27 Jan largely intact painted pine wood exterior ornament salvaged from adler and sullivan’s selz house (1883) joins bldg. 51 musuem

an original louis h. sullivan-designed exterior residential carved wood fragment salvaged from adler and sullivan’s morris selz house (1883) during its demolition in 1967 was recently acquired by the bldg. 51 museum collection.

a total of four hand-carved painted pine wood framed floral panels were mounted flush on the underside of the house’s gridded porch ceiling, extending or radiating  from the centrally located light fixture (long since removed). only two were rescued during the building’s demolition in 1967 (see richard nickel image below). 

additional images, taken by nickel, offer a glimpse at the house – both inside and out – when it was largely abandoned, waiting for demolition.  nickel and iit students, david norris and john vinci, managed to salvage sullivan ornament, including, but not limited to cast iron newel posts, fireplace mantel headers, richly colored stained glass, terra cotta, hardware and majolica tiles. most of the ornament rescued resides in 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.

images courtesy of john vinci, eric j. nordstrom, bldg. 51 musuem and ryerson and burnham archives. all rights reserved. 2023.