From its roots in a rapidly growing yet deeply divided 1960s Dallas, Thanks-Giving Square emerged as a response to a pivotal moment in the city’s history, offering a place grounded in reflection, unity, and hope. For more than fifty years, it has stood as a steady presence at the heart of Dallas, shaping the city’s identity through milestones that reflect both its challenges and its enduring vision.

Drawn from the words of founder Peter Stewart, this first-person essay traces the vision behind Thanks-Giving Square as a shared civic space rooted in unity, reflection, and a deeply human need for gratitude. From its early interfaith inspiration to its creation in the heart of Dallas, the Square emerged as a pioneering effort to shape not just a place, but the spirit of a city.

Originally published in Legacies: A History Journal for Dallas and North Central Texas in 2000, this essay by Peter Stewart—the visionary founder of Thanks-Giving Square—offers a firsthand account of the idea and inspiration behind one of Dallas’s most meaningful civic spaces. Stewart reflects on how a simple but profound concept—creating a place dedicated to gratitude—took shape as a physical sanctuary in the heart of the city. Blending history, architecture, and spiritual purpose, he describes the Square as “the first acre” devoted to the universal human experience of thanksgiving—a space designed to draw people out of the rush of daily life and into reflection, unity, and renewal. Click through to each page of the essay.

At the heart of Thanks-Giving Square, the Chapel of Thanks-Giving rises as a quiet yet striking architectural expression of gratitude, inviting visitors into a space shaped by light, reflection, and a sense of shared humanity. Nearly fifty years after its completion, it remains a singular landmark in Dallas—one that offers not spectacle, but stillness, and a place to pause amid the pace of the city.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, we are being asked to reconsider what we mean by intelligence—and, more importantly, what we mean by being human. If thinking is no longer ours alone, then perhaps loving was never meant to be optional. Perhaps it has always been the highest expression of who we are. In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, our humanity will not be measured by how closely we resemble machines, but by how fully we live out what machines cannot: compassion, kindness, mercy, gratitude, and a genuine responsibility for one another.

On a spring evening at SMU, Utah Governor Spencer Cox and First Lady Abby Palmer Cox joined a Dallas audience for something increasingly rare in public life—not a debate to be won, but a conversation to be held. As part of The Good City™ Distinguished Voices Speaker Series, the evening explored what it means to disagree without dividing, to listen with intention, and to rebuild the habits of community in a fractured age. Grounded in Cox’s “Disagree Better” initiative and Abby Cox’s call to “show up,” the conversation offered a hopeful reminder: the work of healing civic life begins not in Washington, but in our neighborhoods, our relationships, and the choices we make every day.

In a week dominated by AI and media innovation, the clearest insight was this: the most powerful stories are still told face to face. Technology can amplify content, but it cannot replace the moment when truth is shared and recognized. In a world flooded with information, what people seek is not more content—but real connection.