Historical Narrative of Trent Alley

Originally a settlement seen as dangerous and foreign, Trent Alley eventually became a busy cityscape with strong connections to many different communities. Located in downtown Spokane, Trent Alley consisted of three city blocks and housed many Japanese and Chinese businesses. Trent Alley’s history matters because it admits that Chinese people have been in Spokane since its inception; it explains how Spokane was a haven for Japanese people during WWII; it demonstrates how Asian communities supported each other. And finally, Spokane’s Asian American community’s rising affluence and eventual exodus from Trent Alley is a testament to their strength in overcoming many challenges.

Chinese immigrants first arrived in the area in the mid-to-late-19th century as contract workers for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and they settled along Front St. (later Trent Ave. and now Spokane Falls Blvd.)[1]. This area first came to be known as the International District and later Chinatown. The area was a popular spot for locals to visit, including indigenous people.[2]  The population of roughly 600 was made up of primarily male sojourners as was common at the time, but the population dropped after the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882.[3] By 1905, the population had decreased to 500, and to only about 60 living in the alley by 1931.[4]

People living outside of Trent Alley held varying perspectives on the district. Some viewed it as an interesting getaway, others appreciated how cheap the services and goods were, but many viewed it as a dangerous and shady location as it housed many opium and gambling dens and at least five brothels, where kidnapped and coerced Japanese women were forced to do sex work.[5] There were also a great number of reputable businesses including hotels, restaurants, laundries, and retail shops.[6] The community was very well connected and very supportive, and eventually the greater Spokane community realized that. They respected the authority of the Chinatown “mayor” and participated and celebrated their milestones.[7] The community could also be called well-tempered and tolerated multiple reported disturbances.[8]

The Hip Sing Tong Association was also a valuable community organization. Hip Sing established its Spokane Branch in 1918 and had a grand opening celebration with fireworks. They welcomed 50 members and 100 other guests.[9]This organization had been founded 100 years prior and there were at least 20 other branches across the country in 1935.[10] The Spokane branch hosted the 2-week national convention for Hip Sing Tong in 1924 and 1935, hosting up to 100 members and celebrating with a parade.[11] Though Hip Sing was originally known as a Chinese gang or mafia, the Spokane branch was a modern benevolent fraternity, welfare organization, and social club.[12] They supported the community by coaching immigrants, assisting in settling family quarrels, providing free funeral services and supporting business startups in the neighborhood.[13] They threw Chinese New Year celebrations with guests from outside of the community, including white state senators and city councilors. After the community faced serious struggles during the Great Depression, which forced many businesses to close, they divested funds from firework celebrations to the community chest drives.[14]

In addition, inflation was reportedly not affecting the area.[15] This was a voluntary decision by business owners, as they wanted to keep services affordable to support struggling community members. White people took advantage of these prices at noodle houses and laundries.[16] But these low prices meant that people in the community had very poor living conditions. Most business owners and their families lived either in the backroom of their business, or in one of the many hotels. Most businesses, and even some hotels, didn’t have bathtubs, so some laundries had extra tubs hidden in the backroom, and they would rent them out to community members.[17]

Despite the strong community that had developed in Trent Alley, there was no sign that gambling, or drug dealing had slowed by the 1950’s.[18] In 1934 there were reported complaints from a city council commissioner about the Spokane Police Department’s negligence to shut down the gambling dens.[19] A reporter investigated the area and found that there was a very well run lottery game there with no intent to conceal it because the police hadn’t bothered them.[20]That changed in 1938, as wives of white men complained to the police that their husbands were blowing their paychecks in Trent Alley.[21] The police raided the den and arrested 108 Chinese men.[22] This event caused the gambling den to develop a system which involved a secret door and an alarm.[23] Despite more complaints in 1952, and a private investigation confirming the dens were still in operation, the police made no effort to shut down or investigate the dens.[24] It can be assumed that the local law enforcement didn’t care about shutting down illegal gambling unless it was harming the white community, and after the massive raid in 1938, the dens were mostly used by Chinese men.

At this point, Spokane’s Chinese population had mostly vacated the area, but there had been an influx of Japanese people. The story of Japanese people in Trent Alley is not so riddled with crime, but with huge fluctuations in population density. The Japanese population grew from roughly 60 in 1891 to 1000 in 1910.[25] As the third block was occupied by mostly Japanese people, the area was renamed Japanese Alley, though sometimes referred to as the Japanese Colony.[26]But after the Great Depression and the passing of the 1924 Japanese Exclusion Act the population decreased.[27]

This changed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The order for Japanese Internment caused Spokane’s population to boom.[28] Spokane was a part of Zone 3, and Spokane’s Japanese residents weren’t ordered to leave.[29]Japanese people in Zones 1 and 2 (like Seattle and Portland) “voluntarily evacuated” from the coast and settled in Spokane.[30] It was typical for Japanese speaking immigrants arriving in Spokane to be hired at an established business, and then after learning English with the help of community resources, they would establish their own businesses.[31] By 1945, the population of Japanese people in Spokane had tripled from what it was in 1940.[32] The newcomers had been accustomed to a higher quality of living and were eager to move out of Trent Alley. The diffusion of Japanese people (mostly Issei) into the greater Spokane area inspired the people already living Trent alley to move to more affluent areas.[33] This majorly contributed to the abandonment of the alley that led to the eventual destruction of the buildings for the ’74 World Expo in Spokane.[34]

Today, the two western blocks of Trent Alley remain as parking lots for the performing arts and convention centers, and the block that held mostly Japanese businesses is where the Grand Davenport Hotel was opened in 2015.[35]While there isn’t a physical trace of this community left behind, the community remains connected through a system of different Asian congregations.[36] The history is very important to Spokane’s story. It demonstrates the connections and interactions that white people had with Chinese and Japanese people. It also proves that there has been an Asian American presence in Spokane since it was founded. Trent Alley’s story is a demonstration of the community’s resilience and growth because it evolved from shady area to bustling cityscape, and was eventually abandoned in favor of more affluent areas.