This Winnipeg-based construction firm was founded in 1881 by brother 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 1903, the firm merged with several other companies to form the Manitoba Construction Company with Thomas Kelly as President and General Manager and George Andrews Mitchell as Secretary-Treasurer. After two years 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.
Some of the Manitoba buildings that the firm constructed:
Building
Location
Year
Status
Dominion Post Office Building
Winnipeg
?
Grain Exchange Building
Winnipeg
?
Free Press Building
Winnipeg
?
Imperial Bank
Winnipeg
?
Bank of Toronto
Winnipeg
?
Maw Block
Winnipeg
?
Stanley Block
Winnipeg
?
Manitoba Law Courts
Winnipeg
?
Boyd Building
Winnipeg
?
Codville Company Block
Winnipeg
?
Campbell Brothers & Wilson Block
Winnipeg
?
Bank of Nova Scotia
Winnipeg
?
Canadian Pacific Railway Shops
Winnipeg
?
Canadian Northern Railway Shops
Winnipeg
?
216-220 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg
1900
Greenshields Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
151 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg
1903
Destroyed by fire (2004)
Foley, Lock and Larson Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
Campbell Brothers and Wilson Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
McNab and Roberts Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
Percy Crump Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
Shea Brewery
Winnipeg
1903
Graham Avenue, Winnipeg
1903
433 Broadway, Winnipeg
1903-1904
Boyd's Bakery
Winnipeg
1903
Winnipeg General Hospital
Winnipeg
1903
Vulcan Iron Works
Winnipeg
1903
Drewry Brewery
Winnipeg
1903
Strang Block
Winnipeg
1903
Forman Block
Winnipeg
1903
Thompson Block
Winnipeg
1903
Dingle House
Winnipeg
1903
Havergal College (addition)
Winnipeg
1903
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse
Winnipeg
1903
289 Chambers Street, Winnipeg
1903
Winnipeg Brewery (addition)
Winnipeg
1903
844-852 Main Street, Winnipeg
1904
181 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg
1904-1905
245 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg
1906
43-49 Westbrook Street, Winnipeg
1906
Demolished (1993)
167 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg
1906-1908
441 Main Street, Winnipeg
1906-1908
Phoenix Block
388 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1910
Red River, Winnipeg
1910-1911
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Martin Kelly (1855-1925)
Memorable Manitobans: Michael Kelly (1844-1923)
Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Kelly (1855-1939)
Memorable Manitobans: George Andrews Mitchell (1857-1909)
“The Manitoba Construction Company,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 December 1903, page 20.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 February 2024