Lafayette Square (Savannah, Georgia)

Lafayette Square

Flannery O'Connor's childhood home stands in the southeastern tything lot of the square
Namesake	Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
Maintained by	City of Savannah
Location	Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Coordinates	32°04′23″N 81°05′30″W / 32.0730°N 81.0917°W / 32.0730; -81.0917
North	Abercorn Street
East	East Macon Street
South	Abercorn Street
West	East Macon Street
Construction
Completion	1837 (187 years ago) (1837)

Lafayette Square is one of the 22 squares of Savannah, Georgia, United States. It is located in the fourth row of the city's five rows of squares, on Abercorn Street and East Macon Street, and was laid out in 1837. It is south of Colonial Park Cemetery, west of Troup Square, north of Taylor Square and east of Madison Square. The square is named for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution who visited Savannah in 1825. The oldest building on the square is the Andrew Low House, at 329 Abercorn Street, which dates to 1849.^[1]

The square contains a fountain commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Georgia colony, donated by the Colonial Dames of Georgia in 1984, as well as cobblestone sidewalks.^[2][3][4]

Adjacent to the square is the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. Given this proximity, Lafayette Square features prominently in Savannah's Saint Patrick's Day celebrations. Water in the fountain is dyed green for the occasion.^[5]

In this area is the museum known as the Flannery O'Connor Childhood Home, which is open to the public.