These included the completion of the Santa Cruz Bridge in 1902,[2] and the opening of the Manila tram system a few years later, which had its central terminal at the plaza.

[6] In the 1970s, under Mayor Ramon Bagatsing, a statue of Arsenio Lacson was erected in the middle of the plaza, created by Eduardo Castrillo.

However, in 2007, with the election of Alfredo Lim as mayor of Manila, the pedestrianized portions of the plaza were reopened to vehicular traffic.

Aside from the Santa Cruz Church on its north side, the plaza's most famous landmark is the Roman R. Santos Building, one of Manila's few surviving examples of pre-World War II neoclassical architecture.

The Philippines' first traffic light was installed in the plaza in 1938,[15] and although Manila's tram network was dismantled after World War II, the LRT Line 1 Carriedo station is located on the opposite end of the plaza, at the intersection of Carriedo Street and Rizal Avenue.