Lafayette Square

New Orleans

Lafayette Square is the second-oldest public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, located in the present-day Central Business District. During the late 18th century, this was part of a residential area called Faubourg Sainte Marie. The park was designed in 1788 by Charles Laveau Trudeau aka Don Carlos Trudeau, Surveyor General of Louisiana under the Spanish government; who later served as New Orleans' acting mayor in 1812, after Louisiana statehood. The Square was named after Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat and general who fought on the American side in the American Revolutionary War. The park has a bronze statue of Henry Clay in the center of the park, and statues of John McDonogh and Benjamin Franklin on St. Charles Avenue and Camp Street. Gallier Hall, the former City Hall of New Orleans faces the square on St. Charles Avenue. Although the city government has moved elsewhere, the square is still used for inaugurations and civic events. The square also often hosts live music. From 1834 to 1938 First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans occupied much of the Western side of the square and was the tallest steeple in the city.