What is today known as Lafayette Square was originally one of four park spaces in the Ellicott plan of Buffalo. First known as Court House Park because the first Erie County Court House fronted on it, its name was officially changed to Lafayette Square on 1 December 1879. A name change was overdue, as the courts had moved to the new City and County Hall in 1876. It was frequently, but informally, referred to as “Lafayette Park” during the intervening time. That usage was reflected in the name appearing on Frederick Law Olmsted’s landscape design for the space, which as tied to the repurposing of the ground as the final site for the city’s Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. The corner stone of the monument was laid on July 4, 1882 and the monument was dedicated on July 4, 1884.
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