Located on the banks of the Potomac River, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts stands as a historic structure, not just by means of its presidential namesake, but as a representation of the United States government’s commitment to cultivating a national appreciation for the arts. As a part of the financing effort to get the center up and running, the federal government signed off a financing plan and agreed to allocate funds (43 million in total of the 70 million cost) towards the structures completion, the first time in our country’s history in which the government showed such willingness towards primarily artistic purpose.The project was re-named for President Kennedy after his 1964 assassination, who championed the cause of bringing culture to the capital during years in the Oval Office, though he would not survive to see the groundbreaking. With successor Lyndon B. Johnson on hand to ceremonially take shovel to the earth, construction officially began on December 2, 1964. The first of many performances would take place almost 7 years later, on September 5, 1971, premiered by Leonard Bernstein’s play Mass, just 3 days before the official opening and formal gala on September 8^th.The building’s elegant design contributes to the city’s artistic landscape beyond the inspired shows it houses, the product of architect Edward Durrell Stone’s creative genius. As striking as it’s white walls might look from the perspective of river gazing onlookers, to truly appreciate the center’s well thought out floor plan, one must take a seat in the audience, as its acoustics are second to none, centering around its stages in all aspects of its layout. The center serves as a base for far more than just theater, regularly scheduled as the venue for music (jazz, orchestra and opera among others) and dance shows, while offering arts education for patrons of all ages.