Vancouver History: Hogan's Alley

In juxtaposition to last week's Vancouver History about the false tales of Blood Alley, I'd like to take a look at some Vancouver history that was real, exciting, fresh, gritty, and subsequently destroyed by the City of Vancouver - Hogan's Alley. Known officially as "Park Lane", Hogan's Alley ceases to exist - at least in any sort of meaningful, historical way - but it's destruction allows me to write another post about alleys, so it's pretty much a win-win.

Hogan's Alley was located in Strathcona between Union and Prior street from Main to Jackson Avenue, and (as today) the surrounding area held an ethnically diverse population of Italians, Chinese and Japanese. What made Hogan's Alley significant, however, is that before it's destruction in the early 1970's it was the epi-centre of African-Canadian culture in Vancouver. Due to the close proximity to the train station and the large number of Afro-Canadian sleeping-car porters, a significant concentration of families took up residence in the alley and it's surrounding areas; it also became the site of numerous Afro-Canadian businesses, and the city's only Afro-Canadian church, the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Chapel. Yet due to Vancouver Mayor, L.D. Taylor's infamous "open town" policy - focusing on major crimes, rather than "vice" crimes - Hogan's Alley became a red-light district home to illegal drinking houses, brothels, and gambling until Taylor's landslide loss in the 1934 civic election.

Unfortunately, while Blood Alley was busy being created during the beautifcation of Gastown in the 1970's, Hogan's Alley was destroyed as part of the NPA's construction of the Georgia Viaduct. Community activists managed to stop the rest of the freeway construction, but not before Hogan's Alley had become Vancouver history. There is still a block or so left, but it bears no resemblance to it's past as the centre of Afro-Canadian affairs in Vancouver, and what would have been an excellent addition to the culture and history of this city. So to recap, in Vancouver fake history is good, and real history must be destroyed. Simple, no?

(Photo courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives)