Willys Building

Willys Building. Built in 1917. This building, designed by the firm of Mills, Rhones, Bellman and Norhoff, was built by the Willys-Overland Co., to serve as the St. Louis distributorship for Willys Overland and Willys-Knight automobiles., Overland Auto Co., had been founded in 1903, in Ohio. After several successful years, it overextended in the year of 1907 financial panic. John North Willys, an Elmira, New York, Overland dealer used all his cash and credit to buy the bankrupt Overland's name, machinery and inventory. Having no money left for a building, he recommenced Overland production in 1908, at Terre Haute, in a circus tent. By 1914, Willys had moved the company to Toledo, changed its name to Willys-Ovefland Co., promoted its Willys Overland models the third most sold car in America and commenced manufacture of the sleeve-salve, Willys-Knight., Boosted by the Willys-Knight sales from this building, Willy's Overland Co., would, through two decades, sell more sleeve-valve automobiles than all other auto companies in the world, combined. Meanwhile, the popular priced, poppet valve, Willys Overland models were also sold from and serviced in this building, as well as the Willys-Overland Co.'s Whippet, Falcoln-Knight and Stearns-Knight autos., In 1933, under the pressure of the depression, the Willys-Overland Co. ceased production of all cars except a new, compact model, named just Willys, and moved its St. Louis distributorship to smaller quarters. The Willys-Overland Co. survived to build the Jeep in world war two.