Until the early 1990s, the square was used on Israel's Independence Day, as a public exhibition ground for IDF field units (mostly armor and heavy artillery).

[citation needed] Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated at the conclusion of a peace rally at the site on November 4, 1995.

[citation needed] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a great deal of criticism had been voiced about the Square's appearance, most directed at the City Hall building.

Opposition to the renovation plans mostly centers around arguments that the design of the square and City Hall are part of Tel Aviv's history and should be preserved.

However, in 2010 a minor renovation project was carried out, in which an ecological water pool was constructed near the Holocaust commemorative monument, and around it a deck with a recreational area.