What’s in a name? For Knight Plaza in Miami, it’s the connection between art, science, journalism and people, a gathering spot for the community.

Knight Foundation donated $10 million each to the new Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, in downtown Miami’s Museum Park on Biscayne Bay. The Pérez Art Museum will open Dec. 4 and the Museum of Science in 2015.

When it came to recognizing the foundation’s support, giving the Knight name to the plaza that connects the two museums was the obvious choice, said Alberto Ibargüen, president of the foundation.

“Our mission is to support informed and engaged communities, and having this community gathering space, this meeting space, designated in the foundation’s name is really very special to us,” he said.

John S. and James L. Knight, who started the foundation, ran their national newspaper group from the Miami Herald building, two blocks away. “That’s what great newspapers are, a meeting place for the community,” Ibargüen said. “We never wanted a room in the museum.”

“Naming the plaza after the Knight Foundation was one of the easiest decisions in the history of donor recognition,” Perez Art Museum Miami Director Thom Collins told the Miami Herald.

In addition to linking the museums, Knight Plaza is at the heart of a walkable waterfront district that includes the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the rest of Museum Park.

Andrew Sherry, vice president of communications at Knight Foundation