Plaza facts for kids
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open public space in a city, such as a city square. In Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each city had three things: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was a space where many people could be together at once. Similar to Italian piazzas, plazas are still a center of community life, like the market-place.
Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could gather.
A plaza de toros is a bullring.
Shopping center
The first shopping center in the United States, opened in Kansas City, Missouri in 1922, was called "Country Club Plaza" and had Spanish-style architectural details. More recently, plaza has been used to describe a shopping center, similar to a shopping mall. Calling a shopping center a plaza is to give the idea of a center of cultural life.
Other pages
Images for kids
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Announcement of the establishment of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs on Congress Square in 1918
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Fountain in People's Square in Shanghai, China
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Schlossplatz in Stuttgart, Germany
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Piazza Navona and the Fontana (fountain) del Moro in central Rome, Italy. The fountain in the background is Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
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Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran
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Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium
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Red Square in Moscow, Russia, a view from the northwest, showing historic St. Basil's Cathedral and the Spasskaya Tower or "Saviour Tower"
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Plaza Mayor of Madrid, Spain
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See also
In Spanish: Plaza para niños
