WASHINGTON (AP) — Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close most of the performing arts center for repairs. A Democratic congresswoman who is a trustee quickly sought an emergency court hearing to prevent what she called the "unlawful closing."

WATCH: Kennedy Center board votes to close after judge blocks Trump's name from building

That vote came after a federal judge blocked the institution from returning President Donald Trump's name to the building.

The Republican president had said in a social media post that the closure was needed for safety repairs. But he said the repairs, which Congress has allocated $257 million to cover, would only happen if the board was permitted to move forward with plans to add his name to the building.

Activists who have opposed the closure said there has been no vehicle or pedestrian access to the building Wednesday. An Associated Press reporter who approached the main building was told by a security guard that it was closed.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Kennedy Center could "close" or be "ripped down" if his administration doesn't receive recognition on the performing arts center as tensions over his name being removed mount.

"I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down," the president told reporters on the tarmac in North Carolina.

Trump claimed that the Kennedy Center was a "mess" without his intervention and "has lost 10s of millions of dollars, even hundreds of millions of dollars," comparing it to New York's Carnegie Hall.

"Afterward, I saw a forklift carrying what appeared to be a more permanent form of fencing drive over to the north side of the building. I saw the forklift run into and hit the pillars on the building several times," wrote Bridget Kennedy-Bailey.