Fire strikes the Kelly and Ramsey buildings
by Lawrence Herzog
It's Our Heritage | Vol. 27 No. 13 | April 02, 2009
Ramsey and Kelly Buildings after the fire. Photo by James Tennant
When fire struck the Ramsey Building last Tuesday, March 24th, it threatened two significant remaining links to the city’s pre-Depression past. Built by James Ramsey, who was known as Edmonton’s “Merchant Prince,” the 1927 building and its adjacent 95-year-old neighbour, the Kelly Building, have survived even as other historic structures around them have fallen.
Fire investigators say the blaze, which caused more than $3.5 million in fire and water damage to the two buildings, was deliberately set. Only the exceptional efforts of city firefighters and the brick, stone and concrete construction of the buildings helped save them from complete ruin.
The city had been talking with owner Worthington Properties about designating the Ramsey Building at 10048 101 A Avenue as a Municipal Historic Resource. Now, in the wake of the fire, those discussions will continue, says Robert Geldart, the city’s heritage planner. “If possible, we would be looking to work with the owners to achieve designation and offer financial incentives to restore the two buildings.”
That the Kelly-Ramsey Blocks are actually two buildings, constructed 13 years apart, is not readily apparent. But if you look closely you will discern where they are joined.
The corner where John Edmund Kelly erected his block is now the heart of Rice Howard Way, named for the two streets that converged here – Rice and Howard. Kelly was born in Glengarry County, Ontario in 1852, and trained as a marine and mechanical engineer. He settled in Fort Macleod, Alberta in 1879, and apparently built the first sawmill at Pincher Creek.
Kelly came to Edmonton in 1883 and worked as a blacksmith and engineer, and ran for election to Edmonton's first town council in 1892. He was defeated, but tried again in 1895, and won, and was then re-elected the following year.
Kelly played a role in the construction of the Edmonton Power Plant on the Rossdale Flats in 1900. He then turned his sights to real estate and become the president of Owner's Realty. It may well have been through these business ventures that he gained the capital to build the Jasper Block at 10514-20 Jasper Avenue in 1909 and the Kelly Building in 1914/15.
His $100,000 building at what is now 10040-44 101 A Avenue was designed by William D. Van Sicklen, a local architect, who specified brick walls, concrete floors and limestone cladding. The builder was the contracting firm of Reid, MacDonald, Brewster.
Its first tenant was James Ramsey Limited, the company operated by Edmonton's "Merchant Prince." James Ramsey was born in Imlay City, Michigan in 1864 and was raised in Plattsville, Ontario. He began his career in merchandising there and business took him to Toronto, Montreal and New York.
Ramsey came to Edmonton in 1910 after an apprenticeship as a retailer with his father in Guelph, Ontario. He chose this city because, as Ramsey told an Edmonton Bulletin reporter, it boasted the best business prospects.
He met with Robert Tegler, who was planning to erect a modern business block and the two talked about Ramsey establishing a store in the building. Tegler agreed to send rental details by telegram to Ramsey's base in Ontario and, the story goes that when the numbers arrived, they looked so good that Ramsey caught the next train back to Edmonton. He quickly rolled up his sleeves and began building a retail empire.
The James Ramsey Limited Department Store opened on the main floor of the Tegler Building on September 3rd, 1911, occupying 18,000 square feet. Soon, the store outgrew its Tegler Building premises and, when Kelly announced plans for his building, Ramsey was quick to jump at the opportunity for expansion space. A well-crafted brick edifice with abundant windows, Ramsey's new quarters in the Kelly Building opened in 1915, complete with solid maple and linoleum flooring.
Ramsey was one of Edmonton's most visible leaders of the early 20th century and was elected alderman in 1915 and 1916 and sat in the provincial legislature as a Conservative from 1917 to 1921. Kelly moved to California in the early 1920s, where he died in 1934, leaving behind seven children.
Ramsey bought Kelly’s building in 1926, and the following year announced construction of the adjacent Ramsey Block. He hired the well-established Edmonton architectural partnership of Magoon and MacDonald to design it.
The result is a structure that leans to Edwardian Commercial style and features many classical elements, such as the pilasters, so common in the commercial architecture of the time. The structure was erected by contractor H.O. MacDonald.
In 1927, the Ramsey Building opened, selling the latest furnishings from Europe, the United States and Central Canada. Built at a cost of $150,000, this addition was clad with an extravagant granite facing. It even boasted not one, but two, Otis elevators.
Ramsey was married twice and fathered three children -- two daughters and a son, Lt. Thomas Ramsey, who served in the First World War with the 49th Battalion of the Edmonton Regiment. Ramsey ended his career as a seller of goods in 1928 by selling the "stock and goodwill" of James Ramsey Limited to the T. Eaton Company for a reported $1 million. Back then, that was an enormous amount of money. T. Eaton then took over the business in the Ramsey Block, which marked the beginning of the department store's long association with Edmonton.
The following year, Ramsey formed a financial and investment firm, Ramsey Hunt and Ramsey Limited, but a year later he retired from his business activities. He died at his Bahamas home in December 1939, at the age of 75.
While the interiors of both buildings have been extensively modified over the years, the street facades endure largely unaltered from their original state. Although they are immediately adjacent, with continuous facades and internal links at each storey, the two structures remain visually distinct. The narrower, but higher, Ramsey Building is faced with limestone, which further distinguishes it from the brick-faced Kelly Building.
“The Kelly-Ramsey Building is a significant historic resource to the city, especially with its downtown location on Rice Howard Way,” Geldart says. “Its heritage value consisting of two different architectural styles, and its form, scale and massing add much character to the urban fabric of Rice Howard Way."
A report compiled for the City Planning and Development department notes the importance of the Kelly-Ramsey Building has only increased with the passage of time. With the loss of many important structures of similar age and even greater significance such as the Tegler Building (replaced by the Bank of Montreal), the Kelly-Ramsey Building has become increasingly important to the urban design of the area.
Geldart is hopeful that Worthington Properties, which owns the buildings, will continue with its history of excellent stewardship of Edmonton’s heritage resources. So far, the company has agreed to designate five of its heritage buildings – the A. MacDonald Building, the Metals Building, the Phillips Building, the Canada Consolidated Rubber Building and Westminster Apartments. “Designating and restoring the Kelly-Ramsey would continue that tradition of stewardship,” he says.
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