- [Narrator] The Dallas Arts District is home The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, designed by renowned architect I.M.

Pei.

the Meyerson's design has been described as "music for the eyes."

Pei created a massive box of 22,000 limestone blocks inset with huge convex windows rising from ground level.

Inside, expansive lobbies and soaring open spaces communicate a feeling of swelling music.

The building's centerpiece is the Eugene McDermott concert hall, which seats more than 2,000.

Finished with terrazzo floors and cherry wood paneling, the hall feels intimate for the shoebox stage design surrounded by seating.

The focal point is one of the world's largest concert organs with more than 4,500 pipes.

Acoustician Russell Johnson was hired to make the hall sound perfect.

He placed a 30-foot tall reverberation chamber at the top of the hall with concrete doors that open and close.

Thick fabric curtains can be drawn over the walls to absorb sound.

A system of canopies weighing 42 tons and suspended above the stage can be raised and lowered.

These adjustable elements customize the sound of each performance.

The $81.5 million symphony center opened in 1989.

It was paid for with public and private funds.

Dallas businessman Ross Perot contributed $10 million stipulating that the building be named for Morton H. Meyerson, who led the project.

The Meyerson is home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

It also hosts banquets, weddings, and even memorial services.

True to Pei's wishes, it's become a part of the larger community.

Funding for The Shape of Texas is provided by Texas Society of Architects; and by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of The National Endowment for the Humanities; and The Summerlee Foundation of Dallas, Texas.