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1662 E. 2nd Avenue
1909-1912 (?)
Shown on Goad’s map in 1912 as a small building at the far west end of the lot. Demolition date is uncertain: the last documentary evidence of the house is in 1912, and the lot was subsumed beneath 1801 Commercial by 1926.
- 1662 E. 2nd
1801-1803 Commercial
1926-
In June 1924, Angus Fraser was issued a building permit for a $2,500 “residence” on this lot. However, it was built as a dairy in 1926. A $20,000 addition was added in 1932. It was remodelled into a dance hall in 1968, and then into a produce store in 1973.
The Fraser family built 1301 Commercial in 1927 to house their Crystal Dairy. Founded in 1922, Crystal Dairy was the largest independent dairy in Vancouver by 1936.
In late 1927, there had been strong local opposition to the construction of stables at the rear of the building. They would be a “nuisance” in a residential neighbourhood, said the opponents (Province 1927 Nov 29, p5; 30, p.19). But the company needed the stables for its milk delivery system, and they were allowed to proceed. Most of the building was essentially a milk delivery depot and stables, but some of the frontage along Commercial Drive had served retail.
The retail space was completely renovated in 1939 to be the finest soda-and-ice-cream fountain in East Vancouver. This was a title they fought over with Louis Toban’s Toots Restaurant at Commercial and Broadway. For more than a decade the two competed mainly in a series of renovations, using new chrome, glass, and lighting, each trying to outdo the other in popularity with the teen crowd.
In those pre-feminist days, girls would vie for positions as waitresses at Crystal Fountain as it was the best place to meet eligible boyfriends and husbands.
There was a “towering marble counter. The floors were tiled, the walls were marble interspersed with mirror, and high above us, turning and whirring were big paddle fans. The whole place seemed cool and our voices echoed when we spoke. It was as if we were encased inside an icicle.” (Proctor, p,107)
The Frasers sold the dairy a few years after the War and by 1954, the new owners had consolidated operations elsewhere and the dairy and fountain were closed. For the next 15 years, the building served as the offices and warehouse of the Select Music Company, a division of Acme Novelties.
In 1968, the building, damaged from two recent fires, was purchased for $90,000 by Carlo Gallo and Giuseppe Padovano, and renovated into the Italian Melodi Dance Hall. When it opened, the Echo called it “fabulous, new”, and described it as “in the style of old Venice with a terrazo floor, beautiful pictures on the wall,and a statue complete with fountain in the foyer.” Dinner and dancing for New Years Eve that year was $15. It was a success for a while but in 1974, the same owners closed the hall and remodeled the store into G & P Food Market. From 1995 to 2001, the building was used first by a liquidator and then by a haulage company. Wonderbucks took over the space in 2001 and stayed until the size of the rent forced its closure in early 2017.
- 1801-03 Commercial
1815-1817 Commercial
1911-
BP 1911/2/24 to Angus McKenzie, builder H.S. Crawford, $10,000. 1923/5/7: BP A-5762 to Angus McKenzie, $100 garage.
- 1815 Commercial
- 1817 Commercial (apartments)
1839 Commercial
1908-1922
Operated as the Lucy Grocery. The building was demolished by the City in 1922.
- 1839 Commercial
1839 Commercial
1937-
Small building set well back from the Drive.
- 1839 Commercial
1851-1885 Commercial
1938-
In early 1938, it was reported that Angus Campbell purchased the tax-derelict property at the south end of the east side of the 1800 block. However, all these lots are shown as vacant in the 1930 Insurance Map. He spent a reported $10,000 developing eight “modern shops” that became 1851-1895 Commercial. Permits issued 1938/2/23 for a one storey building with seven storefronts.
- 1851 Commercial
- 1855 Commercial
- 1859 Commercial
- 1861 Commercial
- 1865 Commercial
- 1875 Commercial
- 1885/89 Commercial
Jak's View of Vancouver v.3 