HOGAN’S ALLEY

Hogan’s Alley was a Vancouver, BC, neighbourhood that was home to multiple immigrant communities but was known largely for its African-Canadian population. The name “Hogan’s Alley” was not official, but was the popular term for a T-shaped intersection. The Black community has established itself by 1923, when the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Chapel was founded. Black settlement and high concentration of Black people were due to the proximity between the neighbourhood and the Great Northern Railway, where many men worked as porters. In addition, Black people faced housing discrimination in other parts of Vancouver, which lead them to the area of Hogan’s Alley. However, efforts of the City of Vancouver to construct an interurban freeway, put an end to a now distinct neighbourhood, which is now receiving recognition in the early 21st century. Courtesy of Canada Post.