1.5 Existing Conditions

Hogan’s Alley is located in Skwácháys and the present day neighbourhood of Strathcona in the so-called city of Vancouver. The area is rich in legend and oral history, is home to tales of tragedy and dispossession, and features structures and landmarks important to the existing and former community. Refer to section 2.0 Stories of the Land.

This report roughly focuses on the two blocks between Union Street, Gore Avenue, Prior Street, and Expo Boulevard, and its surrounding area. This includes Nora Hendrix Place, the Plaza Skateboard Park, the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts, and the Murrin Substation. Recommendations have also been made throughout that extend beyond the limits of the subject property. For an example, refer to sections 3.4.4.5 Narrow Alleys and 3.4.5.4 Resilient Nature & Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).

Notable Places: Nora Hendrix Place is a modular housing facility that was built in partnership with the Hogan’s Alley Society and Portland Hotel Society to meet the needs of Vancouver’s unhoused Black and Indigenous communities. The facility has 52 units to house individuals until they are matched with permanent housing and provides access to healthcare support and community programming. Painted atop the east wall is a mural entitled Remember Hogan’s Alley by local artist Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe.

The Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts, which were opened in 1972, run through open green space. Refer to section 2.0 Stories of the Land: Hogan’s Alley. The so-called city of Vancouver voted to demolish the viaducts in 2015, but no demolition work has started yet. There are murals painted by Anthony Joseph, in partnership with the Hogan’s Alley Society, across the side of the Dunsmuir viaduct.

Figure 11: Section Digital Drawing of Current Day Hogan’s Alley by Nicole Brekelmans, 2021.

The Jimi Hendrix Shrine is just north of the property, located at 209 Union Street. According to Jimi Hendrix, the Man, the Magic, the Truth, a biography published in 2004, Jimi lived in 14 different places, including short stints in Vancouver (Lazarus, 2018).

The Murrin Substation was built in 1947 and is bound by Union St. to the south, and Quebec St. to the west. See Section 3.3.3 Murrin Substation (721 Main Street).

To the west of the subject property, between Quebec and Union Streets under the Georgia and Dunsmuir Viaducts, is the Downtown Skateboard Plaza. This street-style skateboard park, which opened in 2004, was upgraded in 2011 and is a popular destination for advanced skateboarders. It is considered North America’s first purposely built plaza-style skatepark and has attracted local and international skateboarders for over a decade. It features replica rails, embankments, curbs, walls, ramps, and steps, and has a variety of surface textures. Unfortunately, the impending deconstruction of the viaducts will also see the loss of this beloved skate haven, but the NEFC Plan has allocated space for its replacement.

Existing planting on site is limited to trees and a layer of vegetated grass, with interspersed shrubs. Somewhat ironically, the space between the viaducts is host to some interesting vegetated species, including Japanese quince. The surrounding streets and laneways host a far more diverse planted ecosystem than the open space itself. They are home to both Indigenous and introduced planting such as boxwoods, willows, asters, goldenrod, spirea, birch, plums, clovers, oaks, fennel, laurel, and snowberry. Collectively, they provide a fairly dense ecosystem for a residential neighbourhood and provide adequate shading for the residents and their homes. While it is recommended that the plant selection for the proposed spaces solely utilize Indigenous and local planting to improve resiliency, the richness of these residential areas and the historical planting and inferences they embody can and should inspire planting design moving forward.