Place d'Armes

Place d'Armes is a square in Old Montreal quarter of Montreal. In the centre, there is a monument in memory of Paul de Chomedey, founder of Montreal. Buildings that surround it include Notre-Dame Basilica, Saint-Sulpice Seminary, New York Life Building, Aldred Building, Bank of Montreal head office and 500 Place D’Armes. Place d'Armes is the second oldest public site in Montreal. It was called Place de la Fabrique when it was first developed in 1693, at the request of the Sulpicians, then later renamed Place d'Armes in 1721 when it became the stage of various military events. From 1781 to 1813, it was used as a hay and wood market, then developed as a Victorian garden after it was acquired by the city in 1836. The Place d'Armes is the third location in Montreal to bear that name, a long-used French term for a place where a city's defenders assemble. A monument to George III was elected in 1773 in Place d'Armes, the first known public monument in the city. On 1 May 1775, the bust of George III was found defaced in an act to denounce the Quebec Act which guarantees the use of French language. A reward of 500 guineas did not lead to apprehension of the culprit. It disappeared soon after, during the American invasion of Montreal (November 1775 – June 1776), and was only found several years later at the bottom of a well in the square. The square now features a monument in memory of Paul de Chomedey (1895), by artist Louis-Philippe Hébert, commemorating Chomedey's defense of the young French settlement against the Iroquois, against whom de Maisonneuve's allies the Hurons were fighting. Foundations from the original Notre-Dame Church lie under the square.