Location: Place d’Armes
Date of photo: November 5 2013
Photographer: Martin New at Montreal in Pictures
Each night a 19th century star map is projected onto the pavement in the south west corner of Place d’Armes. The projected map displays the New York Life Insurance building, and above it, Polaris, the pivot around which the stars of the northern hemisphere appear to move. The light projection was created to replace the original Mundus plaque when Place d’Armes was redesigned in 2011.
The projection at Place d’Armes is one of a series of Mundus installations – the inspiration of Alison Tett, a literature and humanities teacher at the Champlain College near Montreal. Each installation uses architecture to create astronomical sightlines.
The other installations can be seen at:
- Equinox on rue de la Commune.
- Four Seasons on the pillars of the Union Street entrance to the courtyard behind Christ Church Cathedral.
- Cygnus at the entrance of the BNP Paribas tower (1981 McGill College Avenue).
For more information on The Polaris and the other Mundus installations, head on over to the Mundus Montreal website.