![\"Robocop](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bpd3aw.webp.jpeg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn one of the final scenes, RoboCop destroys ED-209, and then enters OCP headquarters (Dallas City Hall).\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn one of the final scenes, RoboCop destroys ED-209, and then enters OCP headquarters (Dallas City Hall).\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
AF archive \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
For many, Dallas City Hall is an architectural marvel, a civic landmark, or simply the place you go to get a permit. But for film fans, it\u2019s something more: OCP Headquarters, the ominous corporate citadel from the 1987 sci-fi classic RoboCop<\/a>. And for the man inside the RoboCop suit, Peter Weller, the building is not just a backdrop but a cornerstone of modernism that must be saved.\u00a0<\/p>\n The building is at the center of a heated debate<\/a>, as the Dallas City Council remains divided on whether to invest in costly repairs<\/a> or sell the structure altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s criminal to let that building go like that,\u201d Weller tells the Observer, his voice filled with the same passion he brought to the screen. A proud Texas transplant and University of North Texas alumnus<\/a>, the actor holds a deep-seated appreciation for preserving the state\u2019s cultural identity, whether it\u2019s the historic Fort Worth Stockyards or the architectural brilliance of I.M. Pei\u2019s Dallas City Hall.<\/p>\n When Dallas City Hall was completed in 1978, its inverted pyramid design was a bold, futuristic statement. This vision drew director Paul Verhoeven and the RoboCop production team to Dallas. They saw the perfect embodiment of a dystopian future.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill you step up to support Dallas Observer this year?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If the\u00a0Dallas Observer\u00a0matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first saw that building, I was stunned,\u201d Weller recalls. \u201cI was not deeply into architecture and architectural history like I am now \u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n He remembers the care taken by the city during the 1986 production. \u201cThey came out and said, \u2018Make sure that nothing explodes underneath those windows!\u2019 We had to fake the demise of ED-209 [RopCop\u2019s trigger-happy robotic nemesis] because they didn\u2019t want to jeopardize the glass.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This memory makes the current debate over the building\u2019s fate, as it faces extensive and costly repairs to its HVAC, water and other systems, all the more poignant for Weller. Estimates of the cost of repairs range up to $345 million, but the idea that Dallas would consider abandoning or selling the structure is something he finds shameful.<\/p>\n \u201cFort Worth would have never let the infrastructure of that building go to hell like it has,\u201d he says. \u201cThe HVAC system and the water system fading into oblivion makes one think, \u2018Who\u2019s minding the store there?\u2019 An HOA in a condo fixes that stuff, man!\u201d<\/p>\n Weller\u2019s connection to the building transcends nostalgia. Now an art historian who lectures on the Renaissance, his appreciation has only deepened. <\/p>\n \u201cThat building is a cornerstone of modernism,\u201d he says. \u201cIt is a landmark and an emblem used in architectural books around the world. To let the interior go to waste \u2026 the Dallas civic responsibility should be spanked.\u201d<\/p>\n His argument isn\u2019t just about preserving a film location. It\u2019s a plea to honor the \u201cendemic statement of mankind\u2019s facility to self-express,\u201d exemplified by architects like Pei. He views City Hall in the same lineage as Pei\u2019s other world-renowned works, including the Louvre Pyramid and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. For Weller, letting it decay is a disservice to art, to history and to the city\u2019s and state\u2019s own cultural courage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must save it,\u201d he insists. \u201cA city like Dallas can\u2019t just go, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re going to throw up some new metal stuff.\u2019\u00a0 The soul of Dallas speaks to saving that building!\u201d<\/p>\n Weller\u2019s passion for art and history is infectious. He explores these topics regularly, from hosting History Channel\u2019s Engineering an Empire to authoring a new book on Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti<\/a> for Cambridge University Press, to sharing insights on his YouTube channel (Weller World<\/a>) and teaching his upcoming online film course (Guns, Knives and L\u2019Amore<\/a>), which delves into the artistry of Spaghetti Westerns and Italian Giallo films.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the solution? For Weller, it\u2019s simple. <\/p>\n \u201cIf it costs up to $345 million, take the loan out. Dallas has the money. Raise it, spend it. Take the loan out and restore that building.\u201d He points out that the iconic exterior is built to last. \u201cThe exterior of it is going to last forever. It\u2019s an imbalance. That\u2019s I.M. Pei\u2019s genius. It\u2019s not something that\u2019s going to tip over or erode.\u201d<\/p>\n As Weller prepares for his next major role in The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the sequel to Once Upon a Time \u2026 in Hollywood penned by Quentin Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, his thoughts remain with Dallas. His message to the city is clear: Fix the damn building. Honor its legacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In one of the final scenes, RoboCop destroys ED-209, and then enters OCP headquarters (Dallas City Hall). AF…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":371719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,2513,13239,29750,1596,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-371718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-architecture","10":"tag-city-hall","11":"tag-cover-story","12":"tag-dallas","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115531576718559577","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}