A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Main street in Bastrop, Texas, a small town A town is a residential community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. ...

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. Hardscape, in the practice of landscaping, refers to the paved areas like streets & sidewalks, large business complexes & housing developments, and other industrial areas where the upper-soil-profile is no longer exposed to the actual surface of the Earth. ... Street markets such as this one in Rue Mouffetard, Paris are still common in France. ... A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. ... Meat is animal tissue used as food. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of cows, goats, sheep, or other mammals. ... (See also List of types of clothing and Clothing terminology) Humans nearly universally wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments, attire, or apparel) on the body. ... The Jet dEau fountain in Lake Geneva in Geneva A traditional fountain is an arrangement where water issues from a source (Latin fons), fills a basin of some kind, and is drained away. ... For the Scottish football team, see Motherwell F.C. The Whole Earth Lectronic Link (or The WELL) is one of the oldest virtual communities still online. ... The Taj Mahal in Agra (Uttar Pradesh, India) Monuments are usually created for the dual function of commemorating an important event or person while also creating an artistic object that will improve the appearance of a city or location. ... Tyler Davidson Fountain, centerpiece of Fountain Square, Cincinnati. ...

In the United States a town square typically consists of a park or plaza in front of the original county courthouse or town hall. Italian piazzas are typically surrounded by arcades. An Australian park A park is any of a number of geographic features. ... Plaza is a Spanish word related to field which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. ... Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count. ... In most counties in the United States the local trial courts conduct their business in a centrally located courthouse which may also house the offices of the county treasurer, clerk and recorder and assessor. ... City Hall is a 1996 film directed by Harold Becker. ... A piazza is an open square in a city, often used as a marketplace, found in Italy. ... The Cleveland Arcade in downtown Cleveland (late 1960s) An arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns, or else it is a covered passage fronted by a series of arches. ...

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." Urban, city, or town planning, deals with the physical, social and economic development of metropolitan regions, municipalities and neighborhoods. ... Sydney, Australia at Night. ...

• Red Square in Moscow was the scene of many military parades, while Palace Square in St Petersburg was the setting of revolutionary protests.
• Similarly, Beijing's Tiananmen Square was the scene of both national parades and 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). Saint Basils Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square in Moscow. ... Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA: (help· info)) is the capital of Russia and the countrys principal political, economic, financial, educational and transportation center, located on the river Moskva. ... Palace Square is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... (help· info), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Tiananmen Square (Simplified Chinese: 天安门广场; Traditional Chinese: 天安門廣場; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is the large plaza near the center of Beijing, China, named for the Tiananmen (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace) which sits to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. ... John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (John F. Kennedy Square), formerly Rudolph-Wilde-Platz, in Berlin-Schöneberg contains the former city hall of West Berlin (Rathaus Schöneberg). ... Boroughs of West Berlin West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... Plaque commemorating Kennedys speech next to the front entrance of Rathaus Schöneberg Entry in Berlins Golden Book Kennedys notes: Ish bin ein Bearleener – kiwis Romanus sum – Lasd z nack Bearleen comen Part of the speech manuscript Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a citizen of Berlin... Nickname: The Big Apple Motto: Official website: City of New York Location [[Image:|250px|250px|Location of City of New York, New York]] Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R... Times Square, named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, which centers on 42nd Street and Broadway. ... Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Official website: http://www. ... The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. ... Trafalgar Square is a square in central London that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. ... Piccadilly Circus is a famous traffic intersection and public space of Londons West End in the City of Westminster. ... The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... First Flag of New England, 1686-c. ... Central Square is an area in Cambridge, Massachusetts centered around the junction of Massachusetts Avenue, Prospect Street, and Western Avenue. ... Cambridge City Hall Cambridge is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. ... Image:Street narrowing. ... Nickname: City on a Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Solar System), Athens of America Motto: Official website: www. ...

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 London squares category. The Houses of Parliament and the clock tower containing Big Ben Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ... Edinburgh (pronounced ), Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic, is the second-largest city in Scotland and its capital city. ...

See also

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

The Market square (or sometimes the market place) is a feature of many British and other European towns. ... A piazza is an open square in a city, often used as a marketplace, found in Italy. ... Place is a term that has a variety of meanings in a dictionary sense, but which is principally used as a noun to denote location, though in a sense of a location identified with that which is located there. ... Plaza is a Spanish word related to field which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. ... The following is a partial list of prominent city squares: // Asia China Statue Square, Edinburgh Square, Connaught Place - Hong Kong Tiananmen Square - Beijing Iran Azadi Square - Tehran Naghsh-i Jahan Square - Isfahan Thailand Siam Square - Bangkok Europe Armenia Republic Square - Yerevan Austria Heldenplatz - Vienna Czech Republic Staromìstské n...

Gallery of town and city squares

Times Square, New York City, USA Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...	Centenary Square, Birmingham, England Download high resolution version (750x912, 227 KB)Centenary Square in Birmingham as seen from a ferris wheel. ...	Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, England Download high resolution version (1000x750, 266 KB) Chamberlain Square in central Birmingham. ...	Town Hall Square, Rothenburg Download high resolution version (1024x768, 245 KB) Description: Town Hall Square in Rothenburg Source: Photo taken by Brego Capture date: 16. ...
Central Square, Trinidad, Cuba Download high resolution version (1120x840, 746 KB)Central square in Trinidad (Cuba) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Market Square, Nottingham, England Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1080x720, 178 KB)Square-Nottingham File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Farragut Square Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1800x1350, 597 KB)Farragut Square in downtown Washington, D.C., seen from the southeast corner of the square. ...	St Isaac's Square, St Petersburg Image File history File links Download high resolution version (937x684, 417 KB) 19th-century vintage postcard of St Isaacs Square and the Saint Petersburg skyline. ...
Palace Square Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 376 KB) Photographer: Walter Smith from Seattle, WA, USA Title: square Description: From an open window in the Hermitage. ... Palace Square is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. ...	Red Square This picture was taken by me during my trip to Russia in the summer of 2002. ... Saint Basils Cathedral and Spasskaya Tower of Moscow Kremlin at Red Square in Moscow. ...	Strastnaya Square Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: Town square Pushkin Square ... All the churches represented on this vintage photo have since been destroyed. ...	Lubyanka Square View of the Lubyanka Square in 1895. ... Stalin ordered all the historic Lubyanka churches to be demolished in order to make way for the KGB headquarters Lubyanka Square in Moscow is not far from Red Square. ...
Tomislav Square, Zagreb Download high resolution version (1024x768, 152 KB)King Tomislav square (the end of Zrinjevac) in Zagreb, picture taken by myself, licensed under GPL v2 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Imam Square, Isfahan, Iran Imam Square in Isfahan was the symbolic center of the Safavid Empire. ...	Skanderbeg Square, Tirana Download high resolution version (1024x215, 272 KB)Panorama of Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania (image under GFDL from Marc Morell used with permission) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x430, 98 KB)Beijing Tiananmen Square 180 degree overview picture Viewpoint is from Tiananmen Gate, looking south. ...
Preradovic Square|Zagreb Download high resolution version (768x1024, 145 KB)Petar Preradović square in Zagreb, with a statue of the same person in the middle and the buildings of the central Serbian Orthodox Church and some bank (the inscription HRVATSKA BANKA means Croatian Bank) in the background. ...	Jelacic Square Central square of the city of Zagreb, the Ban Jelačić Square. ...	Paternoster Square Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 1400 KB) Paternoster Square, City of London, England - the new home of the London Stock Exchange and next door to St Pauls Cathedral. ...	Bremen Square, Bremen, Germany Bremen main square. ...
Mons Square Main square of Mons, Beligum taken by myself in May 2004. ...	Brasov Square ImageMetadata File history File links Brasov_square. ...	Mansfield Square Mansfield Ohio downtown ((GNU)) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Suhbataar Square Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1333, 1815 KB) Government building and Sühbataars mausoleum, Ulan Bator, Mongolia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Cathedral Square Download high resolution version (1024x680, 109 KB)Cathedral Square in Christchurch. ...	Maidan Nezalezhnosti Download high resolution version (614x781, 125 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Maidan Nezalezhnosti (literally: Independence Square ) is a main square in Kyiv, capital city of Ukraine. ...	Wallenstein's Square Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x960, 457 KB)Picture taken in April 2005. ...	Stuttgart Schlossplatz Stuttgart Castle Square - photo from German Wikipedia (Muskelprozz) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Barcelona Plaça reial Plaza Real square in Barcelona Source Photo available from the Barcelona Tourist Office for free publishing. ...	Siena Plaza The main square of Siena, by J.H. Crawford File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Eberswalde Marketplatz main square of Eberswalde - from German wikipedia, uploaded there by user Marcela Source: http://de. ...	Palmerston North The Square, in the heart of Palmerston North, New Zealand. ...
Dam Square, Amsterdam Download high resolution version (1081x770, 136 KB)Amsterdam, Dam square, Jan Adriaensz. ...	Kazimierz Rynek Kazimierz Dolny - view of market square, 2004 Picture taken from Polish Wikipedia, where it was posted by its author under GFDL: File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...	Pecs Main Place, Hungary Download high resolution version (600x800, 63 KB)Main Square of Pecs. ...	Toulouse Plaza Toulouse File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...
Taunton Green, Taunton, Massachusetts, USA Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 220 KB)Source: Downloaded from http://www. ...

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Urban squares