Planned as part of the pleasure grounds surrounding the Executive Mansion, this square was originally part of "President's Park", which is the larger National Park Service unit that also includes the White House grounds, The Ellipse, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and grounds and the Treasury Building and grounds. In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson had Pennsylvania Avenue cut through that park, separating what would become Lafayette Square from the White House grounds. In 1824, the park was officially renamed in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general whose involvement was indispensable in securing victory in the American Revolutionary War. Named in honor of naval war hero Commodore Steven Decatur, the Decatur House borders Lafayette Square. Using for slave trading, the house remains as one of few surviving examples of an urban slave market.
Early years
The land on what is now Lafayette Square was formerly used at various times as "a racetrack, a graveyard, a zoo, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers during the War of 1812, and the site of many political protests and celebrations." In the early and mid-19th century, the buildings around the square included the homes of Washington's most prominent residents, including William Wilson Corcoran, Martin van Buren, Henry Clay, Dolley Madison, John Hay, and Henry Adams. In 1851, Andrew Jackson Downing was commissioned by President Millard Fillmore to landscape Lafayette Square in the picturesque style. On February 27, 1859 Representative Daniel Sickles killed Philip Barton Key II in Lafayette Square. Key had come to the park for an affair with Sickles' wife, only to be discovered and killed by the congressman.
20th century
In the 20th century, the area around the square became less residential, with buildings increasingly occupied by offices and professional groups, especially in the 1920s. The last resident, Mary Chase Morris of the O'Toole House, died during the Great Depression era, and her former home became an office building. Today's plan for the park dates from the 1930s. The park has five large statues. In the center stands Clark Mills' equestrian statue of President Andrew Jackson, erected in 1853; it is the first bronze statue cast in the United States. In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes:
Lafayette Square was a popular cruising spot for gay men until the 1950s Lavender scare. In the 1970s, Lafayette Square was overrun with a large population of Eastern gray squirrels—possibly "the highest density of squirrels ever recorded in scientific literature"—resulting in the squirrels' destruction of many trees and flowers in the park. The squirrels' large numbers were sustained because the public overfed the squirrels, and because nest boxes had been installed at some point and had been maintained by the National Park Service. In 1985 and 1987, the squirrel overpopulation issue was solved through a project in which the nest boxes were removed, and many squirrels were captured and relocated away from Lafayette Square. In 1989, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arranged a crack cocaine purchase in Lafayette Park prior to President George H. W. Bush's delivery of a national address that was part of his ongoing effort against drug abuse. Thomas and Concepcion Picciotto are founders of the White House Peace Vigil, the longest running anti-nuclear peace vigil in the history of the United States, at Lafayette Square.
