, photo = Montréal depuis l'observatoire de la Place Ville-Marie, 2019-02-06 (no 04).jpg , photo_width = , photo_caption = The square as seen from

Place Ville-Marie Place Ville Marie (PVM for short) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. It serves as the main and official headquarters for Roy ...

. , map = Canada Montreal , map_width = , type =

Town 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. ...

, location =

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

, Ville-Marie

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 Government of Canada, 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 ...

, Canada , nearest_city = , coords = , coords_ref = , area = , created = , operator = City of Montreal , visitation_num = , status = Open all year , open = Chaboillez Square (french: square Chaboillez) is a

town 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

, Canada. It is located at the intersection of

Saint Jacques Street Saint Jacques Street (officially in french: rue Saint-Jacques), or St. James Street, is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running from Old Montreal westward to Lachine. The street is commonly known by two names, "St. James Street" in ...

and Peel Street in

downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

. The former

Montreal Planetarium The Montreal Planetarium (french: Planétarium de Montréal), formerly the Dow Planetarium (french: Planétarium Dow), is a decommissioned public planetarium located at Chaboillez Square just South-East of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It cl ...

is located within the square.

History

In 1813, Margaret Godfrey inherited a large tract of land from her husband,

Louis Chaboillez Louis Chaboillez (October 14, 1766 – July 19, 1813) was a notary and politician in Lower Canada. He represented Montreal East in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1804 to 1808. He owned much real estate in Montreal and Chaboille ...

. She yielded many plots of land to the City of Montreal including the lot known as Chaboillez Square (which was larger than it is today). The Square was completely refurbished in 1950 and reopened in 1953. Its size was reduced in the mid-1960s in planning for the coming of the Ville Marie Expressway. The Dow Planetarium (now known as

) was constructed in the square in 1966.

Monuments

The square used to display two monuments: * '' Nicolaus Copernicus Statue'' (1967) by Bertel Thorvaldsen * ''

Sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

'' (1968), by Herman J. van der Heide When the

Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium (french: Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan) is the successor to the Montreal Planetarium, and is located in the Espace pour la Vie, near the Olympic Stadium and the Biodome in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The new install ...

was opened near the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

to replace the Montreal Planetarium, both monuments were moved near the new planetarium.

History

Monuments

Further reading