Hogan's Alley, Vancouver
[1] The area was ethnically diverse, populated by Black, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Jewish, and Indigenous residents during the first six decades of the twentieth century.
[2][3] Hogan's Alley had a vibrant night life, with eateries and nightclubs that hosted local residents, railway porters, and touring musicians alike.
[10] Their emigration was partially prompted by sailor Jeremiah Nagle, who came from Vancouver Island to a meeting at San Francisco's Zion Church with news of gold and a letter from James Douglas inviting the Black community to British Columbia.
[12] Many of Victoria's and Salt Spring's Black residents began to relocate to Vancouver around the start of the twentieth century because of the city's promising economic landscape.
[15] It was likely during this time (the early 1900s) that the area became known as "Hogan's Alley," a tongue-in-cheek reference to the setting of Richard F. Outcault's popular comic strip, The Yellow Kid.
[20] Located at 823 Jackson Avenue, the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Fountain Chapel was established by several of Hogan's Alley's community members between 1918-1923.
[21][2] In order to buy the building from the previous owners, the Norwegian Lutheran Church, Hogan's Alley residents raised money which was matched by the AME head office in the United States.
[3][25][26] Vie, whose family was a part of the Black migration in 1858, was born on Salt Spring Island and opened her restaurant at 209 Union Street with her husband Robert in 1948.
[2] Over the years, Vie's was visited by a number of famous musicians including Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr., Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Mitzi Gaynor, and Nat King Cole.
[3][28] Strathcona resident and day cook Dorothy Nealy recalls that "practically every Black woman in Vancouver" had worked at the Chicken Inn.
The Nocturne was located just outside Hogan's Alley at 343 E. Hastings St.[31][32] In 1950, Vancouver social scientist Leonard Marsh published a proposal entitled Rebuilding A Neighbourhood, which described the Strathcona area as a "slum" in need of urban renewal.
[35][2] The creation of the viaducts was part of a larger freeway project motivated by Marsh's publication and prepared by the University of British Columbia and the Non-Partisan Association.
[36] The urban renewal project, which called for "complete demolition of the [East End] area",[39] had been developed largely in secret, and its announcement in 1967 was met with major backlash from Strathcona residents.
[2] This can be attributed to a number of factors, including the City of Vancouver's decision to freeze property values and prevent any home improvement or redevelopment permits from being granted, as well as the lack of "public works maintenance" (such as road paving and sidewalk upkeep).
[42] The goal of the Cultural Centre and its programming is to focus on Black Canadian history and community engagement, and its surrounding area will be used for local, culturally-specific businesses.
