Hogan's Alley, Vancouver

Hogan's Alley is the name for Park Lane which was part of the Strathcona area of Vancouver. The alley ran from around Main Street to Jackson Avenue. It was viewed as the heart of Vancouver's black community at one point. The area also saw many immigrants from different countries.

In 1858, Governor James Douglas wrote a letter and sent it to San Francisco's Zion Church in an attempt to persuade them to move away from the hostile and racist San Francisco and move to British Columbia. Around 1000 people accepted the invitation, moving and settling around Victoria and Salt Spring Island. By the 20th century, many of the families once living near Victoria moved towards Vancouver and settled in the Strathcona area and where Hogan's Alley was.  They community named it Hogan's Alley as a reference to the The Yellow Kid comic strip found in the New York World newspaper.

In 1916, the City of Vancouver decided to fill in a section of False Creek so they were able to build more railhouses for the Canadian Northern Railway. When they were built, it brought many jobs to the area and many black porters settled with their families in the Hogan's Alley area. At the time, around 300 people were said to have lived in Hogan's Alley. Hogan's Alley was home to a lively black community but also included gambling, brothels and a red light district.

In 1919, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) bought the Norwegian Lutheran church at 823 Jackson Avenue through community fundraising and renamed it the Fountain Chapel. One of the important figures in helping fundraise was Nora Hendrix, the grandmother of guitarist Jimi Hendrix. She arrived in Vancouver from Tennessee in 1911. The Chapel became a place where residents gathered for events and social gatherings.

Vie's Chicken and Steakhouse was a popular place in Hogan's Alley. Nora Hendrix worked here and fed the railway workers. It doubled as a speakeasy at night and became a popular hangout where well-known musicians like Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald would hang out. It also became a place where Jimi Hendrix often visited when he visited his grandmother in Vancouver. The building beside Vie's turned into the Jimi Hendrix Shrine to celebrate his life, career and connection to the city.

In the 1920s, city officials started worrying that the Strathcona and Hogan's Alley areas were going to cause property value to plummet and risk investment in Vancouver. The area was starting to be looked down on by local politicians. UBC urban planner Dr. Leopard C. Marsh called Strathcona a "blighted slum" in his Vancouver development study Rebuilding A Neighbourhood and he said it should be redeveloped.

There were two protests against the freeway. One for saving Hogan's Alley and one for saving Chinatown. The building of the  Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts went through regardless and many homes and businesses were cleared to make room for the viaducts.

In October 2015, the city announced that they were going to tear the viaducts down. City developers said that more housing and businesses were going to be built in the area. Part of the process included the city seeking reconciliation for the destruction of Hogan's Alley. A supportive housing project was opened in the area called Nora Hendrix Place.

References

Category:Geography of Vancouver