Place des Arts

Place des Arts is defined by the rigid, geometric stacks of concrete panels that cover its theatre buildings, a signature of the Brutalist style chosen for the site in the nineteen-sixties. Conceived in nineteen-fifty-five by a group of citizens and championed by Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, the complex was intended to modernize the city’s cultural infrastructure and anchor the revitalization of the eastern downtown core. It officially opened in nineteen-sixty-three with the inauguration of its first hall, later named Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.