Public Square is the central plaza of Downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Based on an 18th-century New England model, it was part of the original 1796 town plat overseen by city founder General Moses Cleaveland of the Connecticut Land Company. The historical center of the city's downtown, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The 10-acre (4.0 ha) square is centered on the former intersection of Superior Avenue and Ontario Street. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square. Other landmarks adjacent to Public Square include the 1855 Old Stone Church and the former Higbee's department store made famous in the 1983 film A Christmas Story, which has been occupied by the Jack Cleveland Casino since 2012.
Originally designed as four separate squares bisected by Superior Avenue and Ontario Street, the square was redeveloped in 2016 by the city into a more pedestrian-friendly environment by routing most traffic around the square. The section of Ontario Street through the square was removed, while the section of Superior Avenue was rebuilt to only allow buses with stops for multiple bus lines of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The northern half of the square is mostly green space and includes a statue to reformist mayor Tom L. Johnson. The southern half is mostly a paved plaza area with a cafe and water feature adjacent to the 125-foot-tall (38 m) Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and a statue of Moses Cleaveland.


Yonge–Dundas Square, or Dundas Square, is a public square at the southeast corner of the intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street East in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Designed by Brown and Storey Architects, the square was conceived in 1997 as part of revitalizing the intersection. Since its completion in 2002, the square has hosted many public events, performances and art displays, establishing itself as a prominent landmark in Toronto and one of the city's prime tourist attractions. Central to the Downtown Yonge entertainment and shopping district, the square is owned by the city and is the first public square in Canada to be maintained through a public-private partnership. The intersection is one of the busiest in Canada, with over 100,000 people crossing the city's first pedestrian scramble daily.
Surrounding the square are other major landmarks, including the Toronto Eaton Centre, Ed Mirvish Theatre, and the Citytv building. The square is accessible by the Toronto subway at Dundas station and is connected to the PATH. The square is continuously illuminated by large billboard screens and corporate logos, which has led to comparison of the square with Times Square in New York City and Piccadilly Circus in London.


In 1998, as part of its Yonge Street Regeneration Project, Toronto City Council approved the expropriation and demolition of the buildings on the site and the construction of Yonge–Dundas Square. The square is a joint project of the city, residents, the McGill Granby Association, the Downtown Yonge Business and Resident Association, and the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area, an association of local businesses. This effort was spearheaded by Councillor Kyle Rae, Robert Sniderman of the Senator Restaurant, and Arron Barberian of Barberian's Steak House. Ron Soskolne was retained in 1995 to head up the planning of the regeneration project, and went on to become the Chair of the Board of Management for the first decade of the Square's operation. Designed by Brown + Storey Architects, the square was intended as a new public space in Toronto, somewhat akin to Nathan Phillips Square, designed by Viljo Revell for New City Hall.
In 1999, the square's design received the Award of Excellence for significant building in the design stage by the Canadian Architect magazine, in recognition of it being an outstanding example of contemporary architecture. The next year, Architecture magazine commended the square as a new form of urban space with great presence ... pushes the limits of invention and originality.
Unlike Nathan Phillips Square, however, Yonge–Dundas Square is operated by a separate Board of Management. The site is owned by the City and administered by a Board of Management. The board of management for Yonge–Dundas Square was established in 2001, and is the first public–private partnership in Canada to operate a public square. In 2006, the square's Wi-Fi hotspot, set up by Wireless Toronto, was voted the best in the city.
Some claim that the intersection is the busiest in Canada, with over 56 million people passing through annually. The square's development is cited as modelling New York's Times Square, Tokyo's Shibuya district, and London's Piccadilly Circus. To manage the volume of pedestrians, a pedestrian scramble was installed in August 2008.
The square frequently serves as a venue for public events connected to the city's cultural festivals, including NXNE, the Toronto International Film Festival, Luminato, Nuit blanche and Pride Week. On June 29, 2014, the square hosted the official closing ceremonies of WorldPride.
The square is property of the City of Toronto and regulated by Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 636: Public Squares. These regulations govern activities in the square and the use of the property. As of April 2014, smoking is prohibited on the entire property of the square.
Following controversy over the namesake of Dundas Street, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in delaying the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, Toronto City Council voted in 2021 to rename Dundas Street and other civic assets named after Dundas - such as Yonge-Dundas Square. A new name will be chosen in April 2022.


Seoul Plaza is a central plaza located in front of Seoul City Hall at Taepyeongno, Jung-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It was reopened on 1 May 2004, by Seoul Metropolitan Government, with the purpose of providing the public an open space. It is part of the City's plans for environmentally friendly renovation projects such as the Cheonggye Stream and Gwanghwamun Plaza.


The site was originally a traffic square with a 40-year-old fountain that was demolished and the nearby space was renovated. Seoul Plaza is elliptical in shape, covering 3,995 pyeong (13,207 m²) in total and 1,904 pyeong (6,294 m²) for grass area. An underground water tank was installed along with 48 lighting around the grass square. The underground tank stores rain water for use in the sprinklers on the lawn.
The plaza has been the site of protests against US beef imports in South Korea, and Korea Queer Culture Festival. The plaza was also the Starting Line of The Amazing Race Australia 4.


The Plaza de Castilla (English: "Castile Square") is a roundabout in the north of Madrid, Spain.


Plaza de la Merced is a public square located in the barrio La Merced in central Málaga, Spain.
The plaza has been a part of the city since the city of Málaga's Roman era, and has been operating as a town market place since at least the fifteenth century.
It is one of the largest public squares in Málaga’s city center, and is also known for containing Pablo Picasso's childhood home.


Jemaa el-Fnaa (Arabic: ساحة جامع الفناء Sāḥat Jāmiʾ al-Fanāʾ, also Jemaa el-Fna, Djema el-Fna or Djemaa el-Fnaa) is a square and market place in Marrakesh's medina quarter (old city). It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists.


The origin of its name is unclear: jamaa means "congregation" or "mosque" in Arabic, probably referring to a destroyed mosque on the site. Fnaʼ or fanâʼ can mean "death/extinction" or "a courtyard, space in front of a building". "finâʼ in Arabic commonly means "open area"; a straight translation would be "the gathering/congregation area". Other meanings could be "The assembly of death," or "The Mosque at the End of the World". Another explanation is that it refers to a mosque with a distinctive courtyard or square in front of it. A third translation is "assembly of the dead", referring to public executions on the plaza around 1050 CE.
One specific explanation endorsed by modern historians comes from historical reports that the powerful Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (ruled 1578–1603) had embarked on the construction of a monumental Friday mosque in the middle of the square. However, due to a downturn in fortunes (probably outbreaks of the plague) the sultan was forced to abandon the project part-way through. The mosque thus remained unfinished and fell into ruins. The ruined outline of its walls was apparently still visible in the 19th century and corresponded roughly to the current site of the "Souk Jdid" (the "new souk" just north of the food-stalls). In this way, "jamaa al-fna' " ostensibly refers to the place of the "ruined mosque". The name "Jamaa al-Fna' " appears in historical records for the first time in the 17th-century chronicle of the West African historian Abderrahman as-Sa'idi. As-Sa'idi claimed that the intended name of al-Mansour's unfinished mosque was jamaa al-hna, meaning "Mosque of Tranquility", but that after its abandonment it came to be known, by popular irony, as the "Mosque of ruination/annihilation", or jamaa al-fana' (the word fana' in this case meaning a state of being extinguished or totally ruined).


Dizengoff Square or Dizengoff Circus (Hebrew: כִּכָּר דִיזֶנְגוֹף, fully Zina Dizengoff Square, כִּכָּר צִינָה דִיזֶנְגוֹף, Kikar Tsina Dizengof) is an iconic public square in Tel Aviv, on the corner of Dizengoff Street, Reines Street, and Pinsker Street. One of the city's main squares, it was built in 1934 and inaugurated in 1938.


Piazza della Repubblica is a circular piazza in Rome, at the summit of the Viminal Hill, next to the Termini station.  On it is to be found Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.  It is served by the Repubblica – Teatro dell'Opera Metro station. From the square starts one of the main streets of Rome, Via Nazionale.
The former name of the piazza, Piazza dell'Esedra, still very common today, originates in the large exedra of the baths of Diocletian, which gives the piazza its shape. The exedra present in the baths of Diocletian was incorporated into the gardens built by Cardinal Jean du Bellay; on his death in 1560, the land was purchased by Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, and eventually came into the possession of Cardinal Alessandro Sforza in 1579. Between 1598 and 1600 the exedra was converted into a church. Then, in 1885, the Via Nazionale cut through the centre of this structure.
The porticos around the piazza, built in 1887–98 by Gaetano Koch, were in memory of the ancient buildings on the same sites, while the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri on the piazza is based on a wing of the baths (with its architect Michelangelo, using the tepidarium as one of the wings of its spacious Greek cross plan).


Plaza de Colón (Columbus Square, in English) is located in the encounter of Chamberí, Centro and Salamanca districts of Madrid, Spain. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón.


The Plaza Murillo is the central plaza of the city of La Paz and the open space most connected to the political life of Bolivia. Prominent buildings on the plaza include the Presidential Palace, National Congress of Bolivia, and the Cathedral of La Paz (or more formally, the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, La Paz). It is located in the old town, or Casco Viejo, of the city and is surrounded by Socabaya Street to the west, Ayacucho Street to the east, Comercio Street to the south, and a continuation of Ingavi and Ballivan Streets to the north.


The plaza was designed in 1558 as part of the rectilinear grid of La Paz by Juan Gutiérrez Paniagua, who was appointed by Corregidor Ignacio de Aranda, to order the city on the north bank of the Choqueyapu River. This region of the city was opposite the existing Spanish settlement, which had numbered about 200 Spaniards with some 5,000 tributary indigenous residents. The Plaza Mayor quickly supplanted the previous central square of the Spaniards, which is now called Plaza Alonso de Mendoza. Colonial buildings that were built surrounding the plaza include the Cabildo (or city government building, including a jail), a building of the Society of Jesus, the Cathedral, the Royal Treasury (Cajas Reales), and the Bishop's Residence (Casa Obispal).
The plaza has been a key site for battles for political power in Bolivia. It was fought over or defended in numerous revolutionary conflicts, including in 1809, 1811, 1814, 1862, 1865, 1871, 1898, 1946, 1952, and 2002. Independence era leaders Pedro Domingo Murillo, Juan Antonio Figueroa, Basilio Catacora, Buenaventura Bueno, Melchor Jiménez, Mariano Graneros, Apolinar Jaén, Gregorio García Lanza, Juan Bautista Sagárnaga, Juan Cordero and Simona Manzaneda were all killed on or near the plaza. In the 1946 uprising against Gualberto Villarroel, he was hung from a lamppost in the plaza.


The Plaza was originally named the Plaza Mayor (Greatest/Main Plaza) after its construction. It was later known during the colonial period as the Plaza de Armas. Following independence, it was renamed the July 16 Plaza (Plaza 16 de Julio) on February 3, 1902, in honor of Pedro Murillo, captured and hung by Spanish troops in January 1810.


Konak Square (Turkish: Konak Meydanı) is a busy square at the southern end of Atatürk Avenue in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. The square is the busiest part of the city, as Konak is the main place of İzmir. The square is named after the Vali Konağı (Governor's Mansion) of İzmir Province, which is located here (konak means mansion in Turkish.)


Gwanghwamun Plaza (Korean: 광화문광장; Hanja: 光化門廣場, also known as Gwanghwamun Square) is a public open space on Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The plaza was opened on 1 August 2009 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and is part of the City's plans for environmentally friendly renovation projects such as the Cheonggye Stream and Seoul Plaza. It is also historically significant as the location of royal administrative buildings, known as Yukjo-geori or Street of Six Ministries; and features statues of Admiral Yi Sun-sin of Joseon Dynasty and King Sejong the Great of Joseon. The goal of opening and reconstructing this plaza is to make it a historical and cultural place for the common citizen.


The area of the Gwanghwamun Plaza has a long history. It has been a public space and road for centuries of Korean history. Sometime in the 20th century it was converted into a 16-lane roadway.
A new pedestrian-friendly open downtown urban space was first announced in February 2004, along with projects for Namdaemun and Seoul Plaza. In December 2006, further plans for the plaza were announced. The project, in conjunction with the restoration of Gwanghwamun, was carried out by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea and scheduled for completion by August 2009. Construction of the plaza was originally scheduled to begin in February 2008, however it was delayed because of opposition from the National Police Agency, who were concerned that the plaza could be abused as a venue for mass protests. Construction commenced on 23 April 2008, after the Government decreed it a demonstration-free zone.
The plans included moving the old King Sejong statue from Deoksugung to the Plaza. However, after surveys of citizens and experts, it was decided to commission a new statue of King Sejong in a sitting position and chose the design in a competition between a shortlist of artists recommended by the Korean Fine Arts Association and universities.
The plaza was opened on 1 August 2009 after a renovation period of 15 months, which downsized the 600-meter Sejongno from 16 lanes to 10 lanes of traffic, at a cost of ₩44.5 billion. It is in front of Gwanghwamun and stretches south from the three-way intersection, along the front of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts on the west side and Kyobo Book Centre on the east side, to the Sejong-ro intersection, where the statue of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin stands. At its opening, the plaza was covered with a 162 m long and 17.5 m wide flower carpet, with 224,537 flowers representing the number of days from when Seoul was declared the capital on 28 October 1394, to the opening of the plaza on 1 August 2009.
From end of 2020 to August 2022, Gwanghwamun Plaza was closed and redesigned. During the renovation, the street alignment has been changed and the plaza has been expanded. It was reopened on 6 August 2022.


The Plaza Sotomayor is a plaza in Valparaíso, Chile. It is named after Rafael Sotomayor. The square is lined by buildings occupying full block-fronts of the streets that flank it. The focus of the square is the monument that honors the Chilean sailors who fell during the Battle of Iquique and the Battle of Punta Gruesa. The plaza and surrounding buildings was designated a Zona Típica (historic district) on January 23, 1979.
At the northeastern side of the square are two similar towers, which create a sort of gate entrance to the port from the city. On the opposite side is the building that housed the Intendencia de Valparaíso, which currently is home to the headquarters of the Chilean Navy. The building used by the CSAV and the building that houses the National Council of Culture and the Arts also face the plaza.
Close to the station is the western terminus station of the Valparaíso Metro, that replaced the old railway station.


Sotomayor Square originally called Plaza de la Aduana (Customs Square), then Plaza del Palacio (Palace Square) and later Plaza Intendencia (Intendancy Square), is the most important civic square in Valparaíso, which was built over previous sealand. The history of the city lays in it, consisting of buildings from different periods that merge into one big area. It didn't always have a trapezoid shape as it does today, which helps to create a different perspective effect, neither had the decisive axis between the main building — the former intendancy building — nor its view of the ocean. Originally, it was an esplanade in which filthy water descended sluggishly through San Agustín (Tomás Ramos) gorge, standing next to the current Plaza de la Justicia (Justice Square). Also, a large house near to Cerro Cordillera (Cordillera Hill) played the role of customs.
On 10 June 1825 a storm broke the cables of the frigate Valdivia and stranded her on the beach that existed here. The authorities filled the hulk with sand in order to use it as a base for Valparaiso's first wharf for passengers and light cargo. Subsequently, in 1831, the passengers’ wharf started to be built, whose remains can be seen today at the museum right under the square.
After the construction of the first customs building, the most representative building of the city for almost seventy years, a square started to be built next to it. Although it was smaller and the building line was several meters ahead of the current facades, in the mid-century the latter was extended to Condell Street. In addition, some warehouses were built around it and also hotels and inns.
In 1855 came into existence in this square the first bank in Chile called the Banco de Depósitos y Descuentos de Valparaíso (The Deposits and Discounts Bank of Valparaíso), occupying part of the current square in front of the land of the present National Council of Culture and the Arts. The Bolsa de Comercio building was constructed with wood and cane from Guayaquil in 1858 and designed by the architect Juan Berg, who created a porch to access the city from the sea. The Bolsa de Comercio was inaugurated in the same year, 6 May with a special ceremony led by the President of Chile, Manuel Montt. Additionally, in the year 1866, the city of Valparaíso was bombed by The Spanish Armada due to a trade dispute between Spain and Peru. Although The Spanish Armada tried to burn down the Bolsa de Comercio, the building survived the attack and it was repaired afterwards. The construction of the first Post Office, next to the Bank in the corner of the Aduana (Prat) Street, and the fire department building, between Blanco and Cochrane Streets, both dating from 1868, contributed decisively to the characterization of the square as a civic one. These were neoclassical buildings that would be later replaced in the first half of the 20th century by modern architecture but preserving its early use.
In 1873, the square was already cobbled when the first sculpture of Valparaíso was built in 12 April, commemorating the Scottish seamen Lord Thomas Cochrane. In 1876, the railway crossed around the shore in front of the wharf and went from the current Errázuriz Street towards the Barrio Puerto (Port's Neighbourhood). In the same year, the construction of the Rose Company building took place, which was called Innes, and then Grace, whose facades remained until today as part of the Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores’ building. In 1885, the Bolsa de Comercio (The Stock Exchange) located in Valparaíso square right in front of the Hotel Reina Victoria (Queen Victoria Hotel) had to be demolished to install in its place the great monument to the fallen heroes in the Battle of Iquique and the crypt of the remains of Arturo Prat and his men, which would be inaugurated on 21 May 1886. The following year, a neoclassical building was built on the grounds of the current port station that was meant to serve as the administration of the Navy and other public uses, and would remain so until 1920. In 1883, a comfortable passengers’ wharf was ordered to be built. Made of wood and metal with hexagonal shape, this passengers’ wharf also known as Muelle Prat (Prat wharf), would last until 1912 when it was swept away by a storm. Until the early 20th century there was still a building in front of the Queen Victoria Hotel occupying part of the Estación Puerto (Port Station) and the customs building, which were built in the 30s.
In 2000, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (es) inaugurated the work of remodeling the square, directed by the architect Harken Jensen, where a concession was granted for subterranean parking lots, and additionally, a museum was inaugurated due to archeological findings in the same place. In 2004, the design of the square extends to the Prat Wharf, turning it into a touristic walkway from which was possible to embark in order to cross the roadstead of Valparaíso from the sea. At the Prat wharf is possible to see a replica of the Santiaguillo (es), a small sailing boat which was the first Spaniard vessel to dock in this bay called Quintil.
The first wharf completed in 1883 corresponds to the passengers’ wharf, made of wood and metal with hexagonal shape.


The Mont des Arts (French, [mɔ̃dɛzaʁ]) or Kunstberg (Dutch, [ˈkʏnzdbɛr(ə)x] (listen)), meaning "Hill/Mount of the Arts", is an urban complex and historic site in central Brussels, Belgium, including the Royal Library of Belgium (KBR), the National Archives of Belgium, the Square – Brussels Meeting Centre, and a public garden.
This site is located between the Rue Montagne de la Cour/Hofbergstraat and the Place Royale/Koningsplein in its "upper" part, and the Boulevard de l'Empereur/Keizerslaan and the Place de l'Albertine/Albertinaplein in its "lower" part. It is served by Brussels Central Station.


Gammel Strand (modern Danish for "old beach"; originally meant "the old shoreline", i.e. prior to land reclamations) is a street and public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. On the south side it borders on the narrow Slotsholmens Canal while the north side is lined by a row of brightly coloured houses from the 18th and 19th century. Across the canal, Thorvaldsens Museum and Christiansborg Palace are seen on the island Slotsholmen.
The art gallery Kunstforeningen and the Ministry of Culture are the most notable institutions facing the street.


Most of the houses have been rebuilt and extended with an extra story over the years and exhibit a multitude of different styles. In spite of this the overall impression is very harmonic, and Gammel Strand is now considered one of the most iconic urban spaces in Copenhagen.
The oldest house in the street is No. 48. Built in 1750 to the design of Philip de Lange, it survived the fire of 1795 without severe damage. In 1796 it was extended with an extra story. Today it houses the Kunstforeningen art gallery.


Lindenhof (literally: Tilia court) is named after the Tilia trees planted there probably in the 13th century AD by the House of Rapperswil. As of today, it's a public square, a park respectively an arboretum and a playground, known for its remarkable view over both parts of the lake: Zürichsee, Lützelau and Ufnau island, and Zimmerberg–Albis–Felsenegg–Uetliberg and Pfannenstiel towards Zürich, as well as Obersee and Buechberg, Speer–Chüemettler–Federispitz mountains  towards the Glarus Alps, and also the Seedamm area and the reconstruction of the lake bridge towards Hurden–Frauenwinkel–Etzel (mountain). Around the hill, there leads the so-called Bühler-Allee and some small pathways on lakeshore, where the Rapperswil lido (Seebad) is also located.
At Schlosshügel the Deer park towards Kempratnerbucht is located, established in 1871; it houses usually between 10 and 20 Dama dama's. Endingen houses the early 17th-century Capuchine monastery, and the medieval fortifications. At the Schlossberg vineyard (first mentioned in 981 AD) and at the Einsiedlerhaus there are also the rose gardens situated. Hintergasse at the southernly base of the hill, is probably the oldest street in Rapperswil, and is flanked by medieval houses and estates, and further small private Rose gardens. Among other traditions, Eis-zwei-Geissebei is celebrated on Lindenhof, at the Rathaus and Castle when in the evening all regional Guggenmusik (carnival marching bands) gather to celebrate a roaring concert.
The Rapperswil Castle, built in the early 13th century by Rudolf II and Rudolf II von Rapperswil, houses the Polenmuseum and the Poland memorial column. Inside the castle's palais, there is located the Schloss Restaurant having a rather expensive cuisine, but there's yet no tourist shop, kiosk or snack bar. Just a few meters easterly of the three-cornered castle, the about 800 years old Stadtpfarrkirche (parish church) and its cemetery chapel named Liebfrauenkapelle (built in 1489) are situated at the Herrenberg street, as well as the Stadtmuseum Rapperswil-Jona, a former small castle, and later part of the 15th-century northeasterly town wall towards Engelplatz. The latter is the former late medieval bastion and the eastern end of the Lindenhof hill and Rapperswil's historical core.


City Square is a paved area north of Leeds railway station at the junction of Park Row to the east and Wellington Street to the south. It is a triangular area where six roads meet: Infirmary Street and Park Row to the north, Boar Lane and Bishopsgate Street to the south-east, and Quebec Street and Wellington Street to the south-west.  The only building with a direct frontage is the former General Post Office, on the north-west side.


Proposals were made in 1893 to transform the area in front of the station. The demolition of Leeds' Coloured Cloth Hall and Quebec House gave an open space in which a new General Post Office was constructed in 1896 with a public space in front. One proposal was to name the development after John Smeaton, the famous local engineer, but the council unanimously opted to call it City Square, as Leeds was being made a city that year. The initial plan had tramway waiting rooms, and public lavatories welcoming new visitors to Leeds. However, Colonel Thomas Walter Harding (Lord Mayor of Leeds between 1898-9) was so dismayed that he commissioned William Bakewell to design a square more in the style of an Italian piazza, with statues and trees.
In the Second World War, during an air raid on Leeds, the Luftwaffe bombed City Square. It was at the time the site of a public air raid shelter, which did not withstand the bombing and was significantly damaged.
In 1997, traffic that went through the City Square, mainly buses and taxis, was diverted to the Leeds City Centre "Loop" traffic scheme. The City Square area was refurbished in 2003, which included closing off one side of the square to traffic, rearranging the statues and adding fountains and traditional street furniture to the square.  The fountains were removed in 2013.


Congo Square (French: Place Congo) is an open space, now within Louis Armstrong Park, which is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street north of the French Quarter. The square is famous for its influence on the history of African American music, especially jazz.


In Louisiana's French and Spanish colonial era of the 18th century, enslaved Africans were commonly allowed Sundays off from their work. Although Code Noir was implemented in 1724, giving enslaved Africans the day off on Sundays, there were no laws in place giving them the right to congregate. Despite constant threat to these congregations, they often gathered in remote and public places such as along levees, in public squares, in backyards, and anywhere they could find. On Bayou St. John at a clearing called "la place congo" the various ethnic or cultural groups of Colonial Louisiana traded and socialized. It was not until 1817 that the mayor of New Orleans issued a city ordinance that restricted any kind of gathering of enslaved Africans to the one location of Congo Square. They were allowed to gather in the  "Place des Nègres", "Place Publique", later "Circus Square" or informally "Place Congo"  at the "back of town" (across Rampart Street from the French Quarter), where the enslaved would set up a market, sing, dance, and play music. This singing, dancing and playing started as a byproduct of the original market during the French reign. At the time the enslaved could purchase their freedom and could freely buy and sell goods in the square in order to raise money to escape slavery.
The tradition continued after the city became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase.  As African music had been suppressed in the Protestant colonies and states, the weekly gatherings at Congo Square became a famous site for visitors from elsewhere in the U.S.  In addition, because of the immigration of refugees (some bringing enslaved Africans) from the Haitian Revolution, New Orleans received thousands of additional Africans and Creoles in the early years of the 19th century.  They reinforced African traditions in the city, in music as in other areas.  Many visitors were amazed at the African-style dancing and music.  Observers heard the beat of the bamboulas and wail of the banzas, and saw the multitude of African dances that had survived through the years. There were a variety of dances that could be seen in Congo Square including the Bamboula, Calinda, Congo, Carabine and Juba. The rhythms played at Congo square can still be heard today in New Orleans jazz funerals, second lines and Mardi Gras Indians parades.
Townsfolk would gather around the square on Sunday afternoons to watch the dancing.  In 1819, the architect Benjamin Latrobe, a visitor to the city, wrote about the celebrations in his journal. Although he found them "savage", he was amazed at the sight of 500-600 unsupervised slaves who assembled for dancing.  He described them as ornamented with a number of tails of the smaller wild beasts, with fringes, ribbons, little bells, and shells and balls, jingling and flirting about the performers' legs and arms.  The women, one onlooker reported, wore, each according to her means, the newest fashions in silk, gauze, muslin, and percale dresses. The males covered themselves in oriental and Indian dress and covered themselves only with a sash of the same sort wrapped around the body.  Except for that, they went naked.
One witness noted that clusters of onlookers, musicians, and dancers represented tribal groupings, with each nation taking their place in different parts of the square. The musicians used a range of instruments from available cultures: drums, gourds, banjo-like instruments, and quillpipes made from reeds strung together like pan flutes, as well as marimbas and European instruments such as the violin, tambourines, and triangles. Gradually, the music in the square gained more European influence as enslaved English-speaking Africans danced to songs like “Old Virginia Never Tire.” This mix of African and European styles helped create African American culture.
Creole composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk incorporated rhythms and tunes he heard in Congo Square into some of his compositions, like his famous Bamboula, Op. 2.
As harsher United States practices of slavery replaced the more lenient French colonial style, the gatherings of enslaved Africans declined. Although no recorded date of the last of these dances in the square exists, the practice seems to have stopped more than a decade before the end of slavery with the American Civil War.


The Naschmarkt is Vienna's most popular market. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long.
The Naschmarkt has existed since the 16th century when mainly milk bottles were sold (as milk bottles were made out of ash (wood from an ash tree), "Asch" (German for "ash") led to the name "Aschenmarkt"). From 1793 onwards, all fruits and vegetables brought to Vienna with carts had to be sold there, while goods arriving on the Danube were sold elsewhere. Nowadays, one can buy fresh fruit and vegetables from around the world, exotic herbs, cheese, baked goods such as bread, kaiser rolls, torte, meats, and seafood. There are also many small restaurants which offer e.g. sushi, kebab, seafood, traditional Viennese food such as Kaiserschmarrn or Palatschinken (rolled up crepes) and stalls which offer clothes and accessories. Since 1977, the market extends further along the Wienzeile to an adjacent area every Saturday, when a flea market takes place there.
The atmosphere of the Naschmarkt is famous far beyond the borders of Vienna, and large numbers of tourists visit the market every year.


Piața Unirii (Romanian for Union Square) is the largest and most important squares in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca. The square is one of the largest in Romania, with dimensions of 220 m by 160 m.  The central district of the city spreads out from this square. The St. Michael's Church, with the highest church tower in Romania (80m), is the second largest Gothic-style church in Romania. The church was constructed in two phases. The first from 1316 to 1390 and the second from 1410 to 1487. Also, the statue of King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus is located here.
The old town hall, the National Museum of Art, the Josika Palace, and the Rhédey palace can also be found here.
The Piața Unirii was originally called Nagypiac in Hungarian (Piața Mare in Romanian), meaning "Big Market Square", as opposed to the Kispiac ("Little Market Square"), which is now the Museum Square.


The Praça da Figueira (Portuguese: [ˈpɾasɐ ðɐ fiˈɣɐjɾɐ], Square of the Fig Tree) is a large square in the centre of Lisbon, in Portugal. It is part of the Lisbon Baixa, the area of the city reurbanised after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
In the 16th century the square did not exist, and most of its area was occupied by the Hospital Real de Todos os Santos (All-Saints Royal Hospital), the most important in the city. In 1755, after the great earthquake which destroyed most of Lisbon, the hospital was greatly damaged. It was demolished around 1775.
The large area previously occupied by the hospital in the Baixa was turned into an open market square. Around 1885, a large covered market of 8,000 m² was built. This market existed until 1949, when it was demolished. Since then the square has been an open space.
In 1971 a bronze equestrian statue representing King John I (1357–1433), by sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida, was inaugurated in the square. The monument also carries medallions with the effigies of Nuno Álvares Pereira and João das Regras, two key characters in the 1385 Revolution that brought John I to power.
In 1999/2000, during the last renovation of the square, the statue was relocated from the middle to a corner of the square, in order to make it visible from the Praça do Comércio. The original renovation project also called for the buildings to be completely covered with ceramic tiles (azulejos) by Daciano Costa, which has not been done.
The Praça da Figueira has a very uniform profile, with four-storey buildings dating from the rebuilding of the Baixa Pombalina. The buildings are occupied by hotels, cafés, and several shops. It is also an important traffic hub, with bus and metro stops.


Cathedral Square is a public square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Cathedral Square and precinct is situated adjacent to Glasgow Cathedral on High Street/Castle Street at John Knox Street. Nearby are many famous Glasgow Landmarks such as Provand's Lordship, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Necropolis, the ceremonial Barony Hall of Strathclyde University, and the Glasgow Evangelical Church at the Square. It is one of six public squares and precincts in the city centre.
Prior to the 1870s the post-medieval clutter of congested dwellings and workshops, on the remaining debris of the long-gone Bishop's Castle, where Castle Street is today, hampered access to the Infirmary, with its small Infirmary Square, and Cathedral. The new City Improvement Trust, under architect and city superintendent John Carrick,
started to clear the hovels near Glasgow Cross and erect new tenements up the High Street and Castle Street. A new road was fully opened, John Knox Street, curving its way past the Necropolis entrances, covering over the Molendinar Burn, and down to Duke Street, close to Wellpark Brewery at the Drygate. Cathedral Square Gardens opened in 1879, formed by John Carrick and landscaped by Duncan McMillan. In 1890 a decorative fountain, the Steven Fountain, was placed in the centre, the same year as the Doulton Fountain in Glasgow Green. As well as being a restful place the square has been used for political gatherings.


Place Émilie-Gamelin (known informally as Berri Square, French: Square Berri) is a city square in central Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was created to mark the 350th anniversary of the city. Bordered by Berri Street, Saint Hubert Street, Sainte Catherine Street, and De Maisonneuve Boulevard, the square is adjacent to the entrances of transportation hubs Berri-UQAM Metro Station and the former Station centrale d'autobus, as well as the Université du Québec à Montréal and the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec.
For years Place Émilie-Gamelin and the surrounding area held a bad reputation for drug sales and homelessness, something the city has tried to progressively change.


The Münchner Freiheit (called Münchener Freiheit until 1998) is a square in Munich's Schwabing, near the English Garden. It is a popular tourist attraction, especially during winter when one of Munich's largest Christmas markets takes place.
The square's Munich U-Bahn station is Münchner Freiheit.
A German pop group, Münchener Freiheit, derived their name from the location, and have retained the original spelling.


The square at Leopoldstraße was originally known as Feilitzsch Platz, after a Bavarian interior minister. In 1933 it was renamed Danziger Freiheit or "Danzig freedom", in expression of the wish to see the city of Danzig returned to German rule. In tribute to an anti-Nazi resistance group, Freiheitsaktion Bayern, who had taken over two Munich radio towers in 1945, the name Münchener Freiheit or "Munich freedom" was selected following the war. The alternative spelling Münchner Freiheit was adopted by the city council in 1998 though Münchener Freiheit remains popular.


Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much larger Portman Estate to the west; of Harley Street which runs an alike distance; of Chandos Street which runs for one block and; of Cavendish Place which runs the same. The south side itself is modern: the rear façade and accesses to a flagship department store and office block. On the ground floors facing are Comptoir Libanais, Royal Bank of Scotland and Pret a Manger premises.
Oxford Circus 150m south-east is where two main shopping streets meet. Only the south is broken by a full-width street, Holles Street. which also runs one block only; the north is broken by Dean's Mews in which Nos. 11–13 exist, the office conversion of a nunnery, retaining a chapel in its rear.
Planning permission was granted in April 2020 for a subterranean health and wellbeing development of 280,000 square feet across four storeys below ground level.


It was first laid out for the 2nd Earl of Oxford by architect John Prince, beginning in 1717 as the first development on the Earl's London estate.  It was named after the Earl's wife Henrietta Cavendish-Holles, but the bursting of the South Sea Bubble delayed further work.  It included nobles' London rentals and longer leases including James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos (whose house was never completed), Princess Amelia (in which house she died), and the Lane Baronets. The heir to the main landowner, Duke of Portland lived his London life here. It measures 408 to 420 feet across.
A blue plaque unveiled in 1951 commemorates H. H. Asquith,  the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916, having long lived at No. 20. Another is to Quintin Hogg, founder of what is now the University of Westminster and the flagship building of the university backs on to his former family home.  The square hosts the Royal College of Nursing headquarters and the West London Synagogue. Near to Harley Street, some of the grand townhouses accommodate medical practices such as those of James Paget.  Artist Robert William Sievier lived on the square, and David Williams, founder of the Royal Literary Fund, ran a chapel.  Frances Fanshawe, wife of Rev. Dr. Abraham Blackborne, grandson of Richard Levett, Lord Mayor of London, died at her home on Margaret Street, an approach way, in 1795 and was buried at Kew.
The square features in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as the home of Dr Lanyon, Jekyll's former best friend.
The bronze statue on the south side is of (William) George Frederick Cavendish Bentinck (1802–1848). Known simply as Lord George Bentinck, he was MP for King's Lynn, Norfolk. The statue is by Thomas Campbell and was erected in 1848. A statue of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland was erected in 1770, following his defeat of Charles Edward Stuart at Culloden in 1746, but was removed in the 1860s after public opinion of him had changed. The plinth remained empty until 2012, when it housed a temporary artwork Written in Soap, A Plinth Project.
The square was targeted on 17 December 1992 by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, 15 minutes after another small bomb at John Lewis. Four people were injured in total.


Piazza Venezia (Italian: [ˈpjattsa veˈnɛttsja]) is a central hub of Rome, Italy, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via del Corso. It takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia, built by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo (later Pope Paul II) alongside the church of Saint Mark, the patron saint of Venice. The Palazzo Venezia served as the embassy of the Republic of Venice in Rome.


Malieveld ( [ˈmaːlivɛlt] (listen), literally "pall-mall field") is a large grass field in the city center of The Hague, Netherlands, located opposite the central train station. The field is widely known in the Netherlands for being the location of many large-scale demonstrations. It is also used for festivals, funfairs, concerts and other big events.


Hackescher Markt ("Hacke's Market") is a square in the central Mitte locality of Berlin, Germany, situated at the eastern end of Oranienburger Strasse. It is an important transport hub and a starting point for the city's nightlife.


Originally a marsh north of the city fortifications on the road to Spandau, the Prussian king Frederick the Great about 1750 had a market square laid out under the surveillance of Townmajor Hans Christoph Friedrich Graf von Hacke in the course of a northern town expansion. It was officially named after Hacke on 23 July 1840.
In 1882 the area received access to the Berlin Stadtbahn railway line at Berlin Hackescher Markt station, then called Börse after the nearby stock exchange. The station was renamed Marx-Engels-Platz during the GDR era.
Formerly a rather neglected area, Hackescher Markt with its old buildings has developed into a cultural and commercial centre after German reunification, famous for its nightlife centered on the Hackesche Höfe courtyard ensemble. The square is also served by several tramway and night bus lines. A weekly market is still held every Thursday and Saturday.


Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea, and is named after the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung. The square was constructed in 1954 according to a master plan for reconstructing the capital after the destruction of the Korean War. It was opened in August 1954. The square is located on the foot of the Namsan Hill, west bank of the Taedong River, directly opposite the Juche Tower on the other side of the river. It is the 37th largest square in the world, having an area of about 75,000 square metres (807,293 square feet) which can accommodate a rally of more than 100,000 people.  The square has a great cultural significance, as it is a common gathering place for rallies, dances and military parades and is often featured in media concerning North Korea.


The Kim Il-sung Square is at the centre of Pyongyang on the west bank of the Taedong River. It is similar in form and design to the Tiananmen Square in Beijing and is used for the same purposes. Since the completion of the square, multiple parades have been held to commemorate many different events and also to show the world the military capabilities of North Korea. The Kim Il-sung Square is architecturally more refined with its dramatic riverside setting. If an observer stands in the square, the Tower of the Juche Idea on the opposite bank appears to be located directly towards the west end of the square, although it is actually across the Taedong River, as with the Workers' Party Monument and the Mansudae Grand Monument. This optical effect is created because the square is a few meters lower in the centre when compared to the side near the Taedong River. Surrounding the square are a number of government buildings, with the Great People's Study House located at the east end of the square.
Portraits of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin once hung on one of the buildings surrounding the square, but were taken down sometime in 2012. During Kim Jong-il's rule, only Kim Il-sung hung on these buildings, although his portrait on the building below the flag of the DPRK was removed. When Kim Jong-il died, his portrait was added to the buildings in commemoration. At the south end are two flag poles which were installed in 2013 for use in national events.
The old ceremonial grandstand on the square's south side was renovated in 2020.
Under the square, there is a department store selling products such as toys.
Kim Il-sung Square is the "kilometre zero" of North Korea from where all national road distances are measured.


Manger Square (Arabic: ميدان المهد; Hebrew: כיכר האבוס) is a city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine. It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian tradition, took place at the Grotto of the Nativity, enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity. A particular building set in Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar, the Old City's only mosque, and the Palestinian Peace Center. The streets that lead to the square are related to the Christian faith, such as Star Street and Nativity Street.
In 1998–1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is, to a large degree, pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis trees that provide shade to its people, with benches and fountains made of yellowish-white local limestone known as Naqab marble.


Karlsplatz (German for 'Charles Square') is a town square on the border of the first and fourth districts of Vienna. It is one of the most frequented and best connected transportation hubs in Vienna. The Karlskirche is located here.
The first district can be reached either by subway (Karlsplatz station) or via Operngasse (a street). The pavilions of the former Karlsplatz Stadtbahn Station remain despite the construction of the U-Bahn system.


Before the Karlsplatz was built, there was the decorative Elizabeth Era bridge, built in 1854 and named after the young bride of the Emperor ("Sisi"). The bridge was fitted in 1867 with still images, which now presides over the City Hall stand. On 20 April 1897, it was blocked and subsequently demolished.
Following this, the rescheduling of the bridging of the Vienna River caused long square and fitted with new landmark buildings. On 7 May 1901 the city council established an architectural competition over the new design.
In the spring of 1903, two dimensional models made and publicly displayed by Otto Wagner to the mayor Karl Lueger. In a press conference on 3 November 1907, he praised Wagner's project, but spoke out against the nature of the Post Office Savings Bank. He then mobilized Princess Pauline Metternich's conservative members of the nobility against the project, the petition within a short 6000 signatures of support received. In January 1910, it came at the Karlsplatz still drawing up a facade segment in Wagner's original size. After the death of Lueger's council decided on 14 July 1911, the establishment of the City Museum on the design – but ultimately this did not come about.
In the interwar period occurred on the Karlsplatz mainly temporary buildings (such as a shopping center on the site of today's Vienna Museum), after 1945 was dominated by considerations of transport planning (although it did not come to the by George Lippert other and proposed elevated highway solutions). Karlsplatz architectural competitions in question were 1946, 1966, 1969 (relating to underground construction), 1971 (relating to the Garden Making). The realized design with the Swedish garden architect Sven Ingvar Anderson designed oval pond encountered 1976–77 sharpest criticism – Clemens Holzmeister appeared as "shocked" over the water surface in front of the Karlskirche, the media spoke of the "chaos space". Notwithstanding this very negative press echos  the acceptance of significantly increased green space Resselpark (and their pond) today. In the course of 2006 by Jakob Fina redesigned planting of greenery of the Karlsplatz were the Esperanto Park and Park Girardi created.


Norwich Market (also known as Norwich Provision Market) is an outdoor market consisting of around 200 stalls in central Norwich, England. Founded in the latter part of the 11th century to supply Norman merchants and settlers moving to the area following the Norman conquest of England, it replaced an earlier market a short distance away. It has been in operation on the present site for over 900 years.
By the 14th century, Norwich was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in England, and Norwich Market was a major trading hub. Control of, and income from, the market was ceded by the monarchy to the city of Norwich in 1341, from which time it provided a significant source of income for the local council. Freed from royal control, the market was reorganised to benefit the city as much as possible. Norwich and the surrounding region were devastated by plague and famine in the latter half of the 14th century, with the population falling by over 50%. Following the plague years, Norwich came under the control of local merchants and the economy was rebuilt. In the early 15th century, a Guildhall was built next to the market to serve as a centre for local government and law enforcement. The largest surviving mediaeval civic building in Britain outside London, it remained the seat of local government until 1938 and in use as a law court until 1985.
In the Georgian era, Norwich became an increasingly popular destination with travellers and developed into a fashionable shopping town. Buildings around the market were developed into luxury shops and coaching inns. The eastern side of the market was particularly fashionable and became known as Gentleman's Walk. The area around the market had become very congested by the 19th century, but the council was unable to raise funds for improvement and few alterations were made. Because many of the market's stalls were privately owned, the council was unable to rearrange the market into a more rational layout.
Following the First World War, the local authority began to systematically buy up all the stalls on the market, eventually bringing the entire market into public ownership. It was radically redesigned in the 1930s: stalls were arranged into parallel rows and a new City Hall was built along the entire western side of the marketplace to replace the by then inadequate Guildhall. This new arrangement survived with few significant changes for the rest of the 20th century. By the 1990s, the market was becoming decrepit and, in 2003, proposals were made for another radical rebuilding of the area. These proposals were extremely controversial and were abandoned in 2004 in favour of a scheme which retained the parallel rows of stalls, but replaced the old stalls with steel units of four stalls each. The rebuilt market was completed in early 2006 and is one of the largest markets in Britain.


While the 1976 renovations prolonged the life of the 1930s market, by the 1990s the market was once more becoming decrepit. The covers erected in 1976 over the walkways blocked sunlight, leaving much of the market dingy and poorly lit. The walkways themselves, already narrow, were becoming even more restricted as stalls erected external displays and additional weatherproofing. Removable shutters used to secure the stalls overnight were stacked against the sides of the stalls during trading hours, causing further obstruction, while on those stalls fitted with doors the doors opened outwards to maximise the limited space inside the units. In addition, the floors of stalls followed the slope of the hill, a gradient of about 1:12, causing health problems for those market workers who had to stand at this angle for prolonged periods during the day. Norwich City Council decided that these problems needed to be addressed, and in December 2003 invited the public to choose between three proposals for a rebuilt market.
These plans were extremely controversial. All three envisaged reducing the number of stalls from 205 to 140–160 to increase space, and all three involved splitting the market into isolated clusters of stalls, significantly altering its character and appearance. The Eastern Daily Press organised a campaign against the perceived unattractiveness of the designs, the proposed reduction in the number of stalls which would mean stallholders losing their jobs and the remaining stallholders facing rent increases to cover the difference, and the change to the character of central Norwich that such a radical redesign of the market would entail. A petition of over 12,000 signatories rejecting all three proposed designs was gathered.
Following a public meeting on 26 January 2004 the council backed down, and Hereward Cooke, deputy leader of the council, said that "We are finding out what the stall-holders and people of Norwich want and we will try our best to fulfill their wishes". Architect Michael Innes proposed a new design, which was accepted by the council. The new design was put in place in 2005.
Innes's design retained the market's layout of parallel rows of stalls with striped coloured roofs. The new stalls were built as steel and aluminium prefabricated units consisting of four stalls each, each stall having a level floor accessed by a step. These "pods" were arranged in rows, with 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) wide walkways between the "pods". Transparent retractable canopies were installed above the aisles, which could be opened and closed centrally.
To allow the market to continue trading while the rebuilding took place, a set of temporary stalls were built in Gentleman's Walk and surrounding streets. A third of the market's stalls at a time traded from these temporary stalls while their stalls in the main market were replaced, a process taking four months for each third of the market. The rebuilding was officially completed on 25 March 2006. Although generally popular with traders and shoppers, the redesign was criticised by The Times, who described it as "an anaemic shopping mall for health and safety inspectors: straight lines, wipe-clean boxy cubicles, all life and love drained out."
Meanwhile, in November 2004 engineers identified cracks in the terrace supporting the Memorial Gardens, and they were closed to the public as a potential hazard. Eventually in 2009 work began on renovating the gardens. Lutyens's memorial was dismantled and cleaned, and reassembled at a higher level to be visible from the street; it was also rotated 180° to face City Hall, rather than the market. The terrace was strengthened, and the gardens were landscaped around a new sculpture by Paul de Monchaux on the original site of the memorial.
Supermarkets continued to affect shopping patterns. In 1979 fruit and vegetable stalls occupied 70 of the market's 205 stalls; by 1988 greengrocers occupied only 28 stalls, and by 2010 there were only seven remaining fruit and vegetable stalls on the market. A wide variety of other stalls have taken their place, and the market remains active. One of the largest markets in Britain, it is a tourist attraction as well as remaining heavily used by local residents, and is a focal point of the city.


Cabot Hall, on the east side of the square was a large banqueting and performance hall which opened in 1991 and is the venue for regular concerts and events. In 2006 Canary Wharf Group announced that Cabot Hall would close at the end of 2006 to be converted into additional retail and restaurants, and in 2011 the restaurant space was filled by Scottish restaurant Boisdale.
Cabot Square and Cabot Hall are named after Italian explorer John Cabot.


WikiWeb_Charles Aznavour Square, Yerevan_0

Charles Aznavour Square (in Armenian Շառլ Ազնավուրի հրապարակ), is a small square in the Kentron District of the Armenian capital Yerevan. The square is named in honour of the French Armenian singer Charles Aznavour as part of the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of Armenian independence in 2001. The square adjacent to Abovyan Street includes a number of important venues including Stanislavski Russian Theatre of Yerevan, the Moscow Cinema, the Artists' Union of Armenia offices. Grand Hotel Yerevan on Abovyan Street also overlooks the square. The square also hosted the Yerevan Vernissage before the latter moved to its present location.


The Plaza Mayor (English: "Town square") is a central plaza in the city of Valladolid, Spain. It is located only a few blocks away from another famous plaza, the Plaza Zorrilla.


The plaza has a rectangular plan with completely arcaded porches which rest on columns or square granite pillars and is of the open type, i.e. the streets leading to it have no hindrance or screen. It is surrounded by narrow streets reminiscent of the past and is one of the largest in Spain.
Traditionally, the houses of the square had a height of three storeys. The distribution of voids was hierarchical. The first floor had balconies, the second railings, and the third, simple windows. This original appearance was changed over time until all floors had balconies. The Plaza Mayor is presided over by a statue of the founder of the city, Pedro Ansúrez designed by Aurelio Carretero and unveiled in 1903.
On the northern flank of its rectangular layout, stands the Casa Consistorial, seat of the Town Hall of Valladolid. The previous building, dating from the sixteenth century survived until 1879, but had been reformed over time. For example, in the mid-nineteenth century, a tower for a clock was built in the center of the facade. The existing building had a long beginning. First there was a design contest for the new Consistory, a project won by the local architect Antonio Iturralde, who presented a draft that, while the winner, not well liked. Iturralde died in 1897 and Enrique Repullés and Vargas took over the work. The Iturralde draft was discarded and a new building of Beaux-Arts architecture was constructed and completed in 1908.
Facing this building is Zorrilla Theater, opened in 1884. It is situated on the original site of the Convent of San Francisco, the immense monastery, totally demolished between 1835 and 1850.
Lately there have been efforts to return to the original homogeneity through certain mechanisms (such as the red paint on all facades of the buildings) though some are historically and aesthetically questionable.


The Place du Tertre is a square in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. Only a few streets away from Montmartre's Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the Lapin Agile, it is near the summit of the city's elevated Montmartre quarter. Place du Tertre was the heart of the prestigious Benedictine Montmartre Abbey, established in 1133 by King Louis VI. Montmartre Abbey thrived through the centuries and until the French revolution under the patronage of the Kings of France. Place du Tertre was opened to the public in 1635 as Montmartre village central square. From the end of the 18th century until World War One, the whole Montmartre Boheme could be seen here: painters, songwriters and poets.
With its many artists setting up their easels each day for the tourists, the Place du Tertre is a reminder of the time when Montmartre was the mecca of modern art. At the beginning of the 20th century, many painters including Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Maurice Utrillo were living there, some at the nearby Le Bateau-Lavoir. The Musée de Montmartre, the former home and studio of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Suzanne Valadon, and the L'Espace Salvador Dalí, a museum principally dedicated to the sculpture and drawings of Salvador Dalí, can be found near Place du Tertre.


Jackson Square is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.  It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, for its central role in the city's history, and as the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States territory pursuant to the Louisiana Purchase. In 2012 the American Planning Association designated Jackson Square as one of the Great Public Spaces in the United States.


Plaza Lacson, also known by its old name, Plaza (de) Goiti, is a public square in Santa Cruz, Manila.  It is bounded by Plaza Santa Cruz and Escolta Street to the west, Carlos Palanca Street (formerly Echague Street) to the south, and Carriedo Street to the east.  Although the plaza is not considered the center of Santa Cruz, as it is located behind the Santa Cruz Church rather than in front of it, the plaza is considered to be one of the most important squares in Manila.
Originally named after Martin de Goiti, who founded the City of Manila in 1571, it was renamed by Mayor Lito Atienza in 2003 after Arsenio Lacson, who previously served as mayor of Manila from 1952 to 1962.


A number of notable buildings and structures have been built in and around the vicinity of Plaza Lacson.  Aside from the Santa Cruz Church on its north side, the plaza's most famous landmark is the Roman R. Santos Building, one of Manila's few surviving examples of pre-World War II neoclassical architecture.  The building, first built in 1894 and expanded in 1957, was the headquarters of Prudential Bank until 2005, when it was acquired by Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).  BPI continues to maintain a branch on the building's ground floor.  Previously, however, the building was the headquarters of the Monte de Piedad Savings Bank, the former banking institution of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, from 1894 to 1937, and also served as an American Red Cross-operated hospital from 1945 to 1947.
Other Philippine financial institutions have had their headquarters around the plaza at some point in their history.  Security Bank was headquartered at the ground floor of the Roman R. Santos Building from its establishment in 1951 until 1954, when the building was still under the ownership of its prior owner, Consolidated Investments.  Philtrust Bank opened its headquarters at the plaza in 1950, located beside the Santa Cruz Church, and remained here until it relocated to its current headquarters along United Nations Avenue.  The building still houses the bank's Santa Cruz branch.
Located beside the Philtrust Bank building was the Ideal Theater, the first major building designed by Pablo Antonio, said to be the Philippines' foremost Modernist architect.  Unfortunately, the building was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a shopping mall.
There are also significant transport-related structures which are in the vicinity of the plaza.  The Philippines' first traffic light was installed in the plaza in 1938, and although Manila's tram network was dismantled after World War II, the LRT Line 1 Carriedo station is located on the opposite end of the plaza, at the intersection of Carriedo Street and Rizal Avenue.


July 15 Kızılay National Will Square (Turkish: 15 Temmuz Kızılay Millî İrade Meydanı), originally Kızılay Square (Kızılay Meydanı), is one of the most important centers and junction points of Ankara, Turkey. After the 27 May 1960 coup d'état it was formally renamed as Liberty Square (Hürriyet Meydanı); but the popular use of Kızılay Square continued. Following the failed coup attempt of 15 July 2016, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality initially decided on 26 July 2016 to rename the square as July 15 Kızılay Democracy Square (15 Temmuz Kızılay Demokrasi Meydanı), which was later amended as July 15 Kızılay National Will Square on 9 August 2016. It is still commonly known as Kızılay Square among the resident population of the city.


The square was named Kızılay (meaning "Red Crescent" in Turkish) after the Turkish Red Crescent headquarters, which was built on its northwest in 1929 (the Red Crescent building was demolished in 1993 and replaced by the present-day Kızılay AVM shopping mall, which – after a long legal process regarding its ownership rights – was opened in 2011.) In those years, the city center was located to the north of Kızılay, but Ankara was redesigned by a group of urban planners including Hermann Jansen. After the development of the new quarters, the center of the city eventually shifted toward the neighborhoods around the square, and in fact those quarters are now known as Kızılay.


The Bundesplatz (literally: the "Federal Square") is the Government Plaza in Bern, de facto the capital city of Switzerland. It is situated in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern. It is part of the Innere Neustadt which was built during the second expansion in 1255 to 1260, though the plaza was not built until much later. It is located in front of the Bundeshaus, the Swiss Parliament Building, and it is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site that encompasses the Old City.


The western third of the modern Bundeshausplatz was originally part of the ditch around the second city wall.  In 1765, a plaza was built in the area between the Ballenhaus and the Holzwerkhof.  Ballenhaus was demolished in 1820 to make way for the Casino and was located on the site of the modern east wing of the Parliament at Bundesplatz 15.  The Holzwerkhof was demolished to make way for the Bundeshaus West and was located at Bundesgasse 1.  The new plaza construction was overseen by Niklaus Hebler, who planted Linden trees on the plaza and fenced in the southern side with a balustrade which overlooked the lower city and Aare river.  Between 1894 and 1900, the new Bundeshaus was built, and a number of buildings were demolished which increased the size of the plaza.  Until 1909, it was known as Parlamentplatz.
For almost a century, the plaza served as a parking lot.  Following a national competition in 1991 to decide the future of the plaza, the winning proposal Platz als Platz designed by Stephan Mundwiler, AIA (the founding principal, Lee + Mundwiler Architects, based in Basel and Los Angeles) and Stauffenegger+Stutz, visual design in Basel, Switzerland, began in 2002.  The project was finished on 31 July 2004 and officially unveiled on 1 August 2004 during the Swiss National Day celebration.
The Platz als Platz project was recognized in 2006 with the Honor Award for Urban Design by the American Institute of Architects, initiated by the designer, Stephan Mundwiler, Swiss-American architect.


The Museumplein ([myˌzeːjʏmˈplɛin]; English: Museum Square) is a public space in the Museumkwartier neighbourhood of the Amsterdam-Zuid borough in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Located at the Museumplein are three major museums – the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum – and the concert hall Concertgebouw.
The area was originally a wax candle factory and marshy meadows. Construction began following the completion of the Rijksmuseum in 1885, with a street plan based on the design of Pierre Cuypers, the museum's celebrated architect. The area was the location of the International Colonial and Export Exhibition in 1883.
The Museumplein was reconstructed after a design by the Swedish/Danish landscape architect Sven-Ingvar Andersson in 1999. It now includes underground parking spaces and an underground supermarket. In the winter, the pond can be transformed into an artificial ice skating area.
The space is also used for (mass) events such as festivals, celebrations, and demonstrations and  Armin Van Buuren honoured The Dutch Team at Museumplein in 2010 by playing Swedish House Mafia.
In July 2017 the 2017 FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup, the European 3x3 basketball tournament, was held at the Museumplein.
The main "I AMsterdam" sign was also located here in front of the Rijksmuseum, until 4 December 2018, when it was removed at the behest of the city council.
The sculpture "Self Portrait of a Dreamer" by Joseph Klibansky was exhibited within the pond from 26 June 2018 to 28 Aug 2018.


Freedom Square (Estonian: Vabaduse väljak) is a plaza on the southern end of the Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia, where state functions and various concerts take place.
It is bounded on the east by St. John's Church (built 1862–67), on the south by Kaarli Boulevard and an underground shopping center (2008–09), and on the west by a Victory Column (2009) commemorating the Estonian War of Independence 1918–1920.


The current design was created by architects Tiit Trummal, Veljo Kaasik and Andres Alver. Before 2010, it was a parking lot. It has an area of 7752 m² with the dimensions approx. 110 m by 75 m.


The Place Pigalle is a public square located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, between the Boulevard de Clichy and the Boulevard de Rochechouart, near Sacré-Cœur, at the foot of the Montmartre hill.


The place takes its name from the sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785), and it is the best-known district of the Quartier Pigalle, the Pigalle district.


The Terreiro de Jesus is a plaza located in the Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil. The square is located in the oldest part of the city and abuts the Praça da Sé. The Cathedral Basilica of Salvador, formerly the school and church of the Jesuits, is the most prominent structure in the Terreiro de Jesus, and occupies the west of the square. The plaza takes its names from the society. It was renovated in the mid-20th century by the landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. It is officially know known as the Praça 15 de Novembro, and forms a central cultural and historical center of the city.


Post Office Square is a public square in Brisbane, Australia. It is located between Queen Street and Adelaide Street in the Brisbane CBD, and has an area of 3,300m².
Under the square is a shopping arcade and six-level car park. The square is opposite the General Post Office building on the Queen Street side, and ANZAC Square on the Adelaide Street side.


Post Office Square was opened in 1984. In 2008 the Sir William Glasgow Memorial was moved to the square, facing ANZAC Square.
Protesters camped in Post Office Square from 15 October 2011 as part of Occupy Brisbane, before being evicted on 1 November.


Rembrandtplein (English: Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, Netherlands, named after Rembrandt van Rijn who owned a house nearby from 1639 to 1656.


The square is bordered on the east by Utrechtsestraat, Reguliersdwarsstraat on the south, Regulierbreestraat on the north and Halvemaansbrug on the west.  The largest building on the square, across Utrechtsestraat, was designed in 1926 by architects Bert Johan Ouëndag and Hendrik Petrus Berlage as the head office of the Amsterdamsche Bank, later ABN AMRO.  ABN AMRO vacated the structure in 2002 and in 2011 it reopened as retail office building named simply The Bank with 25,000 m² (270,000 sq ft) of space after a five-year renovation.
Thorbeckeplein, named after politician Johan Rudolf Thorbecke (1798–1872), is adjacent to the south, and leads to Herengracht.
Tram lines 4, 9 and 14 operate on Regulierbreestraat and connect Rembrandtplein to the Stopera, northwest across the Blauwbrug (Blue Bridge) on the Amstel River, Dam Square to the northeast, and Amsterdam Centraal railway station.


Liberdade Square (Liberty or Freedom Square; Portuguese: Praça da Liberdade) is a square in the city of Porto, Portugal. It is located in Santo Ildefonso parish, in the lower town (Baixa) area. The square is continuous on its north side with the Avenida dos Aliados, an important avenue of the city.


College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England.  The Green takes the form of a segment of a circle with its apex pointing east, and covers 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres). The road named College Green forms the north-eastern boundary of the Green, Bristol Cathedral marks the south side, and City Hall (formerly the Council House) closes the Green in an arc to the north-west.
College Green is owned by the Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral, and managed by Bristol City Council.


Victoria Square, also known as Tarntanyangga (formerly Tarndanyangga) ([ˈd̪̥aɳɖaɲaŋɡa]),  is the central square of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.
It is one of six squares designed by the founder of Adelaide, Colonel William Light, who was Surveyor-General at the time, in his 1837 plan of the City of Adelaide which spanned the River Torrens Valley, comprising the city centre (South Adelaide) and North Adelaide. The square was named on 23 May 1837 by the Street Naming Committee after Princess Victoria, then heir presumptive of the British throne. In 2003, it was assigned a second name, Tarndanyangga (later amended to Tarntanyangga), in the Kaurna language of the original inhabitants, as part of the Adelaide City Council's dual naming initiative.
The square has been upgraded and modified several times through its lifetime. It has become a tradition that during the Christmas period a 24.5-metre (80 ft) tall Christmas tree is erected in the northern part of the square.


Victoria Square is in the centre of the city's grid plan, designed by William Light. It is bordered by numerous public institutions at its north and south ends, including the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Adelaide Magistrates' Court, the Federal Court of Australia, the historic old Treasury building (now a hotel run by the Adina hotel chain) and the former Adelaide General Post Office.
On the eastern side is the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St Francis Xavier, the SA Water headquarters, State Government offices, including the office of the Premier, and the Torrens Building, which houses the Carnegie Mellon University.
The west side of the square contains more commercially-oriented buildings, including an entrance to the Adelaide Central Market, the Hilton hotel, and the offices of various consultants, law firms and insurance companies.
King William Street passes through the centre of the square from north to south, creating a diamond shape, with the southbound carriageway passing through the east side, and the northbound carriageway passing through the west side of the square. The square is bisected on its east-west axis by the section of road (technically part of the square) that connects Wakefield Street (entering from the east) with Grote Street (to the west).
A tram stop (formerly the terminus) for the Glenelg tram line is just south of the Queen Victoria statue; it was shifted from the centre to the western edge of the square in 2007, as part of the extension that was made to the tram line around that time.


In 2002, the Adelaide City Council formally recognised the areas heritage by bestowing the dual name Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga. The old tram depot at the Square was also demolished, so was the old SAPOL Headquarters. An SA Water office building was built in its place. In 2012 the Adelaide City Council endorsed $24 million in funding to begin rejuvenating Victoria Square. Construction commenced in March 2013 and the first of two planned stages (the northern half) was completed in February 2014. The planned redevelopment of the southern half has been held up due to lack of funding. The full development included:
A relocation of the statue of Queen Victoria slightly to the north
Future 'Fire' themed artwork
Relocated tram line
Perimeter streets
Information Experience Centre
Water feature
Mullabakka Centre (Kaurna Centre of Culture)
Cafe
Productive gardens
Perimeter gardens
Event Lawn to accommodate medium to large events of
up to 9,000 people, with terraces and service area
Extended tram stop
Bicycle Hub
Public toilets
Bio-filtration & Wetland gardens
Garden terraces
Arcadian Grove relocated
Arbours
Perimeter footpaths
Three Rivers Fountain relocated to the south


ToopKhāneh (Persian: توپخانه; which literally means "Artillery Barracks"), also spelt as Tūpkhāneh, is a major town square (Maidan-e Toopkhaneh) and a neighborhood in the south of the central district of the city of Tehran, Iran. It was built in 1867 by an order of Amir Kabir and Commissioned in 1867. After the Iranian Revolution, it was renamed Imam Khomeini Square (میدان امام خمینی). Cheragh Bargh (Amir Kabir) street ends-up to this square, and Naserie (Naser Khosrow) street, Bob Homayoun street, Sepah street, Ferdowsi street and Lalezar street find ways to other directions.
Buildings like Telegraphkhane, Municipality Palace and the Imperial bank building surrounded the square. The Telegraphkhane and the Municipality Palace were demolished in 1970 and 1969 respectively.


Victoria Square (French: Square Victoria) is a town square and public space in the Quartier International de Montréal (also called the International Quarter) area of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at the intersection of Beaver Hall Hill and McGill Street. The Square forms an integral component of the city's urban public transit system and constitutes a 'prestige address' for the international face of the city. It is bordered by Viger Street to the north, Saint Jacques Street to the south, Beaver Hall Hill to the west and Square Victoria Street (an extension of McGill Street) along the eastern side. As with other city squares, Square Victoria is open 24 hours per day to all citizens of Montreal and provides the role of an urban breathing space, with dense foliage to the south that tapers as the square rises up Beaver Hall Hill.


The square has existed since 1813. Formerly known as Place du Marché-à-Foin and Place des Commissaires, it was renamed for Queen Victoria for the visit of the then-Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in 1860.
Victoria Square has undergone many aesthetic changes over its history, functioning at times more as a parking lot, other times as a simple open space, while at others being far more refined and cultivated. The Square was restored to its current configuration in 2002 and 2003. It features Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau outdoor entrance to the Square-Victoria-OACI Metro station, a statue of Queen Victoria, the Tai Chi Single Whip sculpture by Ju Ming, and trees lining its bounding avenues.


The Senado Square, or Senate Square (Chinese: 議事亭前地; Cantonese Yale: Yíh Sih Tìhng Chìhn Deih; Portuguese: Largo do Senado), is a paved town square in Sé, Macau, China and part of the UNESCO Historic Centre of Macau World Heritage Site. It is an elongated triangular shaped square and connects Largo do São Domingos at one end and Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro on the other. It covers an area of 3,700 square meters (4,425 square yards)


Union Square is a historic intersection and surrounding neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century. Its name denotes that "here was the union of the two principal thoroughfares of the island". The current Union Square Park is bounded by 14th Street on the south, 17th Street on the north, and Union Square West and Union Square East to the west and east respectively. 17th Street links together Broadway and Park Avenue South on the north end of the park, while Union Square East connects Park Avenue South to Fourth Avenue and the continuation of Broadway on the park's south side. The park is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Adjacent neighborhoods are the Flatiron District to the north, Chelsea to the west, Greenwich Village to the southwest, East Village to the southeast, and Gramercy Park to the east. Many buildings of The New School are near the square, as are several dormitories of New York University. The eastern side of the square is dominated by the four Zeckendorf Towers, and the south side by the full-square-block mixed-use One Union Square South, which contains a wall sculpture and digital clock titled Metronome. Union Square Park also contains an assortment of art, including statues of George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Abraham Lincoln, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Union Square is part of Manhattan Community District 5 and its primary ZIP Code is 10003. It is patrolled by the 13th Precinct of the New York City Police Department. The New York City Subway's 14th Street–Union Square station, served by the 4, 5, 6, <6>, L, N, Q, R, and W trains, is located under Union Square.


The park has historically been the start or the end point for many political demonstrations.  Although the park was known for its labor union rallies and for the large 1861 gathering in support of Union troops, it was actually named for its location at the "union" of Bloomingdale Road (now Broadway) and Eastern Post Road (now extinct) decades before these gatherings. In April 1861, soon after the fall of Fort Sumter, it was the site of a patriotic rally of perhaps a quarter of a million people that is thought to have been the largest public gathering in North America up to that time. In the summer of 1864 the north side of the square was the site of the Metropolitan Fair.
Union Square has been a frequent gathering point for radicals of all stripes to make speeches or demonstrate. In 1865, the recently formed Irish republican Fenian Brotherhood came out publicly and rented Dr. John Moffat's brownstone rowhouse at 32 East 17th Street, next to the Everett House hotel facing the north side of the square, for the capitol of the government-in-exile they declared. On September 5, 1882, in the first Labor Day celebration, a crowd of at least 10,000 workers paraded up Broadway and filed past the reviewing stand at Union Square. On March 28, 1908, an anarchist set off a bomb in Union Square which only killed himself and another man.
On August 21, 1893, Emma Goldman took the stage at Union Square to make her "Free Bread" speech to a crowd of overworked garment workers. She also addressed a crowd on May 20, 1916, on the need for free access to birth control which was banned by the Comstock laws. Her visits to Union Square pulled hundreds of followers; some of these rallies resulted in her arrest. Union Square has been used as a platform to raise awareness about the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Square's shopping district saw strikes in the S. Klein and Ohrbach department stores in 1934. White collar workers were among the worst paid in Great Depression era New York City, with union memberships being highly discouraged by store managers and often seen as fireable offenses. These strikes often involved acts of disobedience by the workers as many of them did not want to lose their jobs. This period saw Union Square as a gathering point for many of the cities socialist and communist groups. The centennial of Union Square was seen as a thinly veiled effort to displace those elements with its draping of the square with flags and police demonstrations of anti protester drills.


In March 2008, an eighteen-month renovation began on the northern end of the park. Proponents of the plan described it as the completion of a renovation of Union Square Park that began in the mid-1980s that would improve the park by increasing the amount and quality of playground space, improving the quality and function of the public plaza, rehabilitating the badly deteriorating bandshell structure, improving the working conditions for park employees, and maintaining the "eyes on the street" presence of a restaurant at the heart of the park. Protests and political action in response to the original renovation plans resulted in a reduction in the degree to which the pavilion was to be renovated, a reduction in the total amount of space that the restaurant would occupy, and an increase in the amount of dedicated play space, but stiff opposition remains to the idea that any commercial uses might occupy the pavilion. Despite the fact that the overall amount of play space in the park would be increased as a result of the renovation, those critical of the plan claimed that the bandshell pavilion itself ought to be converted to play space. The status of the historic pavilion building was later brought before the State Supreme Court. In early 2009, a judge dismissed the lawsuit against the renovation, paving the way for a seasonal restaurant in the pavilion.
One element of contention not related to the restaurant concession is the inclusion of a single line of street trees, spaced 30 feet (9.1 m) apart, along the north side of the plaza. The inclusion of trees was made possible without reducing the usable gathering space of the plaza by the simultaneous decision to remove a painted median strip, that had separated eastbound and westbound traffic along 17th Street, thus increasing the northern limits of the plaza by several feet. The "temporary" metal rails, welded together to make a continuous fence along the north side of the site, were removed as part of the renovation of the plaza. A double line of trees along 17th Street had been planted years earlier, and a corresponding plaque had been installed, as a monument to victims of the Armenian genocide.
During the renovation the Union Square Greenmarket was temporarily relocated to the west side of the park, returning to the north end by April 2009.


WikiWeb_Blue Bridge (Saint Petersburg)_0

The Blue Bridge (Russian: Си́ний мост, Siniy most), is a 97.3-metre-wide (319 ft) bridge that spans the Moika River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Blue Bridge is the widest bridge in Saint Petersburg and is sometimes claimed to be the widest bridge in the world – a claim, however, that has not been recognized by international reference works, such as the Guinness World Records.
The Blue Bridge spans the Moika River and is located in front of the Mariinsky Palace at Saint Isaac's Square in city's historic centre. The first cast iron bridge on the site was designed in 1805 by the architect William Heste, and built in 1818. This bridge was a single-span bridge resting on stone supports, and measured 41 metres across. In 1842–1844, the bridge was widened on its northern side to its present width of 97.3 metres - just as wide as the adjacent Isaac's Square. Soon after the bridge was widened, there were rumours that the new width of the bridge was 99.9 metres instead of the actual 97.3. This rumour even made it into some official booklets and textbooks. Today, most of the Blue Bridge serves as a parking lot.
The bridge's name dates from a 19th-century tradition of color-coding the bridges crossing the Moika River. Like other colored bridges, the Blue Bridge got its name from the color of its sides facing the river. Today only four colored bridges survive, the other ones being the Red Bridge, the Green Bridge and the Yellow Bridge respectively. Three of them kept their original names, while Yellow Bridge has been renamed to Pevchesky Bridge.


Dorchester Square (officially in French: square Dorchester, originally Dominion Square, French: square Dominion) is a large urban square in downtown Montreal. Together with Place du Canada, the area is just over 21,000 m² (230,000 sq ft) or 2.1 ha of manicured and protected urban parkland bordered by René Lévesque Boulevard to the south, Peel Street to the west, Metcalfe Street to the east and Dorchester Square Street to the north. The square is open to the public 24 hours a day and forms a focal point for pedestrian traffic in the city. Until the creation of Place du Canada in 1967, the name "Dominion Square" had been applied to the entire area.
Land acquisition to build the square began in 1872 and the site was inaugurated in 1878, though it was not thoroughly completed until 1892. The square has four statues that were originally arranged in the form of a Union Jack.
In 2010, $14-million was spent on a redesign, with the removal of a flower stand on the southwest corner, all monuments refurbished, new street furniture added and a lighting scheme which has greatly improved the look of the square after dark. As a nod to the fact that it was once a cemetery, small crosses have been embedded in the walkways. In addition, some lights are pointed to shine on the foliage of the many trees, allowing for an interesting nocturnal green glow in the summer. A planned renovation of Place du Canada has begun with renovations to the John A. Macdonald monument and the Cenotaph. A further renovation of Dorchester Square Street (including the bus/taxi parking area, subterranean garage entrance and exit and the kiosk) is planned, and it is possible that the square may be expanded with Dorchester Square Street converted for pedestrian use.


Montreal landscape architect Claude Cormier has been chosen to lead a renovation of $3.5 million over four years (2009–2012) to breathe some new life into the square and plaza. The area will not see any dramatic alterations to its character or composition, but rather will receive a landscaping "facelift" and a $750,000 lighting system to illuminate the many statues and monuments present.


Up until 1854, the square was little more than a public green and an informal meeting place. Much of it was used for the Catholic Sainte-Antoine Cemetery, a hastily arranged cemetery for the victims of the 1851 Cholera Epidemic. In that year, the bodies were exhumed and moved to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery on the northwestern side of Mount Royal. In 1869, St. George's Anglican Church was erected at the corner of Peel and De la Gauchetière. It spawned the construction of several other Protestant churches and cathedrals in and around Dominion Square, which was beginning to take form as a dividing line between the estates and suburbs of the northwest and the retail and commercial areas to the east and southeast. The 1870s provided several massive projects which made the green a central meeting point and prestige address that formalized the use of the square. Land acquisition began in 1872 and the park took its present form in 1878. Simultaneously, the Catholic Archdiocese began construction of Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral across from the southeast corner of the square. On the western side of the square, the Windsor Hotel was completed by 1878. With such prestigious construction and massive human traffic, the square became a vital component of the urban environment and a focal point for transit between the office and commercial sectors and the retail and suburban sectors.
In 1889, the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed Windsor Station on the south side of De la Gauchetière Street, opposite St. George's Cathedral. This further increased the importance of the square as a major focal point. Later construction would involve the demolition of the original YMCA Building (1851) on the east side of the square in order to allow the construction of the first portion of the Sun Life Building at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Dorchester Boulevard, which would grow to take up the entire eastern side of the square by 1931. In 1929, the northern side of the square was graced with the Dominion Square Building, designed as an integrated shopping arcade and office tower. The arcade was specifically designed to draw pedestrian traffic between the square and St. Catherine St.
Additional construction after the Second World War saw the development of the Laurentian Hotel across from the southwest corner of the square. In 1960, the original southern section of the Windsor Hotel was demolished in order to build the CIBC Tower. The 1960s also saw major developments as Dominion Square became the central orienting point for the new downtown of modernist skyscrapers. As such, a skywalk was erected on the south side of the square, across De la Gauchetière to Place du Canada and the Chateau Champlain hotel.
In 1967, Dominion Square was divided into two parts, the southern portion being renamed Place du Canada while the northern portion retained the name Dominion Square.
After the death of René Lévesque in 1987, Dorchester Boulevard was renamed in his honour and Dominion Square was renamed "Dorchester Square", after Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, who supported the rights of French speakers in British North America.


Bolotnaya Square (Russian: Болотная площадь, Bolotnaya ploshchad) is a square in the center of Moscow, in Yakimanka District, south of the Moscow Kremlin, between the Moskva River (north) and the Vodootvodny Canal (south). The square is bounded by Bolotnaya Embankment of the canal to the south, by Serafimovicha Street and the House on the Embankment to the west, and by Bolotnaya Street to the north and to the east. The square had the name of Repin Square, commemorating Russian artist Ilya Repin, between 1962 and 1994. The square is built as a pedestrian open space.


Pushkinskaya Square or Pushkin Square (Russian: Пу́шкинская пло́щадь) is a pedestrian open space in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow. Historically, it was known as Strastnaya Square before being renamed for Alexander Pushkin in 1937.
It is located at the junction of the Boulevard Ring (Tverskoy Boulevard to the southwest and Strastnoy Boulevard to the northeast) and Tverskaya Street, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of the Kremlin. It is not only one of the busiest city squares in Moscow, but also one of the busiest in the world.
The former Strastnaya Square name originates from the Passion Monastery (Russian: Страстной монастырь, Strastnoy Monastery), which was demolished in the 1930s.
At the center of the square is a statue of Pushkin, funded by public subscription and unveiled by Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1880. In 1950, Joseph Stalin had the statue moved to the other side of the Tverskaya Street, where the Monastery of Christ's Passions had formerly stood. On 5 December 1965, Glasnost Meeting, the first spontaneous public political demonstration in the Soviet Union after the Second World War, took place here.


Lenin Square (Russian: Площадь Ленина) is a square in Khabarovsk, Russia. It is the second biggest square in Russia next to Moscow's Red Square. It is located in the Central District and intersects with Gogolya Street, Turgyeneva Street, Karl Marx Street, and Glory Square, Muravyova-Amurskogo Street. Itbos currently the location for main city events and celebrations.


It was created in 1864 as Nikolaevskaya Square. In 1917, it was renamed Freedom Square. In 1925, a monument to Vladimir Lenin was placed in the center of the square. In 1949, architect E. Mameshin developed a project for the planning and development of the square which included a modern medical university. In 1950, it was renamed Stalin Square and began to host International Workers Day and October Revolution Day civil/military parades for the first time. In 1957 the square was renamed Lenin square. In 1998 the square underwent a final reconstruction. In 2010, a memorial marker for the "Zero kilometer of the Chita-Khabarovsk Federal Highway" was installed in Lenin Square marking the final completion of the 40-year construction project in the Amur Highway.


The architectural appearance of the building area is diverse, with different buildings including:
Far Eastern State Medical University
Far East Institute of Management
Dalcombank Headquarters
Government of the Khabarovsk Krai (known as the White House)
Junker College
Central Hotel
The entire square and its architectural structures is 25,300 square metres (272,000 sq ft) meters in size.


Yokohama Stadium (横浜スタジアム, Yokohama Sutajiamu) is a baseball stadium in Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan. It opened in 1978 and has a capacity of 34,046 people.
It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The stadium features dirt around the bases and pitcher's mound, but with dirt colored turf infield and base paths. The entire green portion of the field is also turfed.
It hosted an Australian rules football match and drew the second largest crowd for such an event outside of Australia.