Downtown Cleveland - Public Square

Public Square

The heart of downtown and the city's first settled area, Public Square was laid out by city founder Moses Cleaveland in 1796 and has remained largely unchanged. It consists of a large open space, cut into quadrants by Ontario Street and Superior Avenue. Public Square is the symbolic heart of the city, and has hosted presidents, vast congregations of people, and a free annual 4th of July concert by the Cleveland Orchestra. At one time, Public Square was fenced off and inaccessible to vehicles. In 1860, the Perry Monument, a memorial to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's victory in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812, was dedicated in the center of Public Square. In 1892, it was moved out of the square, which by then had the fences removed after lobbying by commercial interests. Public Square is also home to the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, which commemorates residents of Cuyahoga County who served in the Civil War. Public Square also features a statue of Cleaveland; a statue of Tom L. Johnson, the city's most famous mayor; a large amount of shrubbery and other landscaping; and a large public fountain. The Consulate-General of Slovenia in Cleveland is in the 55 Public Square building.

Notable buildings on Public Square include the Terminal Tower, home to Tower City Center, 200 Public Square - the former BP Building (renamed in 2005), as well as Key Tower, the tallest building in Ohio and one of the tallest in the United States. Public Square is also home to the historic Old Stone Church, completed in 1855. The west side of Public Square was to become the headquarters of the Cleveland Trust Company, then called Ameritrust, but the project was cancelled after Ameritrust was purchased and merged into Key Bank, leaving that side of the square open to this day, with only a surface parking lot on the site. The region is currently debating the best use of Public Square, and several residents and organizations have called for the square to be closed to traffic during non-peak hours of the weekday. Plans floated for a square redesign include an ice skating rink, amphitheater, farmer's market, restaurant with outdoor seating, and other ideas, all of which are designed to draw people to the square as a gathering place.