Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle is a

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

located in the Quartier international of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The square is bordered to the south by Saint Antoine Street West and the 27-storey

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

-style

InterContinental Intercontinental is an adjective to describe something which relates to more than one continent. Intercontinental may also refer to: * Intercontinental ballistic missile, a long-range guided ballistic missile * InterContinental Hotels Group ( ...

Hotel, to the east is

Bleury Street Park Avenue (officially in french: Avenue du Parc) is one of central Montreal's major north-south streets. It derives its name from Mount Royal Park, by which it runs. Between Mount Royal Avenue and Pine Avenue, the street separates the eastern s ...

and the

Palais des congrès de Montréal The Palais des congrès de Montréal is a convention centre in Montreal's Quartier international at the north end of Old Montreal. Its borough is Ville-Marie. Construction began in 1977 and completed in 1983; the Palais opened on 21 May 1983 ...

, to the west is the CDP Capital Centre and to the north is Viger Avenue West.

History

The square was created in 2004 and was built over the Ville-Marie Expressway at the same time as the CDP Capital Centre. It was named in honour of Quebec artist

Jean-Paul Riopelle Jean-Paul Riopelle, (October 7, 1923 – March 12, 2002) was a Canadian painter and sculptor from Quebec. He had one of the longest and most important international careers of the sixteen signatories of the ''Refus Global'', the 1948 manif ...

who died in 2002. His fountain sculpture '' La Joute'' was moved to the square from the

Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Hochelaga-Maisonneuve () is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Canada, situated in the east end of the island, generally to the south of the city's Olympic Stadium and east of downtown. Historically a poor neighbourhood, it has experienced significant ...

Features

In the northern part of the square, a water basin highlights a sculpture by

, titled '' La Joute'' ( en, The Joust). ''La Joute''s central element is a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...

with alternating water jets. A circle of

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

appears on the surface of the water during summer evenings. This work was previously installed at the

since 1976. A sculpture representing Jean-Paul Riopelle (''Le Grand Jean-Paul'') stands in between the trees on the southern part of the square. It was realized by Roseline Granet in 2003. Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle contains eighty-eight trees from eleven different species, including the

Sugar Maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...

and Bitternut Hickory. These mature trees are planted in a random pattern reminiscent of a computer printed circuits. From the ground, gutters project light mist during late night entertainment of "La Joute".

''La Joute''

The relocation of ''La Joute'' to Place Jean-Paul Riopelle provoked controversy and outrage from residents of

, who claimed that moving it from the

to the Quartier international deprived it of the context required for its full meaning as an homage to sport. Those who supported the move, including the Government of Quebec and Riopelle's heirs, argued it would allow the work to be more widely seen and exhibited as the artist intended, including the fountain and fire elements Riopelle designed.

References

{{Montreal landmarks

Downtown Montreal