Dallas City Hall's Uncertain Future
Later this month the Dallas City Council will debate the fate of Dallas City Hall, the brutalist building designed by I. M. Pei that has accumulated close to $100 million in deferred maintenance costs since its completion in 1978.
In December 1964, one month after John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, architect I. M. Pei was selected by Jacqueline Kennedy to design the JFK Presidential Library and Museum. That building, dedicated in Boston in 1979, was not the only building linking Pei with the 25th President of the United States. When the assassination earned Dallas “the city of hate” nickname, Mayor J. Erik Jonsson unveiled the "Goals for Dallas" initiative aimed at reinvigorating the city's infrastructure, cultural institutions, economy, and ultimately its image. One lasting component of the initiative was Dallas City Hall, designed by Pei for a block in downtown's Government District.
The dramatic cast-in-place concrete structure 560 feet long slopes outward at a 34-degree angle to the north, shading people in the adjacent plaza that sits above a parking garage. The angled concrete and glass facade is pierced by three large stair cores that frame the main entrance and define the extents of a 100-foot-tall stepped atrium in the middle of the building.
But with between $50 to $100 million in deferred maintenance, and a planned redevelopment set to reshape downtown, the building's future is now uncertain. The Dallas Landmark Commission voted unanimously in March of this year to begin the process of designating Dallas City Hall a historic landmark. According to Houston-based Chron, the “Dallas City Council would ultimately have to approve the measure,” but at least one council member has said "it would only be ‘prudent’ to consider selling the building and allowing it to be demolished."
The Dallas City Council will meet later this month to debate the future of Dallas City Hall, with a decision on its future expected by the end of the year.