Dallas City Hall located in the heart of the city of Dallas and was designed to “convey an image of the people” according to Erik Jonsson. It was built with the intent of revitalizing the Dallas downtown area after president Kennedy’s assassination, which had marred the city’s image. Jonsson knew of Pei through his work as an associate that had seen his work at MIT’s Earth Sciences Building.

Pei took a good hard look at the surrounding neighborhoods and skyscrapers that lined Dallas’ skyline and used this building as a statement to combat the tall surrounding buildings while also unifying the community at the ground level with the over hanging structure in order to exemplify the importance of the public sector in a city.

The end result lacked the finesse that I.M. Pei had aimed for and created more of an imposing and powerful effect. The public received the building with approval and acceptance. The final product took eleven years and is still a major landmark for the downtown Dallas area.