louis sullivan-designed 1883 selz residence carved wood exterior ornament salvaged during demolition in 1967

richard nickel images of adler and sullivan’s morris selz residence completed in 1883. david norris, john vinci, and richard nickel documented/salvaged exterior and interior ornament shortly before the house was demolished in 1967. architectural ornament saved from the selz residence is scattered across private collections, museums, and universities.

designed by the architectural firm of adler and sullivan, the selz residence was completed in 1883 for morris selz. a native of württemberg, germany, selz arrived in chicago in 1854 after working in sales for companies in connecticut and georgia. selz started in the clothing business in chicago with selz & cohn, but in 1871 he entered the wholesale shoe trade, founding m. selz & company. by the following year, the east madison street factory of the firm had grown to about 350 employees, with nearly a million dollars’ worth of hand-pegged boots and shoes manufactured each year. selz's company ranked among the leading shoe manufacturers in the midwest.

the enterprise became selz, schwab & co. in 1878, when charles h. schwab—another german immigrant who had arrived in chicago in 1854—joined the firm. by the beginning of the twentieth century, the company employed about 1,500 workers at its factories around northern illinois, which were located in chicago, joliet, genoa, and elgin. by this time, selz, schwab & co. manufactured about 12,000 pairs of boots and shoes per day, which placed the company among the leading makers of footwear in the united states.

selz remained a major footwear company throughout the 1920s, before the great depression crippled its sales and forced its factories to close. he died in his home in 1913, located at 1717 s. michigan avenue. It was later demolished in 1967.