Lafayette Square, Buffalo
Encyclopedia
Lafayette Square 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.
The square was part of the original urban plan
for the city as laid out by Joseph Ellicott
in 1804. 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
. President-elect
Abraham Lincoln
also spoke at the square.
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. Today, Lafayette Square hosts the annual Thursday at the Square
summer concert series and is occasionally the site of rallies and demonstrations
.
's city plan. The square is located three blocks east of Niagara Square
and is the second most important space in downtown Buffalo. The block is surrounded by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
's Metro Rail light rail
rapid transit
to the west, which runs above-ground along Main Street in what is called the Free Fare Zone, Washington Street to the east, Lafayette Square to the north (a one-way
westbound continuation of Broadway Street) and Lafayette Square to the south (a one-way eastbound connection to Clinton Street).
Buildings flanking the square include the Liberty Building, the Main Court Building
, 10 Lafayette Square
, the Rand Building
(14 Lafayette Square), and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
(One Lafayette Square). The south side of the square hosts two historic buildings: the 300-room Lafayette Hotel, designed by Louise Blanchard Bethune
in 1904; and the Brisbane building, designed by Milton E. Beebe and erected by James Mooney and James Brisbane in 1894–5. The corner north of the current library and northeast of the square once hosted the Buffalo Savings Bank building that was demolished in 1922 and now hosts a parking lot
.
Lafayette Square is served by several Metro Bus routes and the Lafayette Square
rapid transit rail station of Buffalo's Metro Rail system. In 2003, Lafayette Square became the site of the first free municipal wifi hotspot in the city.
Lafayette Square was the last park in the heart of the city, but the commercialization of the downtown area caused vehicular space demands. The original parklike square was originally viewed by urban planners
as an impediment to crosstown traffic. In 1912, the Buffalo Common Council
authorized the extension of Broadway Avenue to Main Street through Lafayette Square, which reduced the size of the square "to devote to street purposes all that part of the Square except for a small circle around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument." The square has since been redeveloped a few times and is now more of a thoroughfare than a park. In 1920, the square circumscribed a vehicular circle with the monument in the center surrounded by sidewalks and grass.
, artillery
, cavalry
and navy
, sculpted by Caspar Buberl
, which face the four cardinal points. Bronze bas-reliefs encircle the column above the statues. The female figure is an allegorical figure representing the Union
. By the time of the 1979 report for the Mayor's Committee on the Arts and Cultural Affairs, two plaques were missing from the monument.
The dedication on the west (Main Street) side honors those who laid down their lives "in the war to maintain the union for the cause of their country and of mankind." Half of Abraham Lincoln
's Gettysburg Address
graces the east side of the monument. Several bas-relief panels feature scenes of Lincoln's original cabinet
: Treasury Secretary
Salmon Chase, Secretary of State
William H. Seward
, Attorney General
Edward Bates
, Postmaster General
Montgomery Blair
, Secretary of the Interior
, Caleb Smith
, Secretary of the Navy
Gideon Welles
, Major General
Winfield Scott
, and Secretary of War
Simon Cameron
.
Courthouse from 1810 until it was destroyed by the British Army
during the Burning of Buffalo during the War of 1812
on December 30, 1813. In 1831, the Holland Land Company
gave the deed of the public park to the city.
The original Erie County court house was built facing the square park in 1818. Buffalo was the county seat of Niagara County until 1821, when Erie County was created. In 1833 an adjacent county jailhouse was added. The jail, which was crude, and a debtor's prison were located in the back of the courthouse. In 1853, the city fenced in the square and installed a US$30,000 ($ today) fountain. Erie County Sheriff Grover Cleveland once personally hanged a criminal in the square when it was still named Court House Square, after his subordinates refused to do so. President-elect
Abraham Lincoln
spoke at the square on February 16, 1861. The courthouse was used as the place for the determination of justice for the American side of the Niagara River
until it was abandoned on March 11, 1876.
A Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library building was first erected on the Court House's location and dedicated on February 7, 1887. The current Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
building that replaced Eidlitz's building was constructed between 1961 and 1963. Eidlitz had won an architectural competition against the likes of Henry Richardson
, who was regarded as the nation’s top architect at the time. The gargoyles of the Romanesque
Eidlitz building were widely respected and admired. However, they were not saved due to prohibitive expense at the time of the early 1960s demolition.
In 1825 American Revolutionary War
veteran and French
General Lafayette
visited this square during his historic tour of the United States
and gave a speech in the square. He spoke on a platform in front of the Eagle Tavern, a highly-regarded hotel in its day, on June 4 as part of ceremonies to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the outbreak of the war. That same year, Buffalo carried out its last official public hanging when brothers Israel, Isaac and Nelson Thayer were hanged for murdering John Love, which some accounts say occurred in the square, while others say it was at Niagara Square. The square hosted many public meetings and early Erie County Fair
s, such as the October 1841 fair that was held in the square and behind the courthouse.
In 1848, the Free Soil Party
, which was absorbed into the Republican Party
in 1854, held its national nominating convention in Buffalo. A the convention, the party selected former New York Governor and former United States President Martin Van Buren
and Charles Francis Adams
as their nominees for United States President and United States Vice President for the 1848 election
. Forty thousand people witnessed the event at the square. The square has hosted several notable speakers such as Henry Clay
in 1842 and Daniel Webster
in 1833.
The first meeting regarding the erection of a Civil War monument was held on April 14, 1866. Efforts stalled until Mrs. Horatio Seymour
organized the Ladies Union Monument Association on July 2, 1874, which raised $12,000 ($) and approved a design by George Keller
. Following this proactive effort, the city of Buffalo approved an additional $45,000 ($) for the project. Support for the monument effort coalesced when public interest in and support for an arch by Henry Hobson Richardson
at Niagara Square in front of Buffalo City Hall
faded. In 1879, the name of the square was changed from Court House Park to Lafayette Square.
Then-Mayor of Buffalo Grover Cleveland
laid the cornerstone of Keller's 85 feet (25.9 m) granite
-shaft Soldiers and Sailors monument in the center of the square on July 4, 1882 and returned as New York Governor to dedicate the monument July 4, 1884. When the cornerstone was laid with military pomp and Masonic ritual, Cleveland spoke, and a time capsule
was sealed away. In addition, Brigadier General
Stewart Woodford made remarks at the first ceremony. Woodford was among several notable people who attended the dedication, including Pennsylvania Governor John Hartranft and Brigadier General William Findlay Rogers
. Columns of Union Army
veterans marched down Main Street to celebrate the day.
The monument has survived two significant threats. First, in 1889, the foundation was found to have settled unevenly, causing a dangerous tilt similar to that of the Tower of Pisa. The square was cracking and crumbling due to an inadequate core of rubble and mortar to support the granite shaft and statuary. In addition the copper box time capsule was found to be three feet below its intended chamber and cracked with its contents destroyed. The monument was dismantled and rebuilt with an expanded 15 feet (4.6 m) base. On February 12, 1973, a motorist drove his vehicle into the monument, prompting calls for its demolition by 1982 by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
. Instead, the monument was repaired through fundraising efforts by the Buffalo Civil War Round Table involving a successful public awareness campaign.
Every summer since 1986, Buffalo Place, Inc. has hosted a free concert series, called Thursday at the Square
on Thursday evenings in Lafayette Square, starting in May and running until September. A typical schedule includes a wide variety of musical acts.
Because of its central, symbolic location, Lafayette Square is often chosen for various rallies
. After Scott Norwood
missed a field goal
in Super Bowl XXV
, Buffalo Bills
fans held a rally at the square to show their continuing support of him and the team. On January 16, 1981, there were a set of demonstration
s and counter-demonstrations on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at Lafayette Square, Niagara Square
and nearby areas by the Neo-Nazi National Socialist Party of America
and opposing groups.
42.89°N 78.87°W
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Erie County, New York
Erie County, New York
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 919,040. The county seat is Buffalo. The county's name comes from Lake Erie, which in turn comes from the Erie tribe of American Indians who lived south and east of the lake before 1654.Erie...
, United States that hosts a Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings. The square was named for General Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
, who visited Buffalo in 1825.
The square was part of the original urban plan
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
for the city as laid out by Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
in 1804. 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
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
received the Free Soil Party
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
nomination for the 1848 election
United States presidential election, 1848
The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James K. Polk, having achieved all of his major objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.The...
. President-elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
also spoke at the square.
Today, the square offers a clear view of Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York State. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32 story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones....
, an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
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
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...
, the monument's dedication ceremony was attended by Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
and other prominent figures. Today, Lafayette Square hosts the annual Thursday at the Square
Thursday at the Square
Thursday at the Square is a free weekly concert series held annually from May through August in Buffalo, New York in Downtown Buffalo in Lafayette Square.-History:...
summer concert series and is occasionally the site of rallies and demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
.
Location
Lafayette Square is one of three squares laid out in Joseph EllicottJoseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.-Life:He was the son of Joseph Ellicott ....
's city plan. The square is located three blocks east of Niagara Square
Niagara Square
Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed in 1804 for the then village of New Amsterdam...
and is the second most important space in downtown Buffalo. The block is surrounded by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is a public authority responsible for the public transportation oversight of Erie and Niagara counties in the State of New York...
's Metro Rail light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
rapid transit
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
to the west, which runs above-ground along Main Street in what is called the Free Fare Zone, Washington Street to the east, Lafayette Square to the north (a one-way
One-way traffic
One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, or designed to direct vehicles to move in one direction.-General signs:...
westbound continuation of Broadway Street) and Lafayette Square to the south (a one-way eastbound connection to Clinton Street).
Buildings flanking the square include the Liberty Building, the Main Court Building
Main Court Building
The Main Court Building is an office building in Buffalo, New York located on the corner of Main Street and Court Street across the Buffalo Metro Rail from Lafayette Square. It is and stands 13 floors high. The tower is located across Court Street from the Liberty Building....
, 10 Lafayette Square
10 Lafayette Square
10 Lafayette Square, also known as the Tishman Building, is a high-rise office tower located in Lafayette Square Buffalo, NY. Completed in 1959, it is the thirteenth tallest building in Buffalo, standing 263 feet and 20 stories tall....
, the Rand Building
Rand Building
The Rand Building is a skyscraper and the third tallest building in Buffalo, New York. At the time it was built in 1929, it was the tallest in the city at a height of...
(14 Lafayette Square), and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is located on Lafayette Square, Buffalo, New York. The current facility, built in 1963, replaced the original Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library Building dedicated in February 1887. The first Buffalo Public Library, in turn, replaced the Erie County, New...
(One Lafayette Square). The south side of the square hosts two historic buildings: the 300-room Lafayette Hotel, designed by Louise Blanchard Bethune
Louise Blanchard Bethune
Louise Bethune , born Jennie Louise Blanchard in Waterloo, New York, was the first American woman known to have worked as a professional architect. The Blanchard family moved to Buffalo, New York when Louise was a child. She graduated from the Buffalo High School in 1874 and was planning on going...
in 1904; and the Brisbane building, designed by Milton E. Beebe and erected by James Mooney and James Brisbane in 1894–5. The corner north of the current library and northeast of the square once hosted the Buffalo Savings Bank building that was demolished in 1922 and now hosts a parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
.
Lafayette Square is served by several Metro Bus routes and the Lafayette Square
Lafayette Square (Metro Rail)
Lafayette Square is a Buffalo Metro Rail station near City Hall and is near the center of the Buffalo, New York's Central Business District at Lafayette Square.Lafayette Square station is located on Main Street, between Lafayette Square and Mohawk Streets....
rapid transit rail station of Buffalo's Metro Rail system. In 2003, Lafayette Square became the site of the first free municipal wifi hotspot in the city.
Square
The square once was surrounded by an iron fence that was no longer present by 1905. By the 1860s, the square was a heavily wooded park. In 1876-7, trees that lined the square along main street were removed.Lafayette Square was the last park in the heart of the city, but the commercialization of the downtown area caused vehicular space demands. The original parklike square was originally viewed by urban planners
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
as an impediment to crosstown traffic. In 1912, the Buffalo Common Council
Buffalo Common Council
The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the Buffalo, New York City Government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North, University, and South. In the past, the Common...
authorized the extension of Broadway Avenue to Main Street through Lafayette Square, which reduced the size of the square "to devote to street purposes all that part of the Square except for a small circle around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument." The square has since been redeveloped a few times and is now more of a thoroughfare than a park. In 1920, the square circumscribed a vehicular circle with the monument in the center surrounded by sidewalks and grass.
Monument
The monument's shaft supports a 10 in 6 in (3.2 m) female figure, and four 8 feet (2.4 m) bronze statues, representing the infantryInfantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, sculpted by Caspar Buberl
Caspar Buberl
Caspar Buberl was an American sculptor. He is best known for his Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio , and for the -long frieze on the Pension Building in Washington, D.C..-Biography:Born in Königsberg, Bohemia, Caspar Buberl (1834 –...
, which face the four cardinal points. Bronze bas-reliefs encircle the column above the statues. The female figure is an allegorical figure representing the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
. By the time of the 1979 report for the Mayor's Committee on the Arts and Cultural Affairs, two plaques were missing from the monument.
The dedication on the west (Main Street) side honors those who laid down their lives "in the war to maintain the union for the cause of their country and of mankind." Half of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and is one of the most well-known speeches in United States history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery...
graces the east side of the monument. Several bas-relief panels feature scenes of Lincoln's original cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
: Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
Salmon Chase, Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Edward Bates
Edward Bates
Edward Bates was a U.S. lawyer and statesman. He served as United States Attorney General under Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1864...
, Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
Montgomery Blair
Montgomery Blair
Montgomery Blair , the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown, was a politician and lawyer from Maryland...
, Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
, Caleb Smith
Caleb Blood Smith
Caleb Blood Smith was an American journalist and politician, serving in the Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
, and Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
.
History
At one time, a rivulet flowed from Lafayette Square down Court Street where it eventually met a stream at Niagara and Mohawk Streets. The square hosted the Niagara CountyNiagara County, New York
Niagara County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 216,469. The county seat is Lockport. The county name is from the Iroquois word Onguiaahra; meaning the strait or thunder of waters. It is the location of Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara, and...
Courthouse from 1810 until it was destroyed by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the Burning of Buffalo during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
on December 30, 1813. In 1831, the Holland Land Company
Holland Land Company
The Holland Land Company was a purchaser of the western two-thirds of the western New York land tract known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. This tract was known thereafter as The Holland Purchase...
gave the deed of the public park to the city.
The original Erie County court house was built facing the square park in 1818. Buffalo was the county seat of Niagara County until 1821, when Erie County was created. In 1833 an adjacent county jailhouse was added. The jail, which was crude, and a debtor's prison were located in the back of the courthouse. In 1853, the city fenced in the square and installed a US$30,000 ($ today) fountain. Erie County Sheriff Grover Cleveland once personally hanged a criminal in the square when it was still named Court House Square, after his subordinates refused to do so. President-elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
spoke at the square on February 16, 1861. The courthouse was used as the place for the determination of justice for the American side of the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
until it was abandoned on March 11, 1876.
A Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library building was first erected on the Court House's location and dedicated on February 7, 1887. The current Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is located on Lafayette Square, Buffalo, New York. The current facility, built in 1963, replaced the original Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library Building dedicated in February 1887. The first Buffalo Public Library, in turn, replaced the Erie County, New...
building that replaced Eidlitz's building was constructed between 1961 and 1963. Eidlitz had won an architectural competition against the likes of Henry Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
, who was regarded as the nation’s top architect at the time. The gargoyles of the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
Eidlitz building were widely respected and admired. However, they were not saved due to prohibitive expense at the time of the early 1960s demolition.
In 1825 American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
veteran and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
General Lafayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
visited this square during his historic tour of the United States
Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States (1824-25)
From July 1824 to September 1825, the last surviving French General of the Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, made a famous tour of the 24 states in the United States...
and gave a speech in the square. He spoke on a platform in front of the Eagle Tavern, a highly-regarded hotel in its day, on June 4 as part of ceremonies to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the outbreak of the war. That same year, Buffalo carried out its last official public hanging when brothers Israel, Isaac and Nelson Thayer were hanged for murdering John Love, which some accounts say occurred in the square, while others say it was at Niagara Square. The square hosted many public meetings and early Erie County Fair
Erie County Fair
The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York every August. It is the second largest fair in New York topped only by Great New York State Fair which is larger, and the third largest county fair in the United States, often drawing over one million in attendance.The first...
s, such as the October 1841 fair that was held in the square and behind the courthouse.
In 1848, the Free Soil Party
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
, which was absorbed into the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in 1854, held its national nominating convention in Buffalo. A the convention, the party selected former New York Governor and former United States President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
and Charles Francis Adams
Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....
as their nominees for United States President and United States Vice President for the 1848 election
United States presidential election, 1848
The United States presidential election of 1848 was an open race. President James K. Polk, having achieved all of his major objectives in one term and suffering from declining health that would take his life less than four months after leaving office, kept his promise not to seek re-election.The...
. Forty thousand people witnessed the event at the square. The square has hosted several notable speakers such as Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
in 1842 and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
in 1833.
The first meeting regarding the erection of a Civil War monument was held on April 14, 1866. Efforts stalled until Mrs. Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...
organized the Ladies Union Monument Association on July 2, 1874, which raised $12,000 ($) and approved a design by George Keller
George W. Keller
George Keller , was an American architect and engineer. He enjoyed a diverse and successful career, and was sought for his designs of bridges, houses, monuments, and various commercial and public buildings. Keller's most famous projects, however, are the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch in...
. Following this proactive effort, the city of Buffalo approved an additional $45,000 ($) for the project. Support for the monument effort coalesced when public interest in and support for an arch by Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
at Niagara Square in front of Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York State. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32 story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones....
faded. In 1879, the name of the square was changed from Court House Park to Lafayette Square.
Then-Mayor of Buffalo Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
laid the cornerstone of Keller's 85 feet (25.9 m) granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
-shaft Soldiers and Sailors monument in the center of the square on July 4, 1882 and returned as New York Governor to dedicate the monument July 4, 1884. When the cornerstone was laid with military pomp and Masonic ritual, Cleveland spoke, and a time capsule
Time capsule
A time capsule is an historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians...
was sealed away. In addition, Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Stewart Woodford made remarks at the first ceremony. Woodford was among several notable people who attended the dedication, including Pennsylvania Governor John Hartranft and Brigadier General William Findlay Rogers
William Findlay Rogers
William Findlay Rogers was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York.Rogers is probably best remembered today as the mayor and parks commissioner who hired Frederick Law Olmsted to design Buffalo's park system and its showpiece, Delaware Park...
. Columns of Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
veterans marched down Main Street to celebrate the day.
The monument has survived two significant threats. First, in 1889, the foundation was found to have settled unevenly, causing a dangerous tilt similar to that of the Tower of Pisa. The square was cracking and crumbling due to an inadequate core of rubble and mortar to support the granite shaft and statuary. In addition the copper box time capsule was found to be three feet below its intended chamber and cracked with its contents destroyed. The monument was dismantled and rebuilt with an expanded 15 feet (4.6 m) base. On February 12, 1973, a motorist drove his vehicle into the monument, prompting calls for its demolition by 1982 by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is a public authority responsible for the public transportation oversight of Erie and Niagara counties in the State of New York...
. Instead, the monument was repaired through fundraising efforts by the Buffalo Civil War Round Table involving a successful public awareness campaign.
Today
Thursday at the Square
Thursday at the Square is a free weekly concert series held annually from May through August in Buffalo, New York in Downtown Buffalo in Lafayette Square.-History:...
on Thursday evenings in Lafayette Square, starting in May and running until September. A typical schedule includes a wide variety of musical acts.
Because of its central, symbolic location, Lafayette Square is often chosen for various rallies
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
. After Scott Norwood
Scott Norwood
Scott Allan Norwood is a former American football placekicker in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. Norwood was an integral part of its offense during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and kicked in Buffalo's first two Super Bowl appearances...
missed a field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
in Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV
Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...
, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
fans held a rally at the square to show their continuing support of him and the team. On January 16, 1981, there were a set of demonstration
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
s and counter-demonstrations on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at Lafayette Square, Niagara Square
Niagara Square
Niagara Square is a public square located at the intersections of Delaware Avenue, Court Street, Genesee Street, and Niagara Street in Buffalo, New York. It is the central hub of Joseph Ellicott's original radial street pattern that he designed in 1804 for the then village of New Amsterdam...
and nearby areas by the Neo-Nazi National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
and opposing groups.
External links
42.89°N 78.87°W