‘Lipstick on a pig’: Gastown's Blood Alley gets a facelift, but old tensions remain

Trounce Alley in Gastown, better known locally as Blood Alley. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10111557A

Article content

For decades, Vancouver’s Blood Alley carried the weight of its name.

Article content

The historic lane between Abbott and Carrall streets — also known as Trounce Alley and tucked behind the tourist crowds of Gastown’s Water Street — was long viewed by locals as one of the rougher corners of the neighbourhood. It was dimly lit and littered with broken glass and open drug use.

Article content

Article content

“It was really quite beat up, scary to walk through,” said Brian Davies, who lives in the Woodward’s building a block away.

Article content

Article content

The area itself was first created in the early 1970s, when the City of Vancouver purchased the rear portion of the Stanley Hotel lots as part of an effort to create more pedestrian space in Gastown. It was coined “Blood Alley Square” in 1972, and it was redeveloped in 2023 through a partnership among Westbank Corp., B.C. Housing and PHS Community Services Society to add supportive housing to the former Stanley Hotel site.

Article content

Article content

Last week, the city announced it had completed the renewal of the alley, as part of its final step to revitalize some of Gastown’s most historic but troubled public spaces into more welcoming, usable areas.

Article content

“The renewed square includes a performance stage to support local arts and cultural programming, fixed seating for gathering, as well as new globe lighting and new trees,” the city said in a statement.

Article content

On Friday afternoon, the alley was quiet, with a bin of damp clothes and a blue umbrella left behind. A few locals in cars and on bikes were seen using the new paving as a shortcut.

Article content

Historic Blood Alley in Vancouver. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

Article content

Of the two restaurants facing the square, one, Entrecote, is slated to open this summer. The other, the Gringo, shut down after more than a decade of operations in March. Remnants of the taco outposts’ colourful stools could be seen from the square’s new concrete seating.

Article content

Article content

At its eastern corner, The Greek By Anatoli stands, having weathered the alley’s ups and downs over the past seven years.

Article content

Article content

Owner Iani Makris said he drove by the completed public square on Thursday afternoon and only saw people using the plaza smoking drugs.

Article content

“It looks so lovely,” he said about the recent changes, lauding its use of reused cobble and brick paving. “But it’s like putting lipstick on a pig. At the end of the day, it’s still a pig.”

Article content

Makris told Postmedia he misses the days before the COVID pandemic, when Gastown was a trendy Vancouver spot.

Article content

“It still wasn’t safe,” he noted. “My wife and I lived two blocks away from the restaurant then, and I wouldn’t let her walk home alone.”

Article content

Iani Makris owns The Greek by Anatoli restaurant on Carrall Street in Gastown. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

Article content

But, Makris, added that it wasn’t as bad as it is now.

Article content

Daily operations at The Greek involve cleaning up human waste and heightened vigilance for its workers who travel to and from the restaurant.

Article content

“I’ve had staff mugged while trying to get here,” he said. “Last year, a civilian woman was murdered right outside.”

Article content

On weekend nights, when crowds spill out of nearby bars and nightlife venues, Makris said, The Greek is usually packed, with the extra foot traffic bringing in customers.