Fan Tan Alley
Fan Tan Alley is an alley in Victoria, British Columbia's Chinatown. It runs south from Fisgard Avenue to Pandora Avenue at the block between Government Street and Store Street. Named after the Chinese gambling game Fan-Tan, the alley was originally a gambling district with restaurants, shops, and opium dens. Today it is a tourist destination with many small shops including a barbershop, art gallery, Chinese cafe, apartments and offices. It is the narrowest street in Canada. At its narrowest point it is only wide. It was designated as a heritage property by the local government in 2001.
In 2006, Dr. David C. Lai, a scholar and historian of the area, contributed material salvaged from the alley's original gate to the Six String Nation project. Part of that material now serves as kerfing on the upper left of the interior of Voyageur, the guitar at the heart of the project.
