The square was built on the place formerly known as "Piques", a triangular-shaped ravine that served as an entrance and exit of the city of São Paulo for the muleteers who transported goods.

[3] Starting with the widening of the Pique and Palha slopes, Müller built the square and the fountain, and with the leftover material from another work he asked master mason Vicente Gomes Pereira (Mestre Vicentinho) to build the obelisk "in memory of the zeal for public good" demonstrated by the government.

[6] The Piques Pyramid is considered São Paulo's first monument or, as Roberto Pompeu de Toledo defined it in his book "A Capital da Solidão", the "first useless work", whose "function did not concern any practical aspect of life.

"[6] "The pyramid was a sign that São Paulo was ceasing to have the function of a mere outpost for the conversion of the indigenous people" the author wrote.

[8] The water was collected at the Reúno Tank, near the location of today's Bandeira Square, passed through Piques and continued until it reached the central lake of the Public Garden, now Luz Park.

[7] However, according to the extinct newspaper Correio Paulistano, in 1872 the place was supplied by Bixiga Tank, which exists to this day on 13 de Maio Street.

At that time, the railroad's role as the "gateway" to the city was transferred to the Luz Station; the old troops gradually lost their importance, until they were completely replaced by the train.

[15] For the architect Luciana de Barros Maragliano, it could either represent the family name of Lázaro Rodrigues Piques, a blacksmith who lived near the site around 1770, or it could indicate the significant unevenness between the upper street (currently, Xavier de Toledo Street) and the Anhangabaú Valley below; in other words, a pique (steep) slope.

In the publication "Largo da Memória", by Institute Itaú Cultural, there is yet another hypothesis: the word "pique" would be used in the sense of affronting someone, since the muleteers also settled their feuds at the square.

"[4] The work was built under the guidance of Marshal Daniel Pedro Müller, a military engineer, and initially stood in the water, which formed a basin there.

The works were sponsored by Brazilian Aluminium Company (Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio - CBA), in partnership with the city's Department of Historical Heritage (Departamento do Patrimônio Histórico do Município - DPH), linked to the Municipal Secretariat of Culture.

[17] According to the São Paulo City Hall, "the restoration project [was] part of a partnership between CBA and DPH, through the program 'Adote uma Obra Artística' (Adopt an Artistic Work), of the Municipal Secretariat of Culture, the Federation of Friends of Museums of Brazil (Federação de Amigos de Museus do Brasil - Fambra) and Ação Local - Ladeira da Memória, which [sought] the support of private initiative for the conservation and physical restoration of works of art and monuments in São Paulo.

"[17] Due to the lack of care for the area, the place is considered very dangerous and is abandoned, even though it is one of the most important tourist attractions in São Paulo.

The date was celebrated with an event organized by the Municipal Secretariat of Culture of São Paulo,[9] which included 56 presentations of dance, theater, music, circus, living statues, and urban intervention created by two hundred artists.

[9] The bicentennial was also marked by a project to clean and chemically protect the monument, through a service donation agreement with the companies NanoBr, Evonik, Rental Master and Inova.