Pruning the Parks: It Took the Park Service Over 20 Years to Get Out from Under the Kennedy Center (1972-1994)
When Congress added the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the National Park System on June 16, 1972, the Park Service acquired a difficult and expensive set of managerial obligations not fitting well with its traditional functions. Abolishing this NPS unit in 1994 was the right thing to do.