| Additional Information: | In 1946 the owner/contractor was Knippel-Selig Co. In 1955, the remodel was designed by architect Frederick Scweitzer, and contractor was Pfieffer Construction.
2015- "This one-story, brick-faced former auto dealership is topped with a flat roof. The former storefront projection, which features a metal roof, has been infilled with concrete block and modern fenestration. A few of the overhead garage door openings remain along both the south and west elevations; however, some have since been infilled with glass block. A historic image of the auto dealership is included in the Photographs section, following the current photo of the building.
Knippel-Selig Co. originated circa 1920 as the Mertz-Knippel Co. garage, run by Otto Mertz and Ray Knippel and which was located along W. Greenfield Avenue. In 1921, Ben Selig joined the firm (dealers in Ford cars) and, the following year, Mertz died. It wasn’t until their move to W. National Avenue that the name of the business changed to Knippel-Selig. In 1946-1947 and designed by George Schley & Sons, the dealership built a new, 24,000-square-foot building at 7030 W. National Avenue that cost an estimated $175,000. In 1955, an addition was made to the building which was designed by Frederick Schweitzer. No less than two years later, an ad in The Milwaukee Journal identified Knippel-Selig as Wisconsin’s Largest Ford Dealer. At some point between 1963 and 1970, the company name changed again to Selig Ford, Inc. In 1971, the dealership moved to Arthur Avenue, also in West Allis and the subject building was used as a garage for the Wisconsin Telephone Company."
-"W National Ave- S 76th St to S 70th St", WisDOT #2410-00-07, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (Schnell), (2015). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Building Permits, 16 March 1946($120,000 garage); 14 October 1955 (remodel garage service/area into office space).
2015 citations: Permit for 7030 W. National Avenue, 16 March 1946, estimated cost noted as $120,000; Permit for remodel (garage/service area to office space), 14 October 1955; West Allis City Directory, 1921, 1925, 1929, 1932; Citation for the death of Mertz in Automobile Topics: The Trade Authority (New York), Vol. LXVI, No. 13 (12 August 1922), 1167, Available online at https://books.google.com, Accessed October 2015; “Auto Sales Building, Expansion Here Soars,” Milwaukee Sentinel, 7 December 1947, B-6, includes reference to the building cost as $175,000); Advertisement (re: “36 years the leader”), The Milwaukee Journal, 4 May 1956, this ad serves as the basis for the circa 1920 date of establishment; Advertisement (re: largest Ford dealer), Knippel-Selig, in The Milwaukee Journal, 25 January 1957; Sam Hutchison, “Selig Buys Chevy Franchise,” unidentified newspaper clipping (however, likely the West Allis Star), 24 December 1981, Business Binders (“S”), Located at the West Allis Historical Society, West Allis, WI. A 1971 obituary for former sales manager Maurice Wright suggests that the firm originated as Tobin-Sutton Co.; it is possible that Knippel-Selig absorbed Tobin-Sutton, “Maurice Wright Services Set, The Milwaukee Sentinel, 5 July 1971, 2-16. |
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