Plaza de la Constitución

Plaza de la Constitución is the oldest public space in America, laid out by Spanish Royal Ordinances in 1573. The Ordinances required the plaza to align with the compass points and to have "good proportion," as a prolonged square with a length equal to 1½ times its width; such proportional ratios were believed to carry harmony and spiritual meaning. A market established here in 1598 created the first system of weights and measures. Its Constitution Monument may be the only remaining monument in the Western Hemisphere celebrating the Spanish Constitution of 1812. The plaza also contains memorials to Felix Varela, prisoners of the American Revolution, the Confederacy, and soldiers killed in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as markers about Florida's 67 counties and a pre-18th century well designated an American Water Landmark. The Town Plan and plaza were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.

St. Augustine, Florida · United States