Place-des-Arts is a station on the Green Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM). It is downtown in the borough of Ville-Marie, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was inaugurated on October 14, 1966, as part of the original network of the metro, and in 2006, 6.3 Million Passengers entered the Station, making it the 10th. busiest on the system.
Designed by David, Boulva, et Cleve, it is a normal side platform station built in open cut under boul. De Maisonneuve, with two ticket halls joined by corridors that surround and overlook the platforms. The eastern mezzanine includes staircases with one-way exit-only turnstiles. The station is joined by underground city to Place des Arts and Université du Québec à Montréal, and has additional four street-level exits.
The stations wall are coved in light-blue bricks in a zig-zag layout.
The station is equipped with the MétroVision information screens which displays news, commercials, and the time till the next train.
The station features art by Frédéric Back: a massive stained glass mural entitled l'histoire de la musique à Montréal ("history of music in Montreal"). The work is composed of thousands of layered pieces of glass backlit by 105 lighting tubes and supported by a tonne of steel. The glass surface is rippled, causing the brilliant colours to shimmer ethereally. The work was originally intended to be an homage to four important Quebec musical artists: the composers Calixa Lavallée, Guillaume Couture, and Alexis Contant, and soprano Dame Emma Albani. Unveiled on December 20, 1967, this stained glass was the first work of art to be commissioned for the Montreal metro system. In 2008 the lighting system was completely renovated by the lighting artist Axel Morgenthaler. The second work of art is a hand-glazed ceramic mosaic by the artist Saskia Siebrand, installed in 2005. It contains tiles of over 300 colours, all custom hand-glazed.
This station is named for the Place des Arts cultural complex. Opened in 1963, this complex includes five concert halls, including the largest multipurpose concert hall in Canada, and an art museum.
October 8, 2018