A Kennedy Center homage moved Led Zeppelin. Now it's the stage for political drama

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones sit perched above a crowd. 

Below them, Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson belt out a cover of the UK rock band's hit Stairway to Heaven, backed by a gospel choir. 

As a crescendo fills the room, the camera pans to Plant. 

Tears brim in his eyes.

There's little that rattles hard rock godfathers like Plant, but a Kennedy Center performance is known to have that effect. 

Take then-president Barack Obama at Aretha Franklin's 2015 performance. Or Cher watching Adam Lambert sing Believe.

For more than 55 years, the Kennedy Center beckoned the best of culture to its marble home on Washington DC's Potomac River. 

Becoming to some a temple to the arts. 

Now US President Donald Trump talks of closure and demolition. 

A 'living memorial' to the arts

While becoming the namesake of 35th US President, John F Kennedy Jr, the centre's creation actually began with Dwight D Eisenhower, who kickstarted plans for an "artistic mecca" in Washington DC in 1958.

Still, Kennedy would assume the bulk of the project, arguing the US had a "special responsibility to the arts" at the height of cold-war tensions.

"For art is the great democrat calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or colour," he said while fundraising in 1962.

Two years later, Kennedy was assassinated. 

His widow, Jackie Kennedy, was asked how she wanted the nation to remember him.

Her answer: a dedicated "living memorial" in the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein penned a requiem mass for its 1971 opening night. 

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported a new era for the the arts was upon DC.

"The capital of this nation finally strode into the cultural age tonight with the spectacular opening of the $US 70 million [Kennedy Center]," it read. 

A mantle for stars from Fred Astaire to Grateful Dead

Throughout most of its history, the centre stood as a rare place in DC where politics were put aside. 

Notably, Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have disagreed on the bench but the unlikely friends spent evenings together at the opera. 

But the centre is perhaps best known for its honour ceremonies. 

Since 1978, artists have been recognised for their lifetime contributions to the arts with Kennedy Center celebrations.

Stars from Hollywood legend Fred Astaire to the rock band Grateful Dead have all made its honour ranks. 

Though for some, accepting the honour was still a political stance. 

Mel Brooks infamously chose not to accept while George W Bush was US President. 

"I said, 'Well, I'm going to wait for another president, if I'm still alive, if you don't mind'," Brooks admitted in 2013.

He later accepted the honour under Obama in 2009. 

During Donald Trump's first term, several also backed out of meeting with the president, including TV producer Norman Lear, who said he would skip a White House reception. 

Dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, who also boycotted the ceremony. 

Mr Trump cancelled the reception and shunned the annual event in his first term — becoming the only president to miss all ceremonies during their term. 

A new vision for a 'Golden Age' of arts

As Mr Trump's second term began, the Kennedy Center was in his sights. 

A few weeks after being reinstated in office, Mr Trump announced he would fire several board members, including the chairman.

"I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture," he said on his Truth Social account in February last year. 

He also took the unusual move of installing himself as chairman of the board. 

By December, the president's hand-picked board voted to rename the centre, The Donald J. Trump and The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

Mr Trump's name was seen getting added to the building's facade the next day. 

Backlash was swift, and in the centre's case, costly. 

A number of artists connected to the centre resigned in protest, among them the famed soprano Renée Fleming.

Those booked for appearances also backed out. 

Then, a lawsuit ensued. 

In May, Judge Christopher Cooper directed the Kennedy Center to remove Mr Trump's name from the building's facade, saying only Congress could change the name. 

He also blocked the administration's plans for two years of renovations flagged by Mr Trump.

The US president was undeterred, declaring he would transfer control of the venue to Congress.

An appeal by the Trump-backed board also claimed his name was "saving" the centre.

"Which, if this doesn’t happen, would go into financial and structural collapse," it warned. 

From memorial to 'mausoleum'

Scaffolding has now sat for months where Mr Trump's name was once emblazoned on the Kennedy Center.

The venue has been closed too.

For this reality star-turned-president, the fight for Washington's cultural epicentre is far from over.

Just this week, Mr Trump told reporters his administration deserved recognition at the Kennedy Center if it was to financially support the institution.

"Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It will end up being ripped down."

Hours later, he was seen on Air Force One appearing to look at plans that read: "Kennedy Center DEMOLIS…"

But those who love the arts — those like Plant have been profoundly moved by the centre — are similarly unwilling to back down.

A protest will also be held surrounding the venue following the latest demolition development.

It is led by former Kennedy Center dance curator Mallory Miller.

She was fired in August after Mr Trump's takeover, and decried how Kennedy's 'living memorial' had become more akin to a "mausoleum" since.

"I was hoping to make ballet better," she explained.  

"But it seems like such a time has come that we're trying to make the whole country a little bit better."

Before Led Zepplin took their seats in the balcony, Plant said the Kennedy Center told them to "expect something" and delivered a "blindingly … we're not worthy moment".

"Some people are completely trapped in their achievements, and that must be real hell," he told Vulture in 2023.

"But perhaps one of the things about Stairway to Heaven was that the development of the song was exactly that. Somehow it was something very, very special, which I don't really have a great connection to. 

"But that night at the Kennedy Center, it made me remember that I had some responsibility, for better or worse, for that song."