Place des Arts was an initiative of Mayor Jean Drapeau, a noted lover of opera, as part of a project to expand the downtown core eastward from the concentration of business and financial activity in the centre-west part of downtown. The Corporation George-Étienne-Cartier, named in honour of George-Étienne Cartier, a Father of Confederation and opera lover, was set up to build it, and the first part of the complex (including the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier) was inaugurated on September 21, 1963. The other theatres were added progressively.
In 2015, the Quebec government announced it would spend $34.2 million to remodel the esplanade into a large outdoor stage that will host big events year round. Work is to be complete in 2018.[2]
Concert venues
The Place des Arts includes six concert venues of various sizes:
Pierre Granche's Comme si le temps... de la rue, an ensemble of symbolic aluminium free-standing sculptures in a large fountain basin visible from the exterior and interior of Place des Arts, Montreal, Quebec