The Dallas Morning News

May 25, 2026

How Dallas chooses to live together: the next 50 years of Thanks-Giving Square

We are reimagining the Square as a more open and connected district at the heart of downtown.

By Kyle Ogden

In the heart of downtown Dallas, there is a place where time slows. 

You can feel it the moment you step inside. The noise softens. The pace eases. For a brief moment, the constant forward motion of city life gives way to something quieter, deeper, more enduring. 

For 50 years, Thanks-Giving Square has offered that experience. It stands as a shared sacred space in the center of our city — a place where people of all backgrounds come together, from common ground to higher ground. 

That vision emerged at a pivotal moment in Dallas history. In the wake of national tragedy and civic soul-searching, our city faced a defining question about who we would become. The founders of Thanks-Giving Square answered with clarity and conviction. They believed a great city should include space for reflection, connection and gratitude — not as an occasional act, but as a way of life. 

Over the past five decades, that idea has shaped Dallas and North Texas in ways both visible and unseen. Millions have visited the Chapel of Thanksgiving. They have sat in silence, offered prayers in many languages and paused long enough to reconsider what matters. Community leaders have gathered there. Students have encountered new ways of thinking about character and purpose. Strangers have shared space with respect. 

What has endured is more than a place. It is the possibility it represents: that a city can be shaped by how its people treat one another. 

That is the deeper legacy of Thanks-Giving Square. 

But anniversaries are not only a time to look back. They are a moment of clarity about what comes next. 

Dallas stands at another defining point. 

We are a city of extraordinary strength — of energy, talent and ambition. We know how to build, grow and compete. The defining question of the next era is whether we will flourish humanly as fully as we succeed economically. Will we be known only for what we build, or for how we live together? 

We are living in a time marked by speed, division and isolation. People move through the city efficiently, yet many long for a deeper connection. We communicate constantly, yet too many feel unseen and unheard. 

This is where the next chapter of Thanks-Giving Square begins. 

Because Thanks-Giving Square is not only a place — it is an active movement. 

A movement that brings people together across differences. A movement where values like respect, civility, kindness and gratitude are experienced and carried into everyday life. A movement grounded in a simple but powerful belief. When those values are lived out, they shape a more connected and thriving city. 

We are reimagining the Square as a more open and connected district at the heart of downtown. At the same time, we are building a broader movement — one that extends into neighborhoods, schools and communities across Dallas. 

Imagine a downtown where people linger because they feel welcomed. It might begin with a child discovering a sense of belonging through learning about character and purpose or a visitor stepping into a shared space and realizing something simple but profound: their life matters, and they have a role to play in shaping the future of this city. 

Because the next 50 years of Thanks-Giving Square will be defined by how it is lived — by whether we choose to pause when life accelerates, to listen across differences, and to carry values like respect, civility, kindness and gratitude into our daily lives. 

Fifty years from now, Dallas will look very different. The skyline will evolve. Technologies will change. The rhythms of daily life will continue to shift. 

But I believe this: In the center of that future city, people will still gather in this shared sacred space. They will pause and reflect. They will carry a renewed sense of connection, responsibility and what it means to live well together. 

Because in the end, the measure of a city is not only what it builds. 

Kyle Ogden is president and CEO of the Thanks-Giving Foundation.