Dear Vance: I recently came across an old architectural rendering showing the Sellers Building. Was this ever constructed in Memphis, and if so, where was it located? — S.W., Memphis.
Dear S.W.: In January, I wrote about the Lincoln American Tower, erected in 1924 for the headquarters of a national insurance company. A fellow aptly named Bob Sellers was one of that company’s top salesmen, and in 1967 he decided to open his own firm. The Sellers Corporation, later abbreviated to Selco, quickly expanded to offer a complete portfolio of financial services, with separate divisions devoted to insurance, pensions, profit sharing, municipal bonds, real estate, and even printing and binding. One branch oversaw the construction of a line of motels called Semi-Inns, described as “modular sleeping accommodations for the transportation industry.”
In the beginning, the new company leased a tiny, 800-square-foot building on Union Extended, but in 1971, Sellers hired the local architectural firm of Robert Hall & Associates to design the modern seven-story structure you see here, just across the street from their original building. Located at 2714 Union Extended, it’s an impressive structure, packed with unusual features. The executive offices on the top floor included such amenities as a putting green, jogging track, handball court, sauna and steam rooms, and a private dining room. “It’s our way of saying our people are the strength of our operations,” Sellers told The Commercial Appeal, “and the secret to our success.”
For the interior, Sellers turned to someone who had no experience in interior design — his wife, Marie. “Actually, I would have been hurt if he hadn’t asked me,” she told reporter Mary Alice Quinn. “So I told him I would attempt it. To prepare for the job, I took an extensive decorating course, then read every book I could get my hands on about furnishing and antiques.” Quinn called the project “a Herculean decorating job,” but when it was finished, she praised the “trend-setting design.” Marie herself said her efforts emphasized “sunshine colors” and Quinn admired the “avant-garde furniture fashioned from chrome, arrangements of silk flowers, and terrariums.” It must have been quite a place.
I thought the colorful cars were an especially nice touch.
By this time, Selco had more than 200 employees, and Sellers reported sales of $61 million in 1973, with projections of more than $300 million for the following year. Business was booming. Within a year, he announced plans for a second, considerably larger, building at 2690 Union Extended just a few doors south, a joint venture with Birmingham investors. The overall design, inside and out, was similar but not identical to their first building. The new building, this one 12 stories tall, would contain Selco offices and a large auditorium, with lower floors leased to other Memphis companies. The William B. Tanner advertising and promotions agency would purchase the “old” building from Sellers.
That was the plan, at least. But then it all came crashing down. Just as the second building was almost finished, a 1975 newspaper headline announced, “Sellers Tries to Salvage Firm.” The story said the company was “facing financial collapse after two straight years of losses.” The situation was bleak. The Commercial Appeal noted that the firm “was now reduced to two small companies, and employment has been cut to seven.”
It’s a complicated story, but Tanner took over the 12-story tower, and other investors purchased the seven-story Sellers Building. Meanwhile, Sellers returned to the insurance business and in the 1980s founded Banking Consultants of America. He passed away in 2001, at age 67. His former headquarters became known as the Media General Building, but over the years city and county agencies moved in, such as the Memphis City Council administrative offices and, for a while, the Memphis Arts Council. Various businesses occupy it today, and if that address has an actual name, I never found it. Sellers’ other building, the 12-story structure he never occupied for very long, is today headquarters for Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance.
Got a question for Vance?
Email: askvance@memphismagazine.com
Mail: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis Magazine, P.O. Box 1738, Memphis, TN 38101
Online: memphismagazine.com/ask-vance
