Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square is a small triangular park at Lafayette Street and Great Jones Street in the NoHo neighborhood. The square is named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French aristocrat who fought alongside American forces during the Revolutionary War and became one of the most beloved figures in early American history.

Lafayette's contribution to the American cause was immense: he served as a major general in the Continental Army at age 19, was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine, endured the winter at Valley Forge, and used his influence in France to secure the military alliance that proved decisive in the war's outcome.

The small triangular park features benches and plantings at an intersection where the older downtown street pattern meets the regular grid. NoHo (North of Houston) is a neighborhood of former industrial buildings that have been converted to residences, galleries, and restaurants, and the park provides a small green accent in an area dominated by cast-iron and masonry facades.

Lafayette is honored in numerous ways across New York City, including Lafayette Street itself, which runs through Lower Manhattan and is named for the triumphal procession that greeted the aging general during his 1824 return visit to America, when he was feted as a hero in every state of the union.

Lafayette Square is one of many small Manhattan parks and triangles that carry the names of Revolutionary War figures, forming a constellation of public memorials that embed the founding era into the everyday streetscape of the city.