March 2015
| Business World
127
ued for its eponymous association with two
of Edmonton’s most prominent and success-
ful entrepreneurs. John Kelly, for example,
was a blacksmith turned developer, and
James Ramsey owned one of the largest de-
partment stores in western Canada. Kelly
built and rented the Kelly Block to Ramsey
to help facilitate the expansion of that store.
John Kelly constructed the Kelly Building in
1915, based off a design in the Edwardian-
era commercial style. In 1927, James Ramsey
contracted the construction of the Ramsey
Building, which was designed by an Edmon-
ton architectural firm and shows Chicago
school influences. Over the years, the build-
ings have remained architecturally signifi-
cant for their distinctive designs.
With the Kelly Ramsey Tower, PangmanDe-
velopments has retained that unique feel, as
the project incorporates the original facades
of both its historic namesakes.
The project team will have achieved this ef-
fect by carefully deconstructing the build-
