[3] According to architectural historian William McKenzie Woodword, the site is Providence's "most constantly reworked space, and fully interpreting its history would fill a book that could be a landmark in understanding American urbanism.

"[2] In the 18th century, the area that is now Kennedy Plaza was part of the Great Salt Cove—an estuary formed by the confluence of the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers.

Over the two decades of the 19th century, Providence's manufacturing economy experienced rapid growth, outpacing the infrastructure needed to distribute these goods to domestic markets.

[4][5] In 1846, the city granted the company permission to fill in a portion of the Great Salt Cove and erect a rail yard and terminal facing Exchange Street.

[8] Employing what was then known as a “WAIT” station in the form of a loop, U.E.R buses served North Main St to Pawtucket and through the East Side tunnel to Thayer, Waterman, Angell, Hope, and Elmgrove Streets.

[9] Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy spoke from the front steps of City Hall on Monday November 7, 1960, the day before he was elected president.

City bus stops on Washington, Westminster, and Weybosset streets were consolidated at Kennedy Plaza in hope of reducing congestion and air pollution.

[12] In 2016, to combat a growing reputation as a haven for drug dealing, vandalism, and prostitution, RIPTA hired a squad of unarmed private security guards to patrol Kennedy Plaza.

In August 2017, Mayor Jorge Elorza announced plans to transform Kennedy Plaza from its traditional role as a transportation hub into a public space which would serve as a "true civic heart" of the city, along the lines of New York's Bryant Park.

[19] The newest version of the plan includes relocating the ice rink and expanding use into the summer as a splash park wading pool.

[20] Included in the plan are public rest rooms, walkways, riverfront improvements, green landscaping, a cafe, and performance space.

[20] On April 20, 1861, at 10:30AM the sidewalks were filled with cheering throngs, who greeted volunteers, of the first division of the First Regiment of Detached Rhode Island Militia leaving for Washington, D.C..

Crowds gathered at the Plaza when President Teddy Roosevelt spoke on the City Hall steps on August 23, 1902: One of the features of the tremendous industrial development of the last generation has been the very great increase in private, and especially in corporate, fortunes.

[22] On March 7, 1914, Harry Houdini brought his show to American audiences and to Exchange Place due to the closure of European performance spaces during the World War.

The monument was moved during the City Hall Park/ Exchange Place transformation in 1913 to the center of the plaza, and returned to its present location in 1997.

[31] A dedication on a northeastern plaque reads ”Rhode Island pays tribute to the memory of the brave men who died that their country might live.”[31] In late 2016, the Downtown Parks Conservancy of Providence started a fundraising effort to restore the monument and the infrastructure immediately around it.

Other sculptures in the Plaza include an 1887 equestrian statue of Ambrose Burnside by Launt Thompson, the Bajnotti Fountain (1899) by Enid Yandell, and, in City Hall Park, The Scout (1911) by Henri Schonhardt.

[2] Haven Brothers Diner (located next to City Hall during the evenings hours), founded in 1888, is one of the oldest restaurants on wheels in America when it was launched as a horse drawn lunch wagon.

Greater Kennedy Plaza is a partnership of private and public sector organizations that have come together to transform the downtown Providence area (including Burnside Park, The Providence Rink at the Bank of America City Center, Biltmore Park and Kennedy Plaza) into a lively public square, rich with activity.