Answer Man: In Lafayette's Corner

Lafayette hadn't been totally forgotten, however, and in 1884 Congress passed an appropriation to honor him in bronze. But where to put the statue? Lafayette Square made sense, except there was a statue there. In April 1888, a congressman told a Washington Post reporter: "If anything should be done, it is that the name of the square should be changed to Jackson Square." He recommended putting Lafayette in what is now Logan Circle.

All sorts of ideas were floated. In March 1890, a reader wrote The Post to say that "there is no square in Washington big enough for two such men." He recommended that Jackson be moved to Judiciary Square, which would allow that "outlandish name" to be changed to Jackson Square. Another reader suggested moving Washington from Washington Circle to the White House grounds, putting Jackson's statue in Washington Circle, renaming that Jackson Circle, and putting Lafayette in his eponymous park.

Congress briefly considered sites near the Treasury Building and the Capitol before settling on Lafayette Square, wrote Margaret Grubiak in a history of the statue prepared in 2001. Even that was touch-and-go, as the original spot was to be on the south side of the park, in line with 16th Street. But this, a senator from Jackson's home state of Tennessee complained, would block the view of Old Hickory from the White House.

When Lafayette's statue, by French sculptors Alexandre Falguiere and Marius Jean Antonin Mercie , was finally set in place in 1891, it was in the southeast corner of the square. The statue shows a naked woman -- representing America -- lifting the sword of liberty up to Lafayette, who holds a cloak in his hands. The statue hadn't been up long before wags suggested a caption: "Give me back my clothes, and I'll give you back your sword."

Just to show that some things never change, in 1967 a U.S. representative from North Carolina recommended that Jackson be moved to a spot near the Rayburn Building and Lafayette be put in the place of honor that had been denied him for so long.

Give Answer Man his questions, and he'll give you your clothes back. Writeanswerman@washpost.

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