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 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 |
? |
|
Leckie Building |
216-220 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg |
1900 |
|
Greenshields Warehouse |
Winnipeg |
1903 |
|
Manitoba Cold Storage Warehouse |
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 |
|
Carlton School |
Graham Avenue, Winnipeg |
1903 |
|
Winnipeg Land Titles Building |
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 |
|
Canadian Moline Plow Warehouse |
289 Chambers Street, Winnipeg |
1903 |
|
Winnipeg Brewery (addition) |
Winnipeg |
1903 |
|
Crump Block |
844-852 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1904 |
|
Kelly Building |
181 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg |
1904-1905 |
|
Christie Block |
245 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906 |
|
Codville-Georgeson Building |
43 Westbrook Street, Winnipeg |
1906 |
Demolished (1993) |
Grain Exchange Building |
167 Lombard Avenue, Winnipeg |
1906-1908 |
|
Imperial Bank of Canada |
441 Main Street, Winnipeg |
1906-1908 |
|
Phoenix Block |
388 Donald Street, Winnipeg |
1910 |
|
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)
Sources:
“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: 23 July 2023
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