On June 21, 1919, the Philippines' first transport-related terrorist attack took place at the plaza, when a bomb hidden inside a parcel was lit by a Meralco mechanic as a tram was about to enter the Plaza Goiti station.
In 2003, under Mayor Lito Atienza, the plaza was renamed Plaza Lacson and was pedestrianized as part of a wider pedestrianization of Rizal Avenue.