{"nrhp_refnum":"10000555","name":"Hotel Lafayette","other_names":["Lafayette Hotel"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"391 Washington St","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buffalo","county":"Erie County","state":"NY","lat":42.88689306200007,"lon":-78.87270217999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-08-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story steel-frame and concrete hotel at 391 Washington Street on Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo, New York, built in stages between 1902 and 1926 in the French Renaissance style.","why_significant":"The form presents the hotel as a large early twentieth-century urban hotel with richly detailed brick and terra cotta facades. It was designed by Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs, a firm tied to Louise Bethune, with later additions by Esenwein & Johnson. The surviving interiors include a 1942 Art Moderne lobby and the preserved Lafayette Room.","narrative":"Hotel Lafayette is a seven-story hotel on the southeast corner of Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo, built in stages between 1902 and 1926. The principal building came from the firm Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs, with two compatible additions by Esenwein & Johnson. Its French Renaissance exterior combines dark red brick with white glazed terra cotta trim, a ground floor clad in terra cotta cast to resemble stone, and a classical cornice. Seventeen bays face Clinton Street and seven face Washington Street. Exterior changes have been few, mainly the 1956 remodeling of two entrances and replacement of guest room windows. Inside, the main lobby was remodeled in 1942 in the Art Moderne style, with terrazzo floors, marble-based columns and inlaid wood murals. The former grill room, later the Lafayette Room, is the best preserved public space from the original hotel. The property remains in good condition and operates as a social services hotel, although large sections of the building stand empty.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Bethune, Bethune & Fuchs (principal building, 1902-1911); Esenwein & Johnson (additions, 1916-17 and 1924-26)","architectural_style":"Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals / French Renaissance","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition and functioning as a social services hotel, though large portions of the building are now empty.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.623742-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/10000555.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000555/c8a0523c1b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000555/c8a0523c1b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"geoffmcc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Lafayette_2013-09-26_13-07-17.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">geoffmcc</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hotel_Lafayette_2013-09-26_13-07-17.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317633","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Lafayette","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5911675"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/erie-county/hotel-lafayette-10000555/"}