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.

[4] 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.

The corner north of the current library and northeast of the square once hosted the Buffalo Savings Bank building that was demolished in 1922.

[18][19] Lafayette Square was the last park in the heart of the city, but the commercialization of the downtown area caused vehicular space demands.

[20] The monument's shaft supports a 10-foot-6-inch (3.2 m) female figure, and four 8-foot (2.4 m) bronze statues, representing the infantry, artillery, cavalry and navy, sculpted by Caspar Buberl, which face the four cardinal points.

[21] 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."

[4] The square hosted the Niagara County 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.

[23] A Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library building was first erected on the Court House's location and dedicated on February 7, 1887.

[13] Eidlitz had won an architectural competition against the likes of Henry Richardson, who was regarded as the nation's top architect at the time.

[8] 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.

Efforts stalled until Mrs. Horatio Seymour organized the Ladies Union Monument Association on July 2, 1874, which raised $12,000 ($323,153) and approved a design by George Keller.

[5] Woodford was among several notable people who attended the dedication, including Pennsylvania Governor John Hartranft and Brigadier General William Findlay Rogers.

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.

[5] Instead, the monument was repaired through fundraising efforts by the Buffalo Civil War Round Table involving a successful public awareness campaign.