Lafayette Square (Buffalo, New York)

Lafayette Square
Soldiers and Sailors, the monument at Lafayette Square
Map
TypePublic park/Town Square
LocationBuffalo, New York
Coordinates42°53′09″N 78°52′26″W / 42.885702°N 78.873808°W / 42.885702; -78.873808
Area1 city block
Createdearly 1800s
Operated byCity of Buffalo
StatusOpen all year
Public transit accessLafayette Square (Metro Rail)

Lafayette Square (formerly Court House Park or Courthouse Square[1]) is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States, that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings. The square was named for General Lafayette, who visited Buffalo in 1825.[1]

The square was part of the original urban plan for the city as laid out by Joseph Ellicott in 1804.[2] Its eastern edge has long been defined by important civic structures; first, the Erie County Courthouse, followed by the original Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. Presidential history was made in Lafayette Square when former United States President Martin Van Buren received the Free Soil Party nomination for the 1848 election.[3] President-elect Abraham Lincoln also spoke at the square.[4]

Today, the square offers a clear view of Buffalo City Hall, an Art Deco building three blocks to the west. A granite Civil War monument, titled Soldiers and Sailors, gives a strong vertical and ceremonial definition to the space. Conceived by Mrs. Horatio Seymour, the monument's dedication ceremony was attended by Grover Cleveland and other prominent figures.[5] Until 2011, Lafayette Square hosted the annual Thursday at the Square summer concert series and is occasionally the site of rallies and demonstrations.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Lafayette Square". Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved March 25, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Lalli, V. Roger (watercolor)/ Rote, David Mott (text) (1994). "Buffalo My City: Water Color Series". www.ci.buffalo.ny.us. GLK Enterprises. Retrieved March 7, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference OPotNFSC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference FDAROL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Lafayette Square Buffalo, New York". Lancaster Historical Society. Archived from the original on November 22, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference SCS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).