Help Us Complete the Dream
The people of Dallas came together in the 1960s and 1970s to build Thanks-Giving Square, an aspirational expression of what Dallas could be…a counterbalance to the city’s negative reputation and an inflection point towards becoming a truly world-class city. It was a hugely important project, but the work stands half-done. Now is the time to complete that dream…and dare to go farther and lead Dallas to a better future…as the City of Thanks-Giving!
We have engaged the architecture firm Gensler, the same firm that created the AT&T Discovery District, to help us plan a fabulous place and experience featuring two distinctly different, yet adjacent, spaces…a contemplative and spiritual vibe inside The Square, and a lively and communal vibe outside in The District. What will distinguish the Thanks-Giving District is the theme of welcoming and belonging. We are working to create a visitor experience unlike any other.
We are planning a major project to create a Thanks-Giving Cultural District in and around the periphery of The Square that is more inviting and more culturally vital than ever before. Concrete walls will be lowered and in some places removed, lanes of both Pacific Avenue and Ervay Street will be absorbed, and the unique visitor experience created by Philip Johnson will be preserved while updating everything to ADA standards.
Visitors to The Thanks-Giving District will be greeted by oversized stainless steel statues at each of the three corners representing The District themes of welcoming, belonging and gratitude. They will browse the broad promenade and enjoy the sense of community that will abound. They might buy coffee or a treat from one of the vendors in the stylish kiosks and enjoy one of the outdoor rooms nestled beneath the stoa that will define and anchor the new Pacific Avenue pedestrian first woonerf. Or perhaps they will sit beneath the trees on one of the two new overlooks and enjoy the beauty of The Square. The western tip of The District will home a fabulous pavilion structure where we envision a full serve restaurant.
Our guests will enter The Interior Square and sink down into the Thanks-Giving Garden, a beautiful place with a number of options for being in relationship with the natural surroundings and the ever-present ambiance of gratitude and goodwill. The guest will engage with informative audio and video stories accessed on their personal devices. Venture next into the new HUMANITARIUM, a multi-sensory theater that will screen short immersive videos on a rotating schedule. The videos will educate, challenge, provoke and encourage engagement in the profoundly caring community and the life well lived.
The visitor experience is completed by the coup de gras…a visit to the Chapel of Thanks-Giving, recognized by Southern Living Magazine as one of the South’s Most Beautiful Chapels. Inside visitors will find the magnificent Glory Window, created by French Artist Gabriel Loire and included on Architectural Digest’s list of 19 of the World’s Most Breathtaking Stained-Glass Windows. Inspired visitors will be invited to the gift shop to purchase a unique “virtue token” or some other memento of the visit.
The District will significantly increase the walkability of downtown Dallas, primarily because of a conversion of the 1600 block of Pacific Ave to a curbless, pedestrian first European style square where cars are subordinate and restricted to low speed. And because of its location in the geographic center of downtown, with ample public parking and close proximity to the downtown Dart station, the Thanks-Giving District will be the home to an inviting visitor center and will serve as the hub for downtown exploration.
The District will be a fabulous neighborhood amenity for downtown residents, enhancing Quality of Life through their engagement with the plazas and greenspaces, and will make an immediate positive impact on occupancy and rents. It will represent the best in contemporary placemaking, with Kiosks housing pop-up dining and shopping. There will be outdoor rooms and communal spaces, a restaurant or event shell on the western tip of the property. Our project will raise property values and dramatically increase the property tax revenue. The increased visitor activity will also create new sales tax revenue for the city.
How You Can Help
We are looking to both public and private sources to make the district a reality! The City of Dallas is a major supporter of this project, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments has pledged $10 million to the creation of The District, contingent on funding of $2 from private philanthropy for every $1 of public funding provided. We will be seeking $20 million of private funding to unlock the $10 million of public funding that has been pledged by NCTCOG.
We are meeting with the stalwarts of the Dallas philanthropy community to establish lead and anchoring seven-figure donors to build our campaign around. We also need a number of community leaders to assist with six figure donations to help complete the project. We have several prominent naming opportunities that we believe represent both the prominence and the values of our most successful citizens. And of course, we plan to invite Dallas’ top companies, foundations and other institutions to be a part of this important piece of Dallas culture.