Town square

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"Public square" redirects here. For , see Public Square.

A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings.

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.

In the United States a town square typically consists of a park or plaza in front of the original county courthouse or town hall.

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."

• Red Square in Moscow was originally used as an outdoor marketplace and later became the stage for Soviet military parades and May Day demonstrations.
• Palace Square in St Petersburg was designed to be the central square of Imperial Russia and ironically became the setting of revolutionary protests that led to the overthrow of monarchy during the February Revolution of 1917.
• Similarly, Beijing's Tiananmen Square was the scene of both communist parades and anti-government protests.
• 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.
• 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, especially in New England in the U.S., the term "square" is applied to a commercial area (e.g., Central Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts), usually formed around the intersection of three or more streets, and which originally consisted of some open area (many of which have been filled in with traffic islands and other traffic calming features). In the Boston area, it is used by municipalities to designate an intersection in honor of a local resident (usually a member of the military or police officer killed in the line of duty).

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, and especially in London and Edinburgh "square" has a wider meaning. There are public squares of the type described above but the term is also used for formal open spaces surrounded by houses with private gardens at the centre. Most of these were built in the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases the gardens are now open to the public. See the category.

See also

• European market square
• Piazza
• Place
• Platz
• Plaza
• List of city squares

Gallery of town and city squares

Image:Barcelonaplazareal.jpg|Barcelona Plaça reial Image:Azadi1.jpg|Azadi Square, Tehran Image:Brasov square.jpg|Braşov Square Image:Bremen.square.750pix.jpg|Bremen Square, Bremen, Germany Image:Christchurch-CathedralSquare.jpg|Cathedral Square Image:Centenary Square, Birmingham.jpg|Centenary Square, Birmingham, England Image:Chamberlain Square, Birmingham.jpg|Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England Image:Cuba-Trinidad-central square.jpg|Central Square, Trinidad, Cuba Image:AmsterdamDamsquar.jpg|Dam Square, Amsterdam Image:MoroccoMarrakech DjemaaElFna..jpg|The Djemaa el Fna in Marrakech Image:Eberswalde-marktplatz.jpg|Eberswalde Marketplatz Image:Farragut square from southeast.jpg|Farragut Square, Washington DC, USA Image:Grand place brussels.jpg|Grand Place, Brussels Image:Imam Square, Isfahan Iran.jpg|Imam Square, Isfahan, Iran Image:Jelacic Square.jpg|Ban Jelačić Square Image:KongensNytorv.jpg|Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark Image:Kazimierz rynek.JPG|Kazimierz Rynek Image:ArcoDoTriunfoLisboa1.JPG|Lisbon's Praça do Comércio (18th century) Image:Lubyanka_1895.jpg|Lubyanka Square Image:Kyiv mainsquare.jpg|Maidan Nezalezhnosti Image:Manege4.jpg|Manege Square Image:Mansfield Square.jpg|Mansfield Square Image:Market square in nottingham.jpg|Old Market Square, Nottingham, England Image:Mons Square.jpg|Mons Square Image:Petersburg-square.jpg|Palace Square, St. Petersburg Image:PalmerstonNorth.jpg|Palmerston North Image:Paternoster Square.jpg|Paternoster Square Image:Hungary-Pecs Main Place.jpg|Pecs Main Place, Hungary Image:Siena plaza.jpg|The Piazza del Campo of Siena Image:Piazza San Marco with the Basilica, by Canaletto, 1730. Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge.jpg|Piazza San Marco, Venice Image:Zagreb.preradovic.square.j1.jpg|Preradovic Square, Zagreb Image:Red square kremlin.jpg|Red Square, Moscow Image:Sobornaya.jpg|Sobornaya Square, Moscow Image:Stpeteskyline.jpg|St. Isaac's Square, St Petersburg Image:Skanderbeg Square in Tirana.jpg|Skanderbeg Square, Tirana Image:Strastnaya.jpg|Strastnaya Square Image:Stuttgart Schlossplatz.jpg|Stuttgart Schlossplatz Image:Suhbataar square n mausoleum.jpg|Suhbataar Square, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Image:Taunton Green.jpg|Taunton Green, Taunton, Massachusetts, USA Image:200401-beijing-tianan-square-overview.jpg|Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China Image:Largeviewtimessquare.jpg|Times Square, New York City, USA Image:Zagreb.tomislav.square.j1.jpg|Tomislav Square, Zagreb Image:Toulouse-plaza.jpg|Toulouse Plaza Image:Town Hall Square Rothenburg.jpg|Town Hall Square, Rothenburg Image:Czechia, Jicin, Wallenstein's square.jpg|Wallenstein's Square Image:Town Square Örnsköldsvik.jpg|Town square, Örnsköldsvik, Sweden Image:sthlm_sergelstorg_MH5Y4176.jpg|Sergels Torg, Stockholm, Sweden

 

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