BMO should have placed another plaque next to it telling the story from an Aboriginal viewpoint instead. Monuments George III Monument 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. Maisonneuve Monument 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. Surrounding structures The buildings that surround it represent major periods of Montreal's development. Fronting the square is Notre-Dame Basilica and the Saint-Sulpice Seminary. Other structures include the New York Life Building (1887), Montreal's first high-rise; the Bank of Montreal head office (1859), Canada's first bank; the Art Deco Aldred Building. (1931) and the International style 500 Place D'Armes (1968). Access Located between Saint Jacques and Notre-Dame streets, Place d'Armes is a departure point for calèches offering horse-drawn tours of Old Montreal. The Metro station of the same name is within walking distance. An 1801 plan to extend Place d'Armes down to Saint-Antoine Street to offer a more commanding view of Notre-Dame basilica was never realized. Instead it is connected to Saint-Antoine Street by the steep Côte de la Place-d'Armes. Formerly, when Montreal's downtown and central business district centred on Old Montreal and Saint-Jacques Street (or St. James as it was then called), Place d'Armes was the hub of the city's tramway lines, with a depot to the north on Craig Street (now Saint-Antoine). A 1940s plan for the Montreal Metro planned a station directly underneath the square for easy transfer (the current station is a short distance to the north). Origin of name 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. References External links History of Montreal Old Montreal Armes, Place d'