Signatures Needed in Campaign to Protect Dallas City Hall
In June 2026 Dallas City Council voted to explore relocating its City Hall to a different downtown site—a move advocates fear could result in the destruction of the existing building and adjacent plaza. In response, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) enrolled the site—an exceptional melding of Modernist landscape architecture and Brutalist architecture—in the Landslide program of nationally significant, at-risk landscapes.
Comprising a public plaza by Dallas-based landscape architects Myrick, Newberg, Dahlberg and Partners and a building by architects I.M. Pei & Partners, Dallas City Hall has witnessed myriad public events, from protests to festivals, since it was completed in the late 1970s. On September 24, 2026, former Dallas mayor Laura Miller, several current city council members, advocates, and Dallas residents gathered in the plaza for an event organized by the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition to launch a citizen petition drive to get an initiative on the May 2027 ballot requiring the city government not to abandon Dallas City Hall.
Among the speakers at the event, architect I.M. Pei’s daughter, Leiane, poignantly described her father’s love for Dallas and the significance of the building he designed. She said that he designed Dallas City Hall “not for private interests, but for you, the people of Dallas, to conduct business, gather, celebrate, mourn, raise your collective voice in civic protest, and simply to be together.” She added: “Does Dallas see itself as amongst those world-class cities that are mindful stewards of their history…and what does the intentional neglect and destruction of an irreplaceable architectural icon say about what Dallas ultimately values?”
The following week, on October 2, a notice of intent for the ballot measure was filed with the city, giving Save Dallas City Hall Coalition just 60 days to collect 20,000 in-person signatures from registered Dallas voters. TCLF encourages all registered Dallas voters to sign the petition. Locations and times to do so can be found here on their website.
For noncitizens of Dallas, there are still ways to get involved. TCLF recommends contacting Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Dallas City Council to express support for the protection of the iconic building and plaza. Submit comments online, here, or send them to:
Mayor Eric Johnson and City Council
City of Dallas
1500 Marilla Street, 5th Floor
Dallas, Texas 75201-6390
