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Dallas City Hall

Good
  • Brutalist
  • Identity of Building/Site
  • History of Building/Site

Dallas City Hall

Credit

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, I. M Pei, Harper & Kemp, and David Grubbs, Branger, Frank, photographer. Dallas City Hall, City Hall Plaza, Dallas, Dallas County, TX. Texas Dallas Dallas County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/tx0562/.

Site overview

Dallas City Hall was designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1978. Its design reflects an inverted pyramid, with its exterior walls sloping upwards at a 34-degree angle, allowing both for additional office space for workers on the top floors as well as a shaded perimeter around the building for visitors and office workers during the day. The building was constructed with a concrete mix intended to evoke the natural colors of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area geography. The gravity-defying design so unnerved then-Mayor Erik Jonsson that Pei added a series of non-loadbearing oval columns to the perimeter of the building to serve as reassurance of the building structural integrity.

Primary classification

Administration (ADM)

Terms of protection

In February 2025, the Dallas Landmark Commission voted to initiate historic designation for the building. The designation protects the building for two years following the intiation. 

How to Visit

Public government building

Location

1500 Marilla Street
Dallas, TX, 75201

Country

US
More visitation information

Case Study House No. 21

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Credit:

Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, I. M Pei, Harper & Kemp, and David Grubbs, Branger, Frank, photographer. Dallas City Hall, City Hall Plaza, Dallas, Dallas County, TX. Texas Dallas Dallas County, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/tx0562/.

Designer(s)

I.M. Pei

Architect

Nationality

American, Chinese

Related News

Dallas City Hall Threatened with Demo

Endangered, Advocacy

November 03, 2025
Commission

26 June 1972

Completion

12 March 1978

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