United Nations Square (Casablanca)
United Nations Square is a public square in the center of Casablanca, Morocco. It has been central in the history of Casablanca.History
The area outside the walls of the old medina that is now United Nations Square, used to be the location of the Souq Kbir, also referred to as le Grand Socco, before French colonization. In 1908, after the French bombardment and invasion of Casablanca, the French commander Charles Martial Joseph Dessigny ordered the construction of a clock tower in the area, which then took the name, Place de l'Horloge, "Square of the Clock". The square was then named Place de France, "Square of France," and the surrounding area was developed by a team of French architects and urban planners chosen by the French Résident général Hubert Lyautey and led by Henri Prost.
The Magasins Paris-Maroc building, constructed by Hippolyte Delaporte and Auguste Perret, was located at the southern end of Place de France. The building, through United Nations Square.
The clock tower was demolished in 1948, and the square became a bus station for a period of time in the midcentury. A clock tower imitating the original's design was constructed a short distance closer to the medina in 1993.
The architect Jean-François Zevaco designed the Kora Ardia, "Globe," in 1975.
The Casablanca Tramway transformed the square. Work started in 2009, and the first line was inaugurated December 12, 2012.Access
The square is reachable by Line 1 of the Tramway, which stops at United Nations Square Station.
