Monument Square (Racine, Wisconsin)

Monument Square is a public square in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. Located between 5th Street, Main Street, and 6th Street, the square is centrally located in Racine and is faced on the west side by several commercial buildings. The square takes its name from the Soldiers' Monument, a memorial to Civil War soldiers, which was erected in the square in 1884.

History
The area was set aside as a public square from the early settlement of Racine in the 1830s. As a center of agricultural trade in the town, it became known as Market Square or Hay Market Square.

In 1854, after fugitive slave and Racine resident was recaptured and taken to a Milwaukee jail, a group of abolitionists gathered in the square before traveling to Milwaukee, where they joined Milwaukee abolitionists in breaking him out of jail. Glover then successfully followed the to Canada.

In 1880, the local post and its  began campaigning to build a monument to Civil War soldiers in the center of the square. Plans for the monument were announced in September 1883, to be funded by $8,000 in private donations. The 61.5 ft-tall granite monument was designed by C. Allen Campbell of Kansas City, and the granite was sourced from South Ryegate, Vermont.

The square was given its current name on July 4, 1884, when the monument was dedicated during an ceremony attended by Governor.

The Wheary Lights holiday display was staged at the square from 1982 to 1984, before moving to the Racine Zoo in 1985.

The square was the central transfer point for Racine's bus system until July 2004, when it moved to the Corinne Reid-Owens Transit Center. The same year, automobile traffic on the square's one-way parking aisle was reversed, to travel northbound instead of southbound.