Eisenhower, Kennedy’s role was largely symbolic rather than legislative or institutional.
Beyond Eisenhower’s foundational work on the National Cultural Center, his contributions to the arts were substantial and lasting:
Creation of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (1958): This committee laid the groundwork for federal engagement in the arts and eventually influenced the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) under Lyndon B. Johnson.
Support for fine arts and architecture: Eisenhower appointed influential members to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, shaping federal design and architecture policies.
Promotion of international cultural exchange: He supported programs that encouraged artistic exchanges between the U.S. and other nations, promoting American culture abroad.
Personal engagement with the arts: Eisenhower was an avid painter, demonstrating his personal commitment to artistic expression, a rarity among U.S. presidents.
Renaming the center would reinforce bipartisan appreciation for the arts. It would also acknowledge that the arts are a national priority, not a partisan issue and that contributions to American culture should be recognized based on substantive impact rather than the circumstances of one’s death.
And then there’s this: Eisenhower was one of the most consequential men of the twentieth century. He led the Normandy invasion on D-Day, the battle that saved Western Civilization—as we can recall from President Roosevelt’s prayer in the early hours of D-Day: “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.”
It’s not Kennedy’s “fault” that he was not given the role in history that Eisenhower was—but he was not. Not every man gets the chance to shape civilization’s fate, but Ike did. He shouldered that burden, and his memorial should match the stature of the other great monuments in the nation’s capital.
Given Eisenhower’s vision and leadership in bringing the National Cultural Center into existence, as well as his contribution to the survival of Western Civilization, it is only fitting that the institution should bear his name. It is time to rename the center the Eisenhower Center for the Performing Arts.
Daniel Oliver is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Education and Research Institute and a Director of the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy in San Francisco. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Reagan, he was Executive Editor and subsequently Chairman of the Board of William F. Buckley Jr.’s National Review.
Email Daniel Oliver at Daniel.Oliver@TheCandidAmerican.com.