Willy 39;s Construction
Escolastico Hall
The building's exterior is a six-story brick facade with large windows on all sides and minimal ornamentation.[1] Originally, the building had a showroom on its first floor, while upper floors included storage space and auto assembly rooms, connected by large freight elevators.[1] The building also contained a body paint shop and a repair shop on its upper floors; to support the weight of the automobiles and shops, the floors are nearly one foot thick poured concrete.[1]
At the time of its construction, it was the largest automobile dealership and distribution center in St. Louis.[1] As a result of its size, the organizers of the St. Louis Auto Show negotiated to rent the building for their annual show, which since 1907 had been held outdoors at Forest Park Highlands.[1] By 1927, the company had expanded such that its used car dealership moved to an adjacent building and the company was operating a dozen dealerships in the area, but the building remained the corporations regional headquarters through 1932.[1]
However, the Great Depression brought economic hardship to the company, and in 1932, the building was vacated; it remained vacant through 1935, when it was sold to the American Fixture and Manufacturing Company.[1] In 1963, it again was sold, and since that time various small businesses occupied the first floor with little activity on its upper floors.[1] In 1999, the building was nominated and accepted to the National Register of Historic Places, and it underwent renovations by SJI Companies.[1][2] In 2005, the building received another renovation, costing $12 million, and it was renamed the NSI Building.[2][3][4] It currently is for sale for $17 million.[2]
The developer behind the Marriott, Hawkins Way Capital LLC, and the construction firm, Millie and Severson Inc., did not respond to requests for comment. The Oaklandside was unable to contact a third firm listed in the complaint, Jefferson Street Hotel LLC. One of the partners at Hawkins Way Capital is Lewis Wolff, who is a former owner of the Oakland Athletics.
Some of the well-known organizations in the district include the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts, the African American Museum and Library of Oakland, and the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce.
The family claims that large cranes worked above the restaurant and that dust and debris fell into the back patio, which doubled as a cooking and dining area. Workers set up temporary nets to catch material, but the restaurant was also allegedly affected by loud construction noise and a freezing wind tunnel.
To underscore the safety threat posed by the construction, Jones and Fried presented a table loaded with materials they said fell off the building into the restaurant area. These scraps included a box cutter with an extended blade, a heavy metal panel with an exposed screw, and various pieces of plastic.
Geoffrey Pete, the founder and owner of the club, claims the tower will block the natural light his building has enjoyed for over 30 years. He has also argued that the project will remove a parking lot that many of his elderly customers rely on to gain access to the club. At a Planning Commission meeting on May 17, Pete noted that his venue is in a building that once housed the famous Athenian Nile Club, and he fears for its existence.
The Oakland Planning Commission approved two potential projects for the site for which developer Tidewater Capital submitted applications. The development requires approval from the City Council. In a letter to the Oakland Planning and Building Department, Tidewater said its proposal is consistent with the zoning requirements for the Black Arts Movement Business District and that it has received support from several community stakeholders.
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At Keuler Construction we build homes that stand up to the test of time. We strive for perfection in each of our homes and our goal is to provide you with excellent quality at the best possible price.
"We had heard great things about Keuler Construction and when we were lucky enough to build with Willy, we found out that they were all true. Great quality, great ideas, and great people. From start to finish a most enjoyable experience. We love our home and we'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"We chose to build with Keuler Construction for a number of reasons, such as liking other houses they had built, but the most important reason was the personal touch. Willy was on site every day and really knew what was going on. I don't think that is true of some of the other bigger contractors. We like the fact that this is a small local business which could provide very personal service. When we were building, Willy and Michele were like family! We could (and did) Call any time and get our questions answered. In fact, 9 years later, we still sometimes call Willy when a question or problem comes up, and he is always able to help. If we built another home, we would definitely go with Keuler Construction again."
"As a husband and wife real estate team, we have the opportunity to know many builders and to be involved with the construction process with numerous clients. Being so highly involved in the real estate marketplace made our decision much easier. When we decided to build a new home, it was clear to us that Keuler Construction was the correct choice. We know that we were demanding clients, but Willy met all of our expectations and we enjoy the quality craftsmanship in our home every time we turn the key."
"When we decided to build a new house, we were aware of Keuler Construction from building sites within our neighborhood and from the Parade of Homes show. We were impressed with the styles, workmanship, and quality of what was built for the price. During the building of our house we found everyone easy to work with and very flexible about changes throughout the process. We also liked all of the contractors Keuler used. Now that we have been in our house for four years, we find it to be everything we expected. We love our home!"
"Hiring Keuler Construction to build our home was one of the smartest moves we ever made. Working with Willy was such a pleasant experience from start to finish. He maintained high standards of craftsmanship for himself and the people that worked with him -- always on the job making sure things were being done properly. When we wanted to make changes to our original plan Willy was open to our ideas and made every attempt to incorporate them, One of his favorite expressions was "no problem". Even after we moved into out home Keuler Construction responded in a timely manner to any requests for minor adjustments/repairs. We remember our building experience fondly and if we were ever to build again Keuler Construction would definitely be our first call."
At Keuler Construction we build homes that stand up to the test of time. As the best custom home builder in Madison, WI, we strive for perfection in each of our homes and our goal is to provide you with excellent quality at the best possible price. Our team is the most knowledgeable in the industry and when you build with Keuler you become family. That is what makes us, Simply the Best.
A few moments in August 1979 were all it took for American Motors Corporation to demolish the office building which was the flagship of the Willys-Overland plant in Toledo for six decades, and where many Jeep decisions were made over those years.
A picture of the rubble (70K JPEG) after the dust had settled, shows how neatly the demolition engineers did their job. The picture was taken from the nearby highway by David Noel, and comes from the Images in Time collection at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.
The administration building was an impressive structure which had been built by John North Willys in 1915, eight years after he bought Overland. The company managed to get some Willys automobiles into the foreground of this late 1940's photo of their headquarters. The Toledo Library collection includes a similar view from the west (70K JPEG) and a 1925 photo by Edward F. Wilusz showing the rear of the building (100K JPEG).
John North Willys (holding his boater) and some of his employees posed for a group photo on the front steps in 1922.
There are also some famous photographs of World War II jeeps taken in front of the building in its prime, such as these two which demonstrated how light and how sexy the Willys jeep was. The banner above the main entrance says, "Our Job is Our Firing Line." The young women were Willys-Overland secretaries recruited from the offices just inside, and in the background you can see some fellow employees looking out the window.Singing group The Liberty Sisters recreated this photo in 2021; see the whole story of their Flying Jeep Project.
Jim Burand sent these two beautiful prints which had belonged to his mother, who passed away in 2011. Her name at the time was Margaret McTigue, and she was the secretary sitting in the back seat in this shot.The bottles under the planks appear to be Old Vienna Beer, brewed by Koch Beverage & Ice of Wapakoneta, Ohio; you can almost read the labels in the large prints (250K JPEGs).
The practice of taking promotional photos in front of the building continued in 1948 with this lineup of Willys-Overland Jeeps including a CJ-2A fire engine (second from left) and a Jeepster (right.)
An aerial photo circa 1950 shows the administration building's place as the crown jewel at the north end of the Willys factory, which stretches from left to right across this photo, likely taken by Willys photographer Milton Zink. (See also The Parkway Plant From the Air on CJ3B.info.)
The CJ-3B era: this photo in the Toledo Library collection is described as circa 1957, and shows busy traffic on the Jeep Parkway which separates the office building from the rest of the plant. No CJ-3Bs or other Willys vehicles in sight, however. New corporate owners the Kaisers have removed the "Willys-Overland Company" sign from the roof and apparently replaced it with small logos mounted on the wall above the front portico.See Pepsi Surrey Galas, 1960 for a photo of 18 Surreys on the front steps.
The interior was just as grandiose as the outside of the front entrance. Bill Norris found these postcards (right) in the collection of the Detroit Public Library. The photos used were probably taken by Korb Photographic Studio for Willys-Overland immediately after completion of the building; the Toledo Library collection includes a similar photo credited to Korb circa 1915, showing the boardroom (80K JPEG.)Some artifacts from the building, including decorative bannisters, were moved across the street to the Jeep House Museum before the demolition in 1979. (See On the Trail of Jeep History on CJ3B.info.)
John North Willys had the latest in technology in his office; not just one but two shiny new telephones on his desk. Mr. Willys was an Overland automobile dealer who purchased the ailing company in 1907, turned it into the second-largest car maker in the country, and built the Toledo factory. One of the cars that put the roar in the Roaring 20's was his 1926 Overland Whippet with its new 4-cylinder engine, which later became the basis of the "Go-Devil" and "Hurricane" Jeep engines. Mr. Willys clearly enjoyed fine furnishings; see a portrait photo (70K JPEG) taken not long before his death in 1935.
A Toledo News clipping from 31 August, 1915 (left) in the Jeep House Museum collection, calls the planned building a skyscraper, and reports: "Here's how the new seven-story office building for the Willys-Overland Auto company, contract for which was awarded on Saturday to H.J. Spieker & Co., will look when it is completed. It will cost more than $200,000. It's only part of a new building program announced by the company. The entire plan will mean an expenditure of approximately $2,000,000. "Plans for the structure were drawn by Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff. The building will occupy the site of the frame office structure that has been used by Overland since J.N. Willys bought the plant several years ago."
The building was built on a grand scale to house the hundreds of office employees. It was 373 by 63 feet, and 120 feet high for seven stories. It was all to be "fireproof" construction -- steel, brick, stone and terra cotta -- and had five elevators.A blueprint of the building (220K JPEG) also found by Bill Norris in the Detroit Public Library, shows the layout of the seven floors.
In an aerial photo taken in the 1970's, shortly before the building's demolition, the rear windows look out over the mostly empty employee parking lot, the Ottawa River, and the new highway I-75 (right).
Thanks to Bill Norris, Todd Paisley, Ron Szymanski and Jarek Skonieczny. -- Derek RedmondReturn to Building Jeeps at The Parkway Plant on CJ3B.info.Visit CJ3B.info on Facebook.