Historic Hogan's Alley

from the early 1900's to the late 60s Vancouver's east side Strathcona area was home to the city's first black community black folks just weren't welcome other places in the city they were covenants on title that said you can't sell to people of color who were black and there was also a lot of restrictions and rentals so people who

were racialized clustered in this neighborhood because that's where they could go and Vancouver during those tumultuous decades the neighborhood became a source of vibrant culture especially underscored in historic Hogan's Alley so this is where vibes chicken and steaks used to be and why was your grandmother five was my grandmother and

why was this an important part of the neighborhood it was as a local eatery because it was the only local eatery that brought the people in basically you know this was a night spot this was open from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 you

know all she served with steaks are chicken and then there was the fries and the biscuits that went along with it night so you only had those two choices of what you wanted on it in the 1930s and 40s Hogan's Alley was an assortment of modest dwellings southern style restaurants and temporary nightclubs the

entertainers would put on their little show and they would do that thing and then would all pile over here so between midnight and 5:00 a.m. but after years of fighting rezoning efforts by the city the thriving community was essentially displaced as the first phase of the

Georgia viaduct construction was completed in 1971 Hogan's Alley was right there with that viaduct incredible and then the alley went this way and the alley went that way right you see it I'm before the street so we had two alleys lined up but the one that went this way

ended at the light and you lived down here so what was it like back then I mean the way of life it was fun and it was an area where black people were placed for years in years and years so when the city decided to do the viaduct everyone had to move while the

original Hogan's Alley no longer remains tremendous efforts are being made to preserve its legacy and carry it into the future looking ahead as the city redevelops this area it's about what can this land do to remember and redress the black folks that used to live here are

more pushdown but it's really fantastic that we've got a temporary modular housing project coming in in partnership with the city and the province and for mph as society and it's going to provide housing for people who are homeless and struggling with mental health and addictions who already live in this neighborhood we know black folks are

over-represented unfortunately in the Downtown Eastside street homeless population so that's the first step and then our vision is that this is really this welcoming amazing place for black folks and people of all backgrounds to gather and celebrate Black History black culture and the contributions that we

really want to make to making Vancouver great the fondest memories was riding my bike to the train station or going and checking in on the restaurant when I wasn't supposed to be there I wish we can turn back the hands of time so I could still be here it's amazing what

the city wants to do now you know it's they want to bring back what they tore up basically it used to be in the black community but now it's just a community you know so it's for everyone in Vancouver Thor dachau City

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