It seems as if Montreal has always had its Place des Arts. And yet, although the first seeds of the idea to bestow the city with a grand concert hall were initially sown back in 1878, it was only 77 years later, in 1955, that the first concrete steps were taken towards making the dream a reality. But it was finally in 1963 that Montreal's profound passion for the performing arts came to a crescendo with the official inauguration of Place des Arts.