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