Picture the open plaza in front of you, an urban park and gathering place that sits directly across from the Arizona State Capitol complex in downtown Phoenix. One of the city’s Points of Pride, this is the spot where memorials honor prominent figures, wars, and events in Arizona history. The plaza was established by the Arizona Legislature on March 9, 1978 and was named for Governor Wesley Bolin, who had died five days previously.
The ground you stand on was laid out as part of the Legislative Governmental Mall, often simply called the plaza, and it was designed, loosely on the model of the National Mall, to be an open‑air public space of monuments, memorials and gardens. You can still find pieces that predate the plaza itself, like the monument to the USS Arizona, dedicated on December 7, 1976. That civic openness has also made this a gathering place and the focal point of demonstrations — during the 2006 United States immigration reform protests, more than 100,000 people rallied here.
Notice the roughly 30 memorials to individuals, organizations, and events here, their plaques and sculptures framed by the State Capitol rising behind them.