Larry Kelley
G. Larry Kelley (1916-2009) was a construction company executive at Pickens-Bond Construction Company. Under his leadership the company built the Excelsior Hotel (now Peabody Hotel), the Union National Bank Building, the Stephens Building, the First Commercial Bank Building and First National Bank Building and Metropolitan Bank Building, and the Capitol Tower in downtown Little Rock. It also built University Mall and Park Plaza Mall in Little Rock, the McCain Mall in North Little Rock, the Temple B'nai Israel in west Little Rock, the original Pulaski Academy building, and a number of college residence halls and Dillard's department stores. When Kelley retired in 1988 the company was the largest construction firm in the state.
Larry Kelley was born in Little Rock on April 13, 1916, to Eugene and Norma Kelley of Little Rock. He attended Little Rock Junior College and earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1938. Kelley was also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis, Maryland. Kelley served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and retired a lieutenant commander. He formed the Kelley Nelson Construction Company in 1947 with Louis Nelson. Together they built the Westover Hills Presbyterian Mission Church in 1952.
He was a member of Fifty for the Future. Kelley was an avid duck hunter, fly fisherman, and played tennis often at the Little Rock Athletic Club. Kelley owned the Button Willow Duck Club southeast of Lonoke.
References
- Evin Demirel, "His Projects Shape Capital City Skyline," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 3, 2009.
