Biden-Era Inspections Flagged Kennedy Center Fire, Electrical, and Security Failures Years Before Ceiling Collapse

Two architectural reviews completed in 2021 and 2022 — while President Joe Biden was in office — documented an obsolete fire-alarm system, leaking sprinklers, rusted electrical gear that failed insulation tests, water in transformer vaults, lead paint, PCB sealants, and weak protection against vehicle and ballistic attack at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to documents reviewed by Just the News. The center opened in 1971. On Sept. 4, 2026, a roughly 4-by-5-foot section of Grand Foyer ceiling plaster fell about 60 feet during a storm. No one was injured. Inspectors later listed at least seven other water-damaged spots. The Trump-appointed board voted to close the main building; executive director Matt Floca told a court the shutdown was for safety assessment and would last at least seven days unless extended. Just the News published the earlier inspection files Sept. 19.

The 2021 PowerPoint said the fire-alarm system was already obsolete and slated for a replacement design. It recorded leaking sprinkler pipe, feeder insulation that was deteriorating, aluminum feeders that failed the Megger test, and switchboards and panels “damaged and rusted in many areas.” Wiring “do not meet the NEC code.” Inspectors saw “active leaks at the east transformer vault rooms (as well as north pump rooms),” with staining heaviest on the west wall and columns. A 2021 slide said many bathrooms were not properly ventilated.

The 2022 memo said roof membranes were in “fair to poor condition and near the end of [their] expected useful lifespan” and that each terrace overhang needed “urgent maintenance repairs.” The same report said “existing caulk and sealants contained polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and the existing steel structure was coated with lead paint.”

Security language in the files said building access had “limited resistance to vehicular and ballistic threats,” that video coverage was “inconsistent,” and that egress doors were not monitored. A 2022 staffing note said the Project Management Office had lost its director and other posts and that output suffered.

Kennedy Center communications vice president Roma Daravi told Just the News the prior administration “did not want to do the work that was necessary” and that “they had $250 million that they used to build a separate complex just next to the main building” — the REACH addition — rather than repairing the original halls. “It took a complete overhaul of the institution in order for anyone to care that the building was crumbling,” she said.

Floca has described corroded structural steel, water in electrical vaults, and failing soffit panels that hang tens of feet over public walkways. Lawsuits in Washington and Florida have slowed a two-year, roughly $250 million renovation plan. A federal judge ordered 30 days’ notice before major physical changes. The REACH studios remain open. The 2021 and 2022 reviews were already in the center’s files when the plaster fell.