Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The long-awaited and much-criticized Centre Pompidou, which opened in the Beaubourg area of Paris in 1977, was the brainchild of Georges Pompidou (French president from 1969 to 1974), who wanted to create a modern space into which visual arts, music, theater, cinema, and literature could be brought together and enjoyed by all." [Furtado: 1001 Days]