DAW, Joseph (1867-1945) was the '....well-known St. Catharines, Ontario architect who has received a commission in the Royal Engineers and has left for Ottawa' (C.R., xxix, 8 Sept. 1915, 946). Born in Camberwell, London, England on 8 November 1867, he was educated there and worked in London where he held the position of Architect, Inspector & Surveyor at the Imperial War Office. He served with British Forces during the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902), and later lived and worked in London for nearly a decade before emigrating to Canada.
He first appears in Ontario in 1910 when he was hired by A.E. Nicholson to work as an assistant in his office in St. Catharines (Daily Standard [St. Catharines], 23 April 1910, 4). He was still active in that town in 1913, and before leaving that city he designed the parish hall for Christ Church (Anglican), Lisgar Street at St. Paul Street, St. Catharines. He was one of sixteen competitors who submitted designs for Ward Five Public School in Welland, Ont. (Welland Tribune, 11 Dec. 1913, Section Two, 1), but his scheme was not premiated and the commission was later awarded to A.E. Nicholson. No information has been found on his activity after 1915, and he later died in Orangeville, Ontario on 13 June 1945. A biography and list of works by Daw was published in the St. Catharines Standard, 4 Oct. 1913, page 4, and in The Times (Niagara-on-the-Lake) , 16 Jan. 1914, page 1.
ST. CATHARINES, ONT. residence for Dr. W.A. McLean, Geneva Street, in the Jones Subdivision, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 5 March 1913, 2)
VINELAND STATION, ONT., residence for Robert McCauley, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 6 March 1913, 6)
NORTH GRIMSBY, ONT., public school for S.S. No. 3, "....located 2 miles west of Grimsby village", 1913-14 (St. Catharines Standard, 25 April 1913, 2; and 15 May 1913, 1, descrip.; and 6 Feb. 1914, 1, descrip., and 20 March 1914, 7, detailed architectural descrip.)
GRANTHAM, ONT., public school for S.S. No. 8, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 25 April 1913, 2)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., extensive remodelling of The Grand Opera House, for Mr. Odlum, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 26 April 1913, 1; and 15 May 1913, 1, descrip.)
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT., a large summer resort complex planned on the Lake Shore Road, halfway between Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines, for G.W. Keyes in 1913, including an amusement park, bandstand and dance hall (The Times (Niagara-on-the-Lake) 16 May 1913, 1, descrip.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., a parish hall for Christ Church (Anglican), Lisgar Street at St. Paul Street West, in Western Hill, located in the west end of the city (St. Catharines Standard, 7 March 1913, 4, descrip.; and 21 Aug. 1913, 8, descrip.)
THOROLD, ONT. Exhibition Building, for the Thorold Agricultural Society, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 15 July 1913, 2, descrip.; and 17 July 1913, 8, t.c.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., The St. Paul Street Theatorium, a 500-seat theatre located opposite the Grand Central Hotel, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 29 July 1913, 1; and 15 Sept. 1913, 3, descrip.)
ST CATHARINES, ONT., The Heintzman Piano Co., St. Paul Street, opposite Queen Street, new showroom and addition to commercial block, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 12 Aug. 1913, 2; and 4 Oct. 1913, 21, descrip.)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., new factory for Hulbert Shoe Co., in Western Hill, 1913 (St. Catharines Standard, 16 Sept. 1913, 5)
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., The Widdicombe Block, St. Paul Street, 1914-15 (Evening Journal [St. Catharines], 9 Feb. 1915, 1)