Plaza

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Plaza

Plaza is a Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space

Public space

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socioeconomics....
, such as a city square.

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Encyclopedia

Plaza is a Spanish

Spanish language

Public space

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socioeconomics....
, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
, the cabildo
Cabildo

Cabildo can refer to:* Cabildo , a former Spanish municipal administrative unit governed by a council* Cabildo Canaries, island governments in the Canary Islands...
or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop....
, 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

Fiesta

Fiesta can mean:*A Spanish-derived word for festival, party, celebration, or holiday.*Ford Fiesta, a model of car produced by Ford.*Fiesta , the line of Homer Laughlin China Co....
, it was the space where a large crowd might gather. Like the Italian piazza

Piazza

When the Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford developed the first privately-ventured public square built in London, Covent Garden, his architect Inigo Jones surrounded it with arcade s, in the Italian fashion....
, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equalled by the market-place.

Most colonial cities in Spanish America were planned around a square plaza de armas
Plaza de Armas

The Plaza de Armas is the name for the town square in many Latin American cities. In Mexico this space is known as El Z?calo, and in Central America as Parque Central ....
, where troops could be mustered, as the name implies, surrounded by the governor's palace and the main church.

A plaza de toros is a bullring

Bullring

A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with Spain, but they can also be found in neighboring countries and the New World....
.

The Italian cognate

Cognate

Cognates in linguistics are words that have a common etymology origin.An example of cognates within the same language would be English shirt vs....
is Piazza
Piazza

When the Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford developed the first privately-ventured public square built in London, Covent Garden, his architect Inigo Jones surrounded it with arcade s, in the Italian fashion....
, the Portuguese Praça, the French Place, the Romanian Pia?a and the German Platz.

Examples

Plaza Mayor of Madrid
Plaza Mayor of Valladolid
Plaza de Mayo
Zócalo
Zócalo

In many cities in Mexico, a z?calo is the main plaza or square, set in the heart of the town. This is unique to Mexico and came about because of the naming of the main plaza of Mexico City....
Plaza Mayor of Lima
Plaza de Bolívar
Nana Plaza
Nana Plaza

Nana Plaza is a red-light district in Bangkok. It is located on Sukhumvit Road Soi 4 across from the Nana Hotel, within walking distance of the BTS Skytrain's "Nana Station"....
Plaza Mayor de Salamanca

Shopping center

The first purpose-built shopping center in the United States, opened in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson County, Missouri, Clay County, Missouri, Cass County, Missouri, and Platte County, Missouri counties....
in 1922, knowingly took the name of "Country Club Plaza

Country Club Plaza

The Country Club Plaza is an upscale List of leading shopping streets and districts by city and residential neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, Missouri, USA....
" and adopted Spanish architectural details. More recently plaza has been used to describe a shopping complex

Retailing

Retailing consists of the sales of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store or kiosk, or by post, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser....
, similar to a shopping mall

Shopping mall

File:Nordstrom wing , Pentagon City Mall.jpgA shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings which contain retail units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit....
, borrowing its connotations of a center of cultural life. The name is currently even applied to a single building with some semi-public street-level areas, often with a hotel or office tower above, while mall more often refers to multiple buildings or a street.

Examples: Pantip Plaza

Pantip Plaza

Pantip Plaza is an indoor Information technology shopping mall located on New Phetchaburi Road in Ratchathewi district, Bangkok, Thailand. The sale of Copyright infringement of software and Copyright infringement are some reasons behind this mall's success and notoriety....
, Clinton Plaza

Clinton Plaza

Clinton Plaza was a thriving but short-lived red-light district in Bangkok, Thailand, located on Sukhumvit Road between Soi 13 and Soi 15. Its location was excellent, being midway between the Nana Plaza to the west and the Soi Cowboy nightlife area to the east....
, Plaza Las Américas

Plaza Las Américas

Plaza Las Am?ricas is a large and famous shopping mall in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, located right across from the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, and close to WKAQ-TV's studios....
, Central Plaza, Hong Kong

Central Plaza, Hong Kong

Central Plaza is the second tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong. With a height of 374 m , Central Plaza is only surpassed by International Finance Centre in Central, Hong Kong....
, Schiphol Plaza, The Plaza

The Plaza (mall)

The Plaza, formerly known as Evergreen Plaza, is an enclosed shopping mall located in Evergreen Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The mall's anchor stores are Carson Pirie Scott and Office Depot; it also features over 120 stores, as well as a food court....
.

Fictional example: Nakatomi Plaza (in real life, Fox Plaza

Fox Plaza

Fox Plaza is a 492-foot high skyscraper with 34 floors in Century City, Los Angeles, California, a local landmark. Completed in 1987, the architects behind its design were Scott Johnson, Bill Fain and William Pereira....
).