Pei’s City Hall ready to embrace future

By Rob Tharp

Save Dallas City Hall Coalition, the North Texas Chapter of Docomomo US, Preservation Dallas and Preservation Texas announced this week that Dallas City Hall has been named to Irreplaceable America, a new list from World Monuments Fund (WMF) recognizing 10 historic places across the United States whose preservation is essential to the richness and complexity of American history as the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. From landmarks of public health and colonial architecture to sites central to Black history, Indigenous heritage and artistic experimentation, the initiative spotlights places facing urgent preservation needs.

Designed by I.M. Pei, Dallas City Hall is one of the most significant works of civic architecture and modernism in America. Born out of Dallas’ darkest days after the assassination of President Kennedy, Dallas City Hall was designed to represent a community seeking to rebrand itself and embrace the future. Importantly, the building is owned by the people of Dallas and, with its 4-acre Park Plaza, is where residents gather to celebrate, engage in community activity, practice free speech and participate in their government. 

Dallas City Hall is actively under threat of demolition even though it is structurally sound and serves as the purpose-built, municipal seat of Dallas. The push to abandon Dallas City Hall based on suspect cost estimates for maintaining and upgrading the building looks less like good government and more like an effort to benefit developers. In addition to its listing on the Irreplaceable America list, Dallas City Hall has been placed on endangered lists by Preservation Texas and Preservation Dallas as these organizations also believe this building is too important historically and culturally to be lost to the wrecking ball. The effort to save Dallas City Hall has received national attention, including through a series of articles by The Dallas Morning News’ architecture critic Mark Lamster, who was awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his commentary about efforts to save the building from demolition.

“Dallas City Hall is irreplaceable as a major civic anchor in downtown Dallas,” Zaida Basora, vice president of the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition and executive director at AIA Dallas, said. “Not only is this an architecturally and historically significant building, but it has all of the elements to serve as a catalyst for the kind of development and revitalization that the southern area of downtown Dallas needs.”

The Save Dallas City Hall Coalition is invested in legal efforts to stop the abandonment and future demolition of Dallas City Hall. They ask Dallas citizens to contact their city council representative to ask them to support saving City Hall. The group is also accepting donations to fund efforts such as legal work, producing collateral that dispels the misinformation, keeping the public updated on this fast-moving process and more.

For more information about Irreplaceable America, visit wmf.org. To learn more about Dallas City Hall, visitsavedallascityhall.com.

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