The city of Dallas is considering tearing down City Hall due to its decrepit state; potential repairs to the building could amount to over $345 million.
Actor Peter Weller, who played the titular character in the 1987 movie Robocop, which was filmed at City Hall, called out the city for allowing the building to decay over the years.
Weller, a Texas transplant and alumnus of the University of North Texas, told the Dallas Observer, “It’s criminal to let that building go like that.”
The Dallas City Hall was used as the exterior for the Omni Consumer Products headquarters in the film. Weller recalled the first time he saw the building during production.
“When I first saw that building, I was stunned,” he said. “I was not deeply into architecture and architectural history like I am now … but when I saw the building just as an emblem of civic pride and art, I was amazed by it and honored to shoot there.”
Now an art historian, Weller is none too pleased with the way the city has managed the care of the Hall over the years.
“That building is a cornerstone of modernism. It is a landmark and an emblem used in architectural books around the world. To let the interior go to waste … the Dallas civic responsibility should be spanked.”
Weller also called for something to be done to save it.
“We must save it,” he insisted. “A city like Dallas can’t just go, ‘Hey, we’re going to throw up some new metal stuff.’ The soul of Dallas speaks to saving that building!”
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