Niagara Square is the hub of Joseph Ellicott's 1804 radial street plan for Buffalo, with six avenues radiating outward from the central plaza. At its centre stands a 30-metre granite obelisk commemorating President William McKinley, who was assassinated at Buffalo's Pan-American Exposition in 1901. The Exposition was one of the great world's fairs of the era, drawing eight million visitors to the city.
The square is ringed by Buffalo City Hall — a remarkable Art Deco tower — and a series of early-20th-century federal and civic buildings. It is not particularly welcoming to pedestrians, surrounded by traffic, but it is historically one of the most significant urban spaces in the city and the starting point for understanding Buffalo's layout.