Town square

A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. In Western culture, it typically consists of a park or plaza in front of the original county courthouse or town hall. Italian piazzas are typically surrounded by arcades.

Related Topics:
Town - Park - Plaza - County - Courthouse - Town hall - Piazza - Arcade

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Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, music concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. Being centrally located, town squares are usually surrounded by small shops such as bakeries, meat markets, cheese stores, and clothing stores. At their center is often a fountain, well, monument, or statue. Many of those with fountains are actually named Fountain Square.

Related Topics:
Hardscape - Market - Concert - Meat - Cheese - Clothing - Fountain - Well - Monument - Statue - Fountain Square

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In urban planning, a city square is a planned open area in a city, usually or originally rectangular in shape. Some city squares are large enough that they act as a sort of "national square."

Related Topics:
Urban planning - City

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• Red Square in Moscow was the scene of many military parades.
• John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (formerly Rudolph-Wilde-Platz) was the site of the West Berlin town hall and John F. Kennedy's famous Ich bin ein Berliner speech.
• Beijing's Tiananmen Square was the scene of both national parades and protests.
• New York City's Times Square and Washington, D.C.'s National Mall often fill this role for the United States.
• Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus (a circular city "square") in London do the same for Great Britain.

In some cities, the term "square" is applied to any commercial area (Central Square, Cambridge, MA, USA), usually formed around the intersection of two or more streets, but not necessarily containing a large open area. In the Boston area, it is used even more loosely, to refer to any intersection named after someone (usually a member of the military or police officer killed in the line of duty).

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Town square: United Kingdom ►