This photograph by Warren K. Leffler and Thomas J. O'Halloran was taken at the gala opening for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on September 8, 1971. The photograph captures members of the Kennedy family including --President Kennedy's mother, Rose, and younger brother, Edward M. Kennedy -- in attendance in the Opera House presidential box.

In this photograph by Lawrence Jackson, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama stand for the national anthem at the beginning of the Kennedy Center Honors on December 6, 2009. President and Mrs. Obama were in the presidential box in the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and were flanked by Vice President Joseph R. Biden and the 2009 honorees, (from left to right) Dave Brubeck, Robert De Niro, Grace Bumbry, Mel Brooks, and Bruce Springsteen. This was the first Kennedy Center Honors hosted by President and Mrs. Obama.

This photograph of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was taken by Carol M. Highsmith. Commonly known as the Kennedy Center, the complex features three main theaters, several smaller performance venues, and both river and rooftop terraces. The Kennedy Center, which opened on September 8, 1971, is located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. and serves as the United States National Cultural Center.

This photograph of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was taken by Carol M. Highsmith. Commonly known as the Kennedy Center, the complex features three main theaters, several smaller performance venues, and both river and rooftop terraces. The Kennedy Center, which opened on September 8, 1971, is located along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. and serves as the United States National Cultural Center.

This photograph of President John F. Kennedy talking with guests during a meeting on the National Cultural Center was taken by Cecil Stoughton in the East Room on October 8, 1963. The National Cultural Center would later become later known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as a memorial to President Kennedy. The East Room is located on the State Floor of the Executive Mansion. The room is the largest room in the White House and is often used as a ceremonial space. The room is painted white and has 18th-century French and English-inspired ornate walls and ceiling. To make way for temporary furniture for ceremonies and holiday decorations, the East Room is usually sparsely furnished.

In this photograph taken by Harold Sellers, architect Edward Durell Stone speaks at the unveiling of a model of the proposed National Cultural Center in a ceremony at the Elms mansion in Newport, Rhode Island on September 11, 1962. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with her mother, Janet Lee Auchincloss, sits in the first row behind the model. Eventually, this building became the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. There were also actors and entertainers in attendance including Geraldine Page, Danny Kaye, Joanne Woodward, and Paul Newman, among others.