INTO THE ALLEY
The back lane urban experience
One of the buzzwords in urban design these days is “back alleys” or “back lanes.” For some, it is about laneway housing, for others, it is the animation of back alleys with murals, cafes and shops as a means of creating a unique urban experience. Never liking to be left out of any new urban design trends, it was not surprising Calgary hosted a Backyard Alley Party on 17th Avenue S.W., the last two September weekends.
THE RED THREAD
Will Craig, senior associate with Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning, invited me to join him on a walkabout of the back alleys on the north side of 17th Avenue S.W. just before the first Backyard Alley party weekend. I was shocked to find more than 100 empty parking stalls on a late Friday morning. And I was surprised at how peaceful it was without traffic.
However, seeing the everyday clutter of that alley with industrial-sized garbage bins, fences, poles and barriers, it was hard to imagine the alley could be turned into a fun people place for patios, games, vendors and movies. But that is exactly what happened!
On the first Saturday, I was amazed by the transformation of the back alley with artificial turf over most of the asphalt and the addition of picnic tables, bars and barbecues and various equipment for games. There was even a red line painted down the middle (aka red carpet), nicknamed “The Red Thread.”
However, being a sunny Saturday afternoon, the alley on the north side of 17th Avenue was in shade while the sidewalk (front yard) was in sunlight. Not surprisingly, the back alley yard party was quiet while the street patios were full. I understand the back alley animation picked up when the sun went down.
Craig spent time in Melbourne studying how that city adapted its alleys for commercial uses, and upon returning to Calgary was keen to pilot something. The 17th Avenue Backyard Alley Party was an experiment and will be tested a few more times as 17th Avenue S.W. businesses temporarily lose their sidewalk access due to construction. Les- sons learned will help identify other city centre alley experiments that might eventually lead to permanent commercial uses.
MELBOURNE’S LANEWAYS
City centre back alleys and laneways in Calgary (and most North American cities) are often seen as seedy places. The same is not true outside North America — Melbourne’s city centre has become a tourist attraction because of the fun things to see and do in back alleys, called laneways.
Australian Tourism’s website says of Melbourne’s hidden laneways: “Today you can escape Melbourne’s modern-day traffic in these charming backstreets. Let the aroma of good coffee and gourmet outlets tempt you to Degraves Street and Centre Place. Stop in at housewares stores along each. There’s more great cafe culture along Crossley Street, as well as stylish boutiques and small, popular lunch places.”
It doesn’t stop there. “Check out the funky boutiques and flagship stores clustered around Little Collins Street. Hunt down a piece by a local fashion designer in Manchester or Flinders Lane, where the city’s rag trade began. ”
Melbourne’s laneways have also become spaces for artistic expression with “colourful, con- stantly changing graffiti murals.”
CALGARY BACK ALLEY EXPERIMENTS
Perhaps Calgary’s best back alley hot spot was in the historic Grain Exchange Building where in the 1980s, the basement Beat Niq jazz club (later it became Wino’s and is now vacant) was a popular nightspot. With the entrance from the alley on the south side of Stephen Avenue, it had just the right amount of seediness you would expect of a New York City back alley jazz club.
Metrovino opened in 1996 (and is still open) as part of the redevelopment of a common Beltline warehouse building in the middle of the 700 block of 11th Avenue S.W. (once known as the Design District). The building included Metrovino, the Cookbook Co., Paul Kuhn Gallery, a restaurant (currently Decadent Brulee) and offices (CityScope Magazine, now Avenue Magazine and Sturgess Architecture). It predates the East Village’s mixed-use Simmons Building by 20 years and was a private entrepreneurial enterprise.
Though you can access Metrovino from 11th Avenue S.W. by walking through the Cookbook Co. store, the front door is actually in the alley at the back of the now metal-cladded industriallooking building. Most days owner Richard Harvey’s bike sits in the alley on what was once a loading dock.
Village Ice Cream is another success story, opening in 2012 in an unused space at the back of an engineering office at the end of 10th Avenue S.E. in Victoria Park. Talk about off the beaten path! However, it has been so successful, two new locations have since opened — one in Britannia and the other in Marda Loop.
Recently, I stumbled upon Art of Vintage — in the back alley of a small commercial building at the corner of 23rd Avenue and 29th Street S.W. It is an intimate space full of curated Western Canadian artifacts, some for sale, some for rent.I believe it is exactly the kind of place you would find in a Melbourne laneway.
LAST WORD
Calgary has experimented with back alley establishments over the years, but all have been “oneoff” initiatives. What is needed is a comprehensive back alley plan that would create a critical mass of things to see (murals) and do (cafes, bistros, boutiques) that create a unique urban experience and make living in our city centre more attractive.