Swift House

Swift House is a residential building in Chicago built with rusticated stone walls, rounded arches, stone columns supporting porches, and a prominent turret with a stone gable projecting from the roof. The property occupies less than one acre and sits in the Grand Boulevard community area on the South Side.

The residence was commissioned in 1892 by Edward Morris, president of Morris & Company, and his wife Helen Swift Morris, daughter of the founder of Swift & Company. The building later served as a funeral home and then housed the Chicago Urban League before being listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

The building reflects the Richardsonian Romanesque style that shaped wealthy residential design in Chicago during the late 1800s, showing how successful industrial families expressed their status through architecture. The rusticated stone and prominent turret were visual statements of prosperity common to the homes of the city's most powerful business families.

The property is easily located on Chicago's South Side in an established residential neighborhood with good sidewalks and parking available. Keep in mind that this is a private residence, so visitors can view the exterior from the street, but interior access is not possible.

The building had earlier lives that overshadow its residential origins, serving as a funeral home and then as headquarters for a major civil rights organization before its historic designation. This dual purpose gives the house a lesser known history about how the neighborhood transformed over time.

Location: Chicago

Inception: 1892

Architectural style: Richardsonian Romanesque

Address: 4500 South Michigan Avenue

GPS coordinates: 41.81306,-87.62333

Latest update: December 14, 2025 12:21