Thanks-Giving Square, Multi-faith garden and park in downtown Dallas, United States.
Thanks-Giving Square is a private park and public facility in downtown Dallas, Texas, designed by Philip Johnson and dedicated in 1976. The garden sits fifteen feet below street level behind a four-foot wall, with brick paving, shallow dark pools edged in pale stone, terraced lawns and broad flights of pale stone steps. At the western end, the Court of All Nations holds the 14-foot aluminum Ring of Thanks covered in 23-carat gold leaf, set before a 50-foot bell tower with three bronze bells.
The Thanks-Giving Foundation, founded by Dallas businessman Peter Stewart, commissioned architect Philip Johnson after a global search. Construction began in 1973 as a partnership between the foundation and the City of Dallas, and the square was dedicated in November 1976 as one of the city's three United States Bicentennial projects. President Gerald Ford later called it a major national shrine.
The Hall of Thanksgiving displays artifacts from different faiths, including Hindu, Jewish, Christian and Muslim interpretations of the 100th Psalm. Visitors can view religious texts and symbols that highlight the shared theme of gratitude across world religions.
The garden connects to an underground pedestrian network that includes restaurants and retail spaces, providing shelter from weather. Visitors can walk through covered passages to explore downtown Dallas.
The Glory Window, 73 panels of faceted glass by Gabriel Loire of Chartres, France, is one of the largest horizontally mounted stained-glass works in the world; its colors warm and brighten toward the spiral's apex. The window appears in a shot in Terrence Malick's 2011 film The Tree of Life.
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