The square marks the location of the fortress destroyed in 1789. In the centre stands the Column of July bearing the Spirit of Liberty, erected in memory of the Parisians killed on the barricades in 1830. Opéra de Paris-Bastille, built on the site of the old station and inaugurated in 1989, has rejuvenated the square and surrounding streets, full of art galleries and fashionable bistrots. The Saint-Martin canal passes under the square and enters the Arsenal Marina.