National Cultural Center Created

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Summary

The National Cultural Center is established by Congress as a bureau of the Smithsonian (P.L. 85-874). A Board of Trustees is established, with Mrs. John F. (Jacqueline) Kennedy and Mrs. Dwight D. (Mamie) Eisenhower as co-chairs, as well as an Advisory Committee on the Arts, composed of members selected by the President. As directed in the act, the center will present classical and contemporary music, opera, drama, dance and poetry; present lectures; develop programs for children and the elderly; and provide facilities for other civic activities at the center. In January 1964, it will be renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Subject

  • Eisenhower, Mamie Doud 1896-
  • Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy 1929-1994
  • United States Advisory Committee on the Arts
  • John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.)

Category

Chronology of Smithsonian History

Notes

  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1963, pp. 234-235.
  • Oehser, Paul H. The Smithsonian Institution. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1970, p. 149.
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1965, p. 327.
  • Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1964, p. 10.

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

September 2, 1958

Topic

  • Law
  • Name Changes
  • Entertainers
  • Affiliated corporations
  • Presidents
  • Legislation
  • Performing arts
  • Presidents' spouses

Place

United States

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