Between 1849 and 1851, to the southeast from future square, Sokolnicki Fort (originally known as the
Sergei Fort), which was part of
Warsaw Citadel, was constructed. It was expanded between 1864 and 1874, and was mainly used as a police building and prison. The square was designed by Józef Jankowski, Antoni Jawornicki, and Tadeusz Tołwiński, and constructed around 1923. That year, it was named
Stefan Żeromski Square (Polish:
Plac Stefana Żeromskiego) for the 19th- and 20th-century novelist and dramatist. Between 1928 and 1932, the building of the Fenix Housing Association, designed by
Roman Feliński, was also constructed there. On 27 September 1926, it was renamed to
Thomas Woodrow Wilson Square. The square is named after
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the 28th
president of the United States (in office between 1913 and 1921). In his 1918
Fourteen Points peace proposal, Wilson called for the establishment of an independent
Poland. The full name of the square is
Thomas Woodrow Wilson Square (
Polish:
Plac Thomasa Woodrowa Wilsona), although it is usually known simply as
Wilson Square (Polish:
Plac Wilsona). The
Stefan Żeromski Park, to the square's southeast, was developed between 1925 and 1932. On 3 May 1943, at 6 p.m., while the city was under
German occupation during the
Second World War, the patriotic audition made by
Directorate of Civil Resistance was played from the loudspeaker at the square. It ended with the recording of the
anthem of Poland. The audition was heard by the people gathered at the square, including a group of German soldiers, and the news of the incident quickly spread across the city. A portion of the buildings around the square were destroyed in 1944, including the entirety of the Warsaw Housing Association complex. The square was remodeled around 1955, with changes to the shape of streets and tram tracks, and the addition of lawns. In 1990, it was again renamed to
T. W. Wilson Square (Polish:
plac. im. T.W. Wilsona). In August 2012, its name was extended to
Thomas Woodrow Wilson Square (Polish:
Plac Thomasa Woodrowa Wilsona). == Characteristics ==