Manitoba Business: Kelly Brothers / Manitoba Construction Company / Kelly Brothers and Mitchell / Thomas Kelly and Sons

This Winnipeg-based construction firm was founded in 1881 by brothers Thomas Kelly, Michael Kelly, and Martin Kelly. It was responsible for building many buildings, bridges, and other structures around the city. From 1900 to 1905, they undertook the initial construction work on the St. Andrews Locks. They constructed the substructures of several bridges across the Red and Assiniboine Rivers and completed two of the more difficult contracts on the Shoal Lake Aqueduct: the crossing of the Red River from Tache to Pacific Avenue, and the crossing of the Brokenhead River and slough.

They built several public schools around the city, including the first Normal School at the corner of Kate Street and William Avenue. They put down the first block paving in Winnipeg. When asphalt became popular as a paving material, they constructed the first plant and paved the first asphalted street in Winnipeg, McDermot Avenue.

In June 1903, Kelly Brothers merged with George Alsip, George Andrews Mitchell, Thomas Sharpe, Edward Cass, William Henry Rourke, and Daniel David Wood to form the Manitoba Construction Company with Thomas Kelly as President and General Manager, Rourke as Vice-President, and Mitchell as Secretary-Treasurer. In September 1905, this firm became Kelly Brothers and Mitchell Limited with Thomas Kelly as President and Manager. In 1908, he formed the firm of Thomas Kelly and Sons Limited with offices in the Lindsay Building.

Some of the Manitoba buildings that the firm constructed:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Kelly Terrace	370-376 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1883	Destroyed by fire (28 December 1893)
Robertson Building	148-150 Alexander Avenue, Winnipeg	1884	Demolished (c2016)
Grain Exchange Building	156-160 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1898	Facade preserved (?)
Deaf and Dumb Institute (addition)	Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1900	Demolished (?)
Leckie Building	216-220 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1900
Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Powerhouse (addition)	Assiniboine Avenue between Main and Garry, Winnipeg	1900	Demolished (?)
Gregg Warehouse	Albert Street between McDermot and Notre Dame, Winnipeg	1902
Alexandra School	Edmonton Street, Winnipeg	1902-1903	Demolished (1969)
Gregg Building	52 Albert Street, Winnipeg	1902-1903
Havergal College (addition)	122 Carlton Street, Winnipeg	1902-1903	Demolished (1964)
Campbell Brothers and Wilson Warehouse	92-100 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1903
Canadian Moline Plow Warehouse	289 Chambers Street, Winnipeg	1903
Greenshields Warehouse	Arthur Street between McDermot and Notre Dame, Winnipeg	1903
MacNab and Roberts Warehouse	118-122 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Demolished (?)
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse	151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Destroyed by fire (2004)
St. Mary’s School	350 St. Mary Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Demolished (1971)
Vulcan Iron Works (addition)	105 Maple Street North / 120-150 Sutherland Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Destroyed by arson fire (4 July 2023)
Winnipeg General Hospital (addition)	Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Demolished (?)
Carlton School	Graham Avenue, Winnipeg	1903-1904	Demolished (April 1930)
Winnipeg Land Titles Building	433 Broadway, Winnipeg	1903-1904
Crump Block	844-852 Main Street, Winnipeg	1904
Immigration Hall	83 Maple Street, Winnipeg	1904-1905	Demolished (1975)
Kelly Building	181 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1904-1905
Cotter Block	207 Fort Street, Winnipeg	1905
Leggo House (addition)	327-329 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg	1905	Demolished (?)
Manitoba Agricultural College	123 Doncaster Street, Winnipeg	1905
Central Normal School	442 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1905-1906
Bank of Toronto Building	456 Main Street, Winnipeg	1905-1907
Central Normal School	442 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1905-1906
Christie Block	245 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1906
Codville-Georgeson Building	43-49 Westbrook Street, Winnipeg	1906	Demolished (1993)
Grain Exchange Building	167 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg	1906-1908
Imperial Bank of Canada Building	441 Main Street, Winnipeg	1906-1908
Dominion Post Office Building	Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1908	Demolished (1962)
Bank of Nova Scotia Building	254 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1908-1910
St. Andrews Camere Curtain Dam and Lock	Lockport, RM of St. Andrews	1908-1910
Phoenix Block	388 Donald Street, Winnipeg	1910
Canadian National Railway Main Line Bridge	Red River, Winnipeg	1910-1911
Tache Hall	150 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg	1911-1912
Horticulture and Biology Building	35 Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg	1911-1912
Chemistry and Physics Building	55 Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg	1911-1913
Granite Curling Club Building	22 Granite Way, Winnipeg	1912-1913
Laura Secord School	960 Wolseley Avenue	1912-1913
Manitoba Legislative Building	450 Broadway, Winnipeg	1912-1915
Dairy Science Building	112 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg	1913
Engineering I Building	75B Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg	1913
Winnipeg Hydro Showroom	55 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1919-1920

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Martin Kelly (1852-1925)

Memorable Manitobans: Michael Kelly (1844-1923)

Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Kelly (1855-1939)

Memorable Manitobans: George Andrews Mitchell (1857-1909)

Manitoba Business: Kelly-Simpson Construction Company / National Construction Company

Sources:

“Kelly Terrace destroyed,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 December 1893, page 4.

“Building operations are tied up,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 June 1903, page 5.

“The Manitoba Construction Company,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 December 1903, page 20.

“Big works finally begin [Immigration Hall],” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 August 1904, page 1.

“New companies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 23 September 1905, page 8.

“Kelly Bros. & Mitchell, Ltd.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 December 1905, page 5.

The Manitoba Provincial Architect's Office (1904-1916) by Erin A. M. Booth, MA Thesis, University of Winnipeg, November 1994, footnote #228.

We thank Jordan Makichuk and Terry Warsaw for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 19 July 2024