History
The City of Dallas’ idea for a centralized municipal center began when city planning consultants Harland Bartholomew & Associates presented their ideas in 1944. The idea was to relocate from the current Dallas Municipal Building to a grand Beaux-Arts complex of city and federal offices, a convention center and cultural facilities. Two sites downtown were possible contenders: one north centered around Federal Street and Akard, and one south centered around Young Street and Akard were marked as contenders.
Plans proceeded until cost estimates shocked city leaders and the plan was shelved, although land at the southern site was acquired by the city for future use.
The 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy turned the world against the city, as Dallas became known as the “City of Hate.” Dallas Mayor Erik Jonsson made it a priority to reinvent the city’s image, and the “Goals for Dallas” program was enacted to accomplish this. One of goals, Design of the City, was summarized by the statement, "We demand a city of beauty and functional fitness that embraces the quality of life for all its people." This was the start of the movement to create a new modern City Hall and municipal center.
Planning for the Dallas Municipal Center commenced in 1964 when the Dallas City Council appointed a Citizen's City Hall Site Committee to select an appropriate location for new municipal administration offices. The mayor was closely involved with the project, and a committee of prominent citizens settled on I.M. Pei to design the new facility.
Construction began on June 26, 1972 under the direction of contractor Robert E. McKee and Pei. The project was completed in three phases. The City accepted the garage parking areas in November 1974; the Park Plaza in May 1976; and the building in December 1977. The cost of design and construction of the building, the Park Plaza and the garage was over $70 million. Controversies arose over cost overruns (the original estimated cost was $42.2 million) and aesthetic issues (was the building too avant-garde?), though most problems were addressed and work moved on to completion.
The first Dallas City Council meeting was held in the building's City Council Chamber on February 1, 1978, and the entire facility was formally opened and dedicated on March 12, 1978.
Read more about this topic: Dallas City Hall
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