Courthouse Square

Last Friday night I attended a venue — concert of Foreverland, Micheal Jackson’s tribute band — for the first time at the Courthouse square. BTW, The concert was the blast!!! A lot of fun, laughter, dancing in the crowd. The square was almost packed with public. But it’s still convenient to move between people and chairs — all is well-​organized and arranged. A great choice of restaurants on Broadway around the Square made the rest of our evening. Free parking in the county garage just one block away from the Square — what else you need to have a perfect Friday night in the town!

Went to the Foreverland Friday evening concert. Gr8 Michael Jackson tribute band. Lots of people enjoying the end of summer.

They sure have done some amazing things with this place.
At the courthouse square you’ll find the redwood city history museum.
YOU should definitely check that out.
This is where they have Oktoberfest every yr.
They have the salsa fest here.
This is where my church has decided to meet now every Sunday for 5pm service.
They also have a lot of live bands here.
Those bands are pretty amazing.
In April through to November they also have the amazing farmers market here.
My guinea pig cloud loved it so I am sure you would too.

I love Courthouse Square and well the city uses it for festivals, events and concerts. It is beautiful and such a nice anchor for downtown Redwood City. Parking downtown can be difficult with all the construction projects, but the city has done an ok job with signs directing visitors to the nearby parking garages. If you’re driving, plan to allow a little extra time to find parking. Parking often free is for events if you’re willing to walk just a few blocks.

one of my absolute favourite places to be in r-w-c…ha, it even rhymes!
i’ve been here countless times, for downtown redwood city festivals, concerts, and art displays. sometimes, when it’s quiet, i like to grab a chair and table and just eat my sandwich here b/​c it’s so peaceful. i’ve even seen brides and grooms take their photographs here with their wedding parties!
i love that this area is centrally located, right in front of the san mateo county museum, and is always open and free to the public. there are always pizza boards on the perimeter of the square that inform passersby about upcoming events on the «square» such as concerts, movies, and other entertainment.
on the southeast side of the square are froyola, a frozen yogurt shoppe, and chatime, a bubble tea and coffee shoppe. on the northwest side of the square is a small gift shop.
this is truly a gem in redwood city and makes me happy to be a resident here.

Really nice and upscale outdoor venue in the center of downtown Redwood City. They have concerts and outdoor events put on by the city. Its located right across the street from the Fox Theater, museum and Century Theater. A great place to just hang out and enjoy the day.

Love the courthouse plaza. But what happened to the bistro tables and chairs? They seem to have disappeared for a few months now.

Downtown Redwood City was revamped in recent years and now looks like a more welcoming place to hang out and to check out the local shops and restaurants. During the warmer months, the Courthouse Square is a nice place to take in the sun or to grab a bite out to eat. I have seen the Courthouse Square as a space and place to hold outdoor events sponsored by local organizations and the City of Redwood City. I have seen events such as outdoor movies and shows/​festivals hosted in the square.

Love’t here. So nice and even nicer in the summer w all the free dancin, live music, & movie nights. Eateries and now 2 movie theatres to pick from.
Bravo!

Beautiful Friday afternoon in early spring was a great day to go to the free museum day. Kids playing outside people enjoying themselves all kinds of great food within walking distance from here and a movie theater.
You can’t go wrong with a outing to the courthouse square!

The place to be in RWC during the Spring and Summer concerts! Great people, great fun, great music and wine… all you need to bring is the family an friends!!!
RWC has the best weather in the peninsula!

Redwood city has come a long way!!! I love the fact that us residents (non residents too) can enjoy the movies, dancing, performances and festivals at the courthouse square. It’s a beautiful place come check it out!
Make sure you Bring a cooler with goods and enjoy the variety of music, movies and events!

Sorry, but as someone born and raised in Redwood City, I have to say MEH.
Don’t get me wrong, Courthouse Square is a huge improvement over the nothing we had on this block for years. Getting rid of the crappy, dingy/​gloomy old façade and showcasing the historic, original County Courthouse in all its glory is absolutely a wonderful thing.
But the DESIGN. Holy crap, the level of fail in the design is astounding.
There is no shade anywhere which makes hanging out at Courthouse Square absolutely unbearable in the spring/​summer/​fall, thanks to the fact that the tryhard geniuses who designed the area planned it to be like any one of the more generic stone-‘n’-concrete upscale strip mall courtyards that you’ll find in the Valley down in SoCal. An entire half a block of open gathering space and they didn’t think to plant a single tree or even install a patch of lawn or a flower bed. Sure, you can shelter under a kiosk, but if you’re at the Square for an event it’s likely that your view of the proceedings will suck.
And while I’m glad that the Square is being used as a community meeting space, most of the events put on by the city do not appeal to me. I mean I’m glad that the free Friday music nights and free Thursday movie nights exist for the people who enjoy them, but they are not for me. The movies tend to be years old and either rated G for the kiddies or just seriously right-​wing and not my style. What I mean by that is that they would show movies like Jarhead but never something like Milk (yes, my references are a few years out of date). And as much as out of towners and people who live on the 94 062 side of the city might enjoy the novelty of music at the Square, people who live downtown aren’t always thrilled to be renting units at inflated Peninsula prices only to have loud rock music blaring just a few blocks away. Nor do I ever think it’s fun to sit in a square with a hundred loud, tipsy people listening to the latest dad-​rock tribute band.
Also, if you read some of the previous reviews, you’ll see that Courthouse Square represents a super-​gentrified and sanitized version of what a downtown should be. Previous reviews laud the heavy police presence on busy nights, the lack of graffiti (because graffiti is so scary and offensive to the visual cortex), and the general absence of riffraff. Yes, seeing obnoxious middle-​aged dudebros paying for overpriced beer in a plastic cup and rocking out to Dave Matthews Lite is totally acceptable, but heaven forbid you run into a group of young teenagers (of color) or get a glimpse of one of the city’s estimated 500 homeless people.
Sorry for the rant, haha! I do think the Square is an improvement on the past. But so many things about it, like the type of attitude it promotes and the type of direction it clearly indicates for the city just doesn’t fit with me and the perspective I have as a native. Remember «stop trying to making ‘fetch’ happen» from Mean Girls? That’s exactly the feeling I get when I see the Square: stop trying to make RWC happen.
One cool thing about the square: Occupy Redwood City used to meet at the Square on Friday evenings (they now meet at City Hall). The Square was also the site of a large labor rally back in April of last year. Now THAT’s a real awesome use of this downtown community space: bringing back the feeling of the commons, civic participation, and a true town hall feel to the center of the city.

What a great spot! We came here for the Carne Asada Festival and they had the stage set up here. Large enough so people weren’t too packed in.
I can imagine how great the movie nights and other organized events must be. Gorgeous on a warm summer night.

YAY!!! I love love love the courthouse square! It’s super nice and beautiful and I love that in the Summer they have FREE entertainments every single night!
I was there for a FREE movie night with some friends… do come early to snag a table and chair. otherwise, bring your own!
Friday nights (summer) are usually VERY CROWDED (music on the square) and you really want to bring your own stuff to sit on! Lots of people bring their own food and drink and have picnics here :)
I really hope that the city will find a way to keep funding the activities here… it certainly brings businesses to the otherwise sleepy downtown area.
Check out downtown redwood city event page to find what else they are offering here at the courthouse square. It’s worth visiting!

You remember that scene in (500) Days of Summer where Joseph Gordon-​Levitt walks around and is having the best day EVER? The scene with the dance sequence to Hall and Oates «You Make My Dreams Come True» and the little birds from Cinderella?
No? Watch this video:

Courthouse Square reminds me of that scene.
At night, there are little lights everywhere and it’s pretty romantic.
Love the music in the park and movies during the summertime!

Smack dab in the middle of Redwood Coty, this spot is the quintessential small town center.
Came here tonight for an outdoor movie. It was the perfect way to unwind after a crazy weekend. They even provide a few chairs and tables, just in case you forgot to bring your own.
Come here and see this cute little RWC gem.

Love it here! Love it. Whenever we are walking together day or night… rain or shine… Festival, Farmers Market, or for no good reason at all… I can’t help but daydream about raising a family here in Redwood City.
The people are down to earth, the town is clean, whoever plans the events here has what it takes to pull together excellent vendors and a great crowd to enjoy it all with.
Seeing children riding their little bikes in the square, couples holding hands, people standing around with their drinks chatting and people watching… great music playing in the background…
Oh and there isn’t graffiti here! Man, I don’t miss San Jose at all. The police officers are friendly here and the square is clean.
It also amazes me that a city in the Bay Area can have beautiful little bistro sets sitting around in a town square that people actually respect and take care of as they enjoy them. Great town, Good people!

I love this square and the many community events that happen here all summer.
Today as I lunched I sat watching a father daughter dup perform some real retro numbers and I checked the many events coming up, the dance lessons on tuedays, the music concerts on fridays and the family events through the weak and lo! Joy was in the air!
The city has done a great job at creating a community feeling through these events. I can’t wait for the free salsa lessons the last tuesday of this month :)

Well being a Redwood City resident, it’s time once again to don my RWC cheerleader outfit (it’s very tight under the arms) and sing… uh chant the praises of the revitalized downtown area. One of the centerpieces is the RWC Courthouse Square. Does anybody realize how much stuff is going on here during the summer? Let’s review:
— Music on the Square: Free outdoor concerts every Friday from 6 – 8 p.m.; May to early October
— Movies on the Square: Free outdoor movies (PG-​13 and below) on the big screen every Thursday night, starting at sundown; June to August
— Shakespeare on the Square: selected Saturday evenings, starting at 7 pm; preceded by a local string quartet starting at 5:30
— Dancing on the square: Dance series every Tuesday night from June to September
— Other various weekend events, including the PAL Blues festival and Target Family days, which include music, storytelling and activities.
The scheduling for all the above events can be found at the RWC special events site. Here’s the link:
Hungry? Thirsty? These events include vendors selling refreshments, including beer and wine. Plus there are a variety of quickie restaurants within a block, including taquerias, pizza joints, bakeries, sandwich spots and even dessert-​based cafes.
Five stars for being free, outside, family-​friendly, walking distance to Caltrain, and adjacent to the beautiful San Mateo County courthouse. Did I mention these activities are all FREE? Last time I checked, Free was good.