Westmount Places:
Who is Alexis Nihon?

The man behind the name of the plaza located at Atwater Avenue and St. Catherine Street

By Michael Walsh

February 20, 2025

… In any event, now one can only share the embarrassment of the citizen who will be called upon to reply to the inevitable question by an interested visitor to the new Plaza: ‘Who is Alexis Nihon?’

– T. R. Carsley, Montreal Gazette, February 4, 1966

Life in Westmount can be full of questions – “When is Family Day?”, “Is the pool open?” and, more recently, “Is garbage pickup this week or next – or was it last week?”

One question, however, that has fallen by the wayside is the name “Alexis Nihon” that emblazes the side of the huge plaza located at the corner of Atwater Avenue and St. Catherine Street. I always thought it signified a Bahamas connection or a registered trademark, however, the story is much more interesting. It involves a very private individual who was fiercely proud of his family, a generous benefactor, an inventor, a family tragedy survivor and a surprising connection to the Olympic games.

Let’s spend a few moments acquainting ourselves with Alex Nihon and discovering how his business acumen left a lasting impression on Westmount and the City of Montreal

Alexis Nihon – Image: La Presse, BAnQ

Born in Liege, Belgium, in 1902, Nihon arrived in Canada at age sixteen and started working as a butcher’s assistant. A few years later, he branched into selling vegetables and other garden greens imported from Belgium.

In 1939, he founded the Alexis Nihon Compagnie Ltée with $75,000 in assets. Its headquarters at 133 St. Paul Street West relocated to 6020 Côte de Liesse in the 1950s.

During this period, he founded Industrial Glass Company Limited. The plant was located on Ouimet Avenue near Monkland Boulevard and employed 263 workers. The building was extended in 1940 and leased by the glass manufacturing firm La Verrerie. Nihon’s business venture grew into Canada’s most successful glass manufacturing plant. Due, in large part, to his discovery of a synthetic alternative to soda ash (sodium carbonate), a raw material for making glass and rationed during the Second World War.

The plant’s working conditions, however, came into question in 1946 in a court case between the company and the American Glass Blowers Association. One year later, the case was withdrawn when only a small number of employees supported the association.

… he founded Industrial Glass Company Limited. The plant was located on Ouimet Avenue near Monkland Boulevard and employed 263 workers… Nihon’s business venture grew into Canada’s most successful glass manufacturing plant.

Nihon invested the profits from his glass plant into the purchase of large tracts of farmland between Côte de Liesse and his home in Doval. By 1955, he had acquired 200 million square feet of land, becoming the largest industrial landowner in Quebec. (In later years, he described his business success by keeping to his motto – “I only buy, and then rent.”) This was evident in the 1930s with the construction of a building above Dion Street – halfway between Main Street and Monkland Boulevard – with modern air-conditioning and a glass and steel roof that can be opened for ventilation. Named The St. Laurent Garden, it was leased for various public events such as the New York Hippodrome Circus and the Montreal Walkathon.

Tragedy struck the Nihon family on June 16, 1947, while onboard their yacht Nihon III en route from Lachine to St. Ours. While on the Lachine canal, an explosion destroyed the yacht, resulting in the death of their two daughters, Claudette, aged 5 and Carol, aged 4. Among the fatalities were Marie Lavon, a housemaid for the Nihon family and Ubald Demontigny of Montreal. Nihon suffered a broken leg, and his wife managed to escape the inferno by jumping overboard.

One can only speculate how the Nihon family struggled to overcome this tragedy. It seems they found solace in the Bahamas Islands, becoming permanent residents following their purchase of 13 miles of beach front at Serenity Point on the South Island of Abaco. This purchase led to the formation of the Nassau-based real estate development company, Anco Lands Ltd.

‘Tragedy struck the Nihon family on June 16, 1947, while onboard their yacht Nihon III en route from Lachine to St. Ours. While on the Lachine canal, an explosion destroyed the yacht, resulting in the death of their two daughters, Claudette, aged 5 and Carol, aged 4.’

In 1950, Nihon’s investment in the Bahamas increased with the purchase of a racetrack and the Montague Park Racing Association from Lord Carnarvon of England. The property included buildings and 190 acres of land with stabling for approximately 400 horses. Following the purchase, Nihon renamed the property “Hobby Horse Hall Race Track“.

The racetrack was a huge success, drawing the colonial elite as well as the rich and famous, creating an atmosphere similar to that of Ascot or the Kentucky Derby. Beneath the glamour and glitter, a dark side of the racetrack emerged. The Bahamas Humane Society investigated several complaints of animal neglect at the end of each racing season. Following the independence of the Bahamas in 1973, the profitability of the racetrack began to decline, leading to its closure in 1977.

Hobby Horse Hall – Image: Postcard 1970, Cacique International

Nihon’s relocation to Nassau did not curtail his Montreal business ventures. In 1953, he donated a boulevard, 120 feet wide, from his land to the Town of Ville St. Laurent. The road stretched from Côte de Liesse to Côte Vertu and is today named Boulevard Alexis-Nihon. That same year, he purchased a Bell helicopter (he was a licensed pilot) and planned the first helicopter Montreal to Nassau flight.

‘By June 1960, a working design for the Alexis Nihon Mid-Town Plaza was approved: a three-story shopping plaza, two apartment buildings of fourteen and twenty stories comprising 650-700 units.’

With his business ventures extending throughout the island of Montreal, it was only a matter of time before an opportunity in the City of Westmount arose.

In 1953, Nihon purchased a 23,000 square foot lot that comprised the former baseball park at Atwater Avenue and St. Catherine Street – three-quarters located in Westmount and the remainder in Montreal. A portion of the land was slated for acquisition by the Montreal Transportation Commission for a bus terminal once the city’s streetcars are decommissioned.

Other investors seized on the opportunities afforded by this large portion of real estate. An Anglo-Canadian syndicate, headed by D. Hubert of England, proposed an office and hotel complex.

By June 1960, a working design for the Alexis Nihon Mid-Town Plaza was approved: a three-story shopping plaza, two apartment buildings of fourteen and twenty stories comprising 650-700 units. In addition, a four-level underground garage for 2,000 cars, a pedestrian tunnel connecting to The Forum, patios open to the public and a permanent Canadian art exhibit. Harold Shipp was selected as the architect. His other works include office buildings for the Noranda Copper Mill, Air Canada’s reservation center and warehouses for Seaway Storage. Unfortunately, construction was delayed with the lease holders having financial difficulties.

In addition, the issue of air rights above the proposed subway terminus resulted in the City of Montreal attempting to annex the property. This resulted in the provincial government freezing the land in 1963 for three years until this issue was resolved.

By 1966, work commenced on the complex’s first phase. The developers, ACI Property Corporation, described the plaza as the world’s first three-story retail mall comprising four rooftop swimming pools, a golf course and a children’s playground, one hundred retail stores, and a 1,300-seat Odean theatre. The second phase would include a ten-story office building, a seven-story medical building, as well as two high rise apartment towers. Nihon leased the land for a period of 60 years, and the complex, at a cost of $30 million, was officially named Alexis Nihon Plaza.

‘… Come today! Alexis Nihon Plaza is the talk of the town…the new place to shop! It’s an exciting new concept in shopping pleasure designed for discriminating Montrealers. Alexis Nihon is colossal… It’s three shopping centres in one; one on top of the other. A fascinating wonderland of Canada’s most exciting department stores, specialty shops and boutiques…’

– Advertisement, April 1967

Opened in April 1967, the plaza’s first lessee was Steinberg’s Limited, which operated a three-level store.

In 1970, the 33-floor Plaza Tower apartments were completed and boasted the only sky garden in Canada. Amenities included tennis courts, trees and shrubs, flowers, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and saunas.

Alexis Nihon Complex – Image: Place Alexis Nihon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The ensuing years saw a gradual deterioration in terms of the plaza’s pedestrian traffic. Its large, enclosed areas encouraged loitering and petty crimes, causing the management to remove nearly all of the benches.

Alexis Nihon East Tower Fire – Image: La Presse, BAnQ

In October 1986, the plaza’s east tower caught fire. The ensuing 13-hour blaze was the largest office tower fire in Canadian history. A subsequent civil trial resulted in Alexis Nihon Corporation having to pay $43 million in damages. Fortunately, Nihon overinsured the complex (including an earthquake clause) and avoided financial hardship. Reconstruction took six months, during which time a second tower was constructed. Today, unfortunately, the shopping plaza (like many others) scarcely resembles its former 1967 glory.

Expanding his business ventures within the Bahamas archipelago, Nihon set his sights on the Turks and Caicos Islands. In 1977, he approached the British government, which controls the island of Providenciales, offering to develop 10,000 acres of land (a little less than one-half the island) to create a freeport and casino. In addition, he requested full administrative control (including beaches which are Crown land) except for the police force and customs and immigration. Fortunately, this plan was rejected by both the British government and the island’s residents. To this day, the island’s motto remains “Beautiful by Nature”.

Turning to his personal life, one can summarize it by saying he was a very generous and private individual. He was self self-taught architect, played tennis daily and enjoyed skiing with his children. In addition, he was an accomplished piano player.

‘Nihon was also an amateur wrestler, a sport he practiced since his youth and instilled into his two sons. They participated in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.’

His generosity included donating land for the synagogue centre of the Jewish Congregation Beth Ora of St. Laurent at 2600 Badeaux Street and the Alexis Nihon Golf Gardens on Côte de Liesse.

Outside his business circles, he was a Governor of the Montreal General Hospital and Honorary President of the permanent international exhibition at the former Marconi Building on Côte de Liesse. In 1977 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his charitable work with the Red Cross and crippled children.

Alexis Nihon wrestling match- Image: La Presse, BAnQ

Nihon was also an amateur wrestler, a sport he practiced since his youth and instilled into his two sons. They participated in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. In addition, as members of the Bahamas wrestling team, they competed in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. However, because at age 58, he was over the weight limit, he was disqualified. His son Alexis also failed to make the weight requirement to compete and his younger son Robert lost in the opening match. His final competition was as manager of the Bahamas wrestling team in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

One of Nihon’s proudest accomplishments was his assertion that he invented the tubeless tire. In 1942, he demonstrated that tires, without inner tubes, can function by coating the inside with rubber cement (latex). This method was significant in that it would alleviate the wartime shortage of rubber. In fact, it wasn’t until five years later that the B. F. Goodrich Corporation started manufacturing tubeless tires. Unfortunately, Nihon never received credit for this discovery. In 1946, Frank Herzegh, a research engineer at B. F. Goodrich, received a U.S. patent for the tubeless tire. In 1978, the American Chemical Society bestowed the Charles Goodyear Medal (their highest award) on Herzegh for this invention.

‘One of Nihon’s proudest accomplishments was his assertion that he invented the tubeless tire. In 1942, he demonstrated that tires, without inner tubes, can function by coating the inside with rubber cement (latex). This method was significant in that it would alleviate the wartime shortage of rubber.’

Two years later, Alexis Nihon passed away, aged 78, leaving his wife Alice and children Alexis Nihon Jr. and Robert.

Following his death, his son Alexis became chairman of Alexis Nihon Corp. He resigned in 1996, and his brother Robert became chairman. The corporation went public in 2002 and by 2007 had sold off its remaining holdings, including Centre Laval and l’Acadie and the former Laurention Bank on 777 St. Catherine, at the corner of McGill College. By 2007 Alex Nihon Plaza was sold to Halifax-based Homburg Invest Inc. with the rights to the Alexis Nihon name. The Nihon family legacy came to an end with Robert’s passing away at age 57 in 2007 and Alexis, at age 67 in 2013.

The plaza and boulevard, bearing his name, live on as a testament to this unique individual.

In addition, now you are prepared to respond when asked “Who is Alexis Nihon?”

Feature image: Alexis Nihon Plaza at night, by Exile on Ontario St from Montreal, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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