Anyone who knows Commercial Drive knows Joe’s Cafe on the corner of William Street.
It is an unprepossessing single-storey flat-roofed structure, not unlike many other similar buildings along the Drive. This one has been that way since Harry Evans had it built in 1910:
- Building Permit issued 9th November 1910
- Owner: Harry Evans
- Architect: Townshend & Townshend
- Builder: Mr. Lauger
- Value: $3,550
- single storey, three storefronts
But this is not what Harry Evans had really wanted. In fact, a year before he had announced something completely different for that site. In the 3rd March 1909 edition of the Vancouver Daily World, we find this:
I can only surmise that, even in the hyper-ballooning real estate market of 1910-1912, he couldn’t raise the $10,000 and had to settle for a less ostentatious addition to Commercial Drive.
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