391 Washington St

The Hotel Lafayette at 391 Washington Street is one of Buffalo's most beloved landmarks and holds the distinction of being designed by Louise Blanchard Bethune — the first professionally practicing woman architect in the United States and Buffalo's own architectural pioneer. Completed in 1904, the hotel was conceived as a first-class establishment to serve the city's growing commercial district and to accommodate visitors attending the many conventions and events that Buffalo hosted in the early twentieth century.

Bethune's design is a confident exercise in the Beaux-Arts classical style, with a richly ornamented terra cotta facade organized around a rusticated base, an ornate midsection with arched windows and applied columns, and a pronounced cornice at the roofline. The Washington Street elevation presents a commanding presence in the cityscape, anchoring its corner site with a curved bay and layered classical ornament.

The hotel's interior was no less impressive. The lobby featured marble floors, coffered ceilings, and ornamental plasterwork of the highest quality. The grand ballroom and dining rooms, decorated in Louis XVI style, were among the finest in upstate New York and hosted society events, banquets, and political gatherings for decades.

Like many grand urban hotels, the Lafayette fell on difficult times in the latter half of the twentieth century, operating at reduced capacity and eventually closing. A heroic restoration, completed in 2012 by developer Larry Huntington, transformed the building into a boutique hotel with 76 rooms and suites. The restoration preserved and restored the magnificent public spaces — including the lobby, corridors, and ballroom — while updating guest rooms for modern use. The reopened Hotel Lafayette has become a centerpiece of Buffalo's downtown revival and a symbol of the city's resurgent confidence in its architectural heritage.