This vintage postcard was not dated, but seems to be from 1907 – 1910 time period. It shows Lafayette Square in Buffalo, New York which is named for General Lafayette, the famous French hero of the American Revolution.
Lafayette Square was part of the original urban plan for Buffalo as designed by Joseph Ellicott and is in the heart of downtown Buffalo.
Buffalo began with the building of Fort Niagara on the mouth of Buffalo Creek in 1758 by the French. During the French and Indian Wars, the fort fell to the British, who then sold the land to Dutch investors. In 1801, the Holland Land Company began selling parcels of land.
Joseph Ellicott, as part of the Holland Land Company, designed the original city plan for Buffalo, modeling it after Washington D.C., and christened it New Amsterdam. The settlers who flocked to the area chose to call the burgeoning city Buffalo Creek instead, later shortening it to Buffalo.
The statue in the center of Lafayette Square is The Soldiers and Sailors Monument; a tribute to the veterans of the Civil War.
This vintage postcard also shows the cars of the early 1900s around Lafayette Square, including the Ford Model T and Oldsmobile Limited. Buffalonians have always been known for being prosperous and modern!
Today, Lafayette Square can still be seen in Buffalo, New York with the monument at its center. The cars look a bit different, but the city view is much the same.
This image of Lafayette Square in Buffalo is also part of our Vintage Buffalo, NY Wall Calendar created from this and other vintage postcards of Buffalo.