It was a large three-story Italianate / Second Empire style brick structure located on Lafayette Square in the Harlem Park neighborhood.

It was the birthplace and primary residence of aviation pioneer Matthew Bacon Sellers Jr. until 1918, and the headquarters of the community initiative Operation CHAMP from 1967 to 1980.

[4] In keeping with the grandeur of his southern plantation, Sellers bought an unusually large lot on the prestigious Lafayette Square in the Harlem Park neighborhood.

[5] In 1888, Sellers wife Angelina (now a widow) bought land once owned by her family near Grahn, Kentucky named "Blakemore" and used it as a country retreat while keeping Baltimore as her primary residence.

[7] By the late-1950's, the area was abandoned by the middle class who fled the city for the suburbs, and the mansion and its environs suffered along with an increasingly destitute West Baltimore.

In their later years – from 1930 onward – they became reclusive, rarely leaving the premises, having food brought in by helpful neighbors and taking occasional strolls in Lafayette Square.

Samuel was found in the house by a nephew, his body slumped in a chair clothed in a 20-year-old suit he wore consistently.

The mansion was stocked with antiques, including stacks of Confederate money, and elaborate and costly European clothes, some never worn and in pristine condition.

From 1967 to 1980, Operation CHAMP was run from the Sellers Mansion with three mobile units delivering games and playground equipment to neighborhoods across the city.

[8] Local developer Ernst Valery bought it out of receivership in late 2018 for $10,000, with the intention of converting it into 15 apartments for senior citizens.