I was walking through the McGill metro station and found myself trying to remember where the shopping mall Les Terraces was, from way back in the 80s.
I seem to think it was where the Eaton Center is currently. Anyone can remember, please let me know. I know when you stepped outside, you were across the street from where the Palace cinema was.
Anyways, Les Terrasse had the weirdest layout, many different partial levels, all color coded. It felt as if you were in a weird video game, where if you walked too far, you would fall off the RED level and land on the YELLOW level.
They had a catchy TV commercial tune
"Blue floor
Green floor
Yellow floor
Red
Les Terrasses is where its at
Les Terrasses, Les Terrasses, ooooooh....
Better on every level"
Found more information on Les Terrasses from Wikipedia, so here it is
"The Montreal Eaton Center was originally Les Terrasses, which officially opened in 1976 and closed in 1987.
The Mall layout was a triangular spiral, with gradually rising interconnected floors, approximately 45 feet high in total. At each point of the triangle, patrons could walk to the top of the mall. It housed 140 stores, and earch store faced the center of the triangle."
For all of you that remember, please feel free to share your memories.
I seem to think it was where the Eaton Center is currently. Anyone can remember, please let me know. I know when you stepped outside, you were across the street from where the Palace cinema was.
Anyways, Les Terrasse had the weirdest layout, many different partial levels, all color coded. It felt as if you were in a weird video game, where if you walked too far, you would fall off the RED level and land on the YELLOW level.
They had a catchy TV commercial tune
"Blue floor
Green floor
Yellow floor
Red
Les Terrasses is where its at
Les Terrasses, Les Terrasses, ooooooh....
Better on every level"
Found more information on Les Terrasses from Wikipedia, so here it is
"The Montreal Eaton Center was originally Les Terrasses, which officially opened in 1976 and closed in 1987.
The Mall layout was a triangular spiral, with gradually rising interconnected floors, approximately 45 feet high in total. At each point of the triangle, patrons could walk to the top of the mall. It housed 140 stores, and earch store faced the center of the triangle."
For all of you that remember, please feel free to share your memories.
For more pictures please see Mike Rivest Picassa Album @ https://picasaweb.google.com/rivest266/LeTerrassesBetterOnEveryLevel#
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Please click on the advertising links on this page
A rotten shame it's gone, I loved Les Terrasses when I was young. Yes, they were color coded, funny, I remember it being orange, not yellow, but maybe it was just the light! I remember it being split level, they should have at least had two different shades for this, the elevators had doors on both sides, and two stops of each color!
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of the places across the Metro station from Les Terrasses was sort of an "outpost" of it, even had the same lots of lights on the bottom of the escalator, it also had a movie theatre in the basement (since closed)....but by it, in the Metro station, there's four wide lines...blue, green, orange, red....stacked atop each other like Les Terrasses' floors.
The current food court of the Eaton Center, supposedly the largest in North America (if not the world), was originally the top-most parking level of Les Terrasses....and some of the road markings became visible when they recently redid the floor.
I think I also remember the place having a stylized escalator as its logo.
The northern most buildings of the current Eaton Centre complex, and part of the side, do date from Les Terrasses (but the new "pinnacle" office building, and the main section, were new)
The current Eaton Centre entrance to McGill Metro was the access to the "Blueth" floor of Les Terrasses.
Sorry if I'm rabbiting, this is just something that means much to me. I remember it had a movie theatre, on the way there I heard that song "I want to know what love is (I know you can show me)", and also....I remember there was a two storey restaurant my family ate at once, the entrance was on the upper "redth" floor (I think the movie theatre may have been there as well!), and the stairs between the two floors went out into the atrium, it was fun!
Hi I'm realy excited to have found something on internet about Les terrasse. Can you recommend other historical archives for info.? Thank you for your contributions !!!
ReplyDeleteHi I'm realy excited to have found something on internet about Les terrasse. Can you recommend other historical archives for info.? Thank you for your contributions !!!
ReplyDeleteIn the 1981 movie scanners by David Cronenberg you can see les terrases at the beginning, first 5 minutes ! very nice memories :)
ReplyDeleteI saw the 1981 movie s(canners) and pretty sure it was 2020 University bsmt food court...
DeleteHa! Thanks for this! It's true it was build a bit like an arcade video game! I also kind of remember the logo and definitely the color coded levels :)
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DeleteI was the manager of the Coles bookstore in Las Terracces from the late 70's until it closed in 82. I was always inundated with people seeking directions as they found the mall very confusing to navigate...bad choice for a retail mall
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ReplyDeleteLes Terrasse brings back good teenage memories. I always looked forward to shopping at this mall with its color coded floors. Montreal had a good thing with Les Terrasse and decided following Toronto's Eaton centre was better what a shame. Toronto's Eaton centre was much more grandeur than Montreal's by far especially back in the eighties.
ReplyDeleteLes Terrasse brings back good teenage memories. I always looked forward to shopping at this mall with its color coded floors. Montreal had a good thing with Les Terrasse and decided following Toronto's Eaton centre was better what a shame. Toronto's Eaton centre was much more grandeur than Montreal's by far especially back in the eighties.
ReplyDeleteIm here in Montreal for a visit and hadn’t realized it closed! My Dad designed all that funky directional signage, my childhood is peppered with images of this place as he was putting designs in the wall as he came up with ideas. Shame it’s gone, would have been nice to see it again.
ReplyDeleteJaye, is there any chance that you'll have photos of the place that you could share? I'm looking for pics since years...
Deleteya i worked there for a year or more.i took care of the plants. when it opened up it was packed all day long. i remember when the city had the general strike, the bank got robbed. i stepped out of the elevator and walked in the bank everyone in there was in shock it had been roobed like minutes ago and there was money all over the floor.there was a bunch of homeless people that slept in the garages and stairwells. it was a pretty good place to work.
ReplyDeleteI used to work at Eaton's. Every Thursday night, I used to go through Les Terraces and sometimes go to the tavern across the street on McGill College for pizza. What was the name of that tavern?
ReplyDeleteregie's i believe
DeleteWow my first job was at Eaton's in 73-74 and used to park my car IN les Terraces,because Victoria street finished at st catherine and that street was the loading dock for Eaton's. Then in 76 I started for Bell and installed a bunch of phones in les Terraces....
ReplyDeleteI remember “le château” had a big store there. My cousin worked there and would visit her. The arcade was as well a local hangout. Too bad it’s gone. Better then what’s there now.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Blooms Deli in the "glass bubble" putting on a show while making smoked meat sandwiches for customers from 1983-84. Seven yrs ago I took one of my sons on a tour of Montreal as I have lived in Nova Scotia for the last 30 yrs. I thought I had gotten off the wrong Metro station. Nothing was familiar. Just good memories to hold on to know. How I wished I had some photos of those days.
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