As its name indicates, Theatre Square is the site of two theatre institutions in St. Petersburg: the Mariinsky Theatre and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. The artistic effervescence here dates back to the 18C when early fairground huts were replaced a wooden theatre, then by a stone building in 1783. Called the Great Theatre, it could hold up to 2,000 spectators at its ballets and operas. The Mariinsky wasn't built until 1859.