“TO SHAPE A CITY: Dallas After JFK”
Sunday November 19th // 1:30-3:15pm
Thanks-Giving Square
1627 Pacific Ave
This program—marking the 60th anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination—will explore the ways that Dallas sought to pivot away from its ‘City of Hate’ image and rebrand itself in the decade following the events of November 1963. Topics will include Mayor Erik Jonsson’s ‘Goals For Dallas,’ and the memorial architecture of Phillip Johnson, including Thanks-Giving Square.
Immediately following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 60 years ago this month, Dallas was plunged into a period of existential crisis. Having gained instant notoriety across the globe as “The City of Hate”—and having been shaken to its core by the collective trauma of the assassination, and its aftermath—Dallas would quickly initiate a dual process of intensive introspection and rebranding following the events of November of 1963, seeking both to rehabilitate the city’s tarnished reputation, and to salve its civic psyche.
This event—which is being co-presented by Preservation Dallas, The Sixth Floor Museum, and The Thanks-Giving Foundation—will explore a few of the more significant interventions that took place in Dallas over the decade following the assassination: the “Goals For Dallas” planning process, spearheaded by Mayor Erik Jonsson; and the establishment of The Thanks-Giving Foundation and subsequent construction of Thanks-Giving Square, designed by architect Philip Johnson. We will follow the event at Thanks-Giving Square with an optional 15 minute walk to the JFK Memorial (another Philip Johnson work) adjacent to the Old Red Courthouse.
The program for this event will include:
- A talk by preservation architect Marcel Quimby about “Goals For Dallas,”a major civic planning process initiated by Mayor Erik Jonsson
- A screening of the promotional short film “To Shape A City,” which was produced as a public introduction to Goals For Dallas
- A presentation on the development of Thanks-Giving Square by Kyle Ogden, Executive Director of The Thanks-Giving Foundation
- A question-and-answer session with our speakers, facilitated by Nicola Longford, Executive Director of The Sixth Floor Museum
- A walking tour of Thanks-Giving Square, designed by noted architect Philip Johnson
- An optional post-event walk over to the JFK Memorial Plaza—also designed by Philip Johnson—adjacent to the Old Red Courthouse
Getting To Thanks-Giving Square
- Thanks-Giving Square is well-served by all DART Rail trains,and is approximately a 2-minute walk from both the Akard and Saint Paul stations
- Street parking in the area is free on Sundays, and there are several parking garages nearby
Ticket Prices
- $5 Student tickets
- $10 Member tickets for members of Preservation Dallas and The Sixth Floor Museum, and Thanks-Giving Foundation board members and donors
- $20 Non-Member tickets for the general public