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| Willys-Overland Building 1 Window Sash - 11/2015 | Willys-Overland Building 1 Window Sash - 11/2015 |
This is a set of window sashes that came from Building 1 of the old Willys-Overland factory in Toledo, OH. The building itself stood from 1885 until it was sadly torn down in October 2015. In the 130 years it sat in the window opening on the third floor of the front of the building, it was witness to a big part of Toledo's transportation history. It witnessed early industrial production in the form of sewing machines. It witnessed the birth of the bicycle industry. It saw the very early automotive history develop from the steam car to early internal combustion engines. It also saw the rise of Willys-Overland as a major automotive force in the mid-teens (second only to Ford). It witnessed the early formation of the labor union movement and the violent strikes in 1919. It witnessed the boom of the 1920's automotive industry. And also the bust that occurred in the 1930s during the depression when Willys-Overland was forced into bankruptcy and was forced to sell Building 1 while it was in receivership to pay down the debt. While next door to the other buildings in the Willys-Overland factory, it witnessed the birth of the Jeep and the emergence of the SUV market. While it passed to a few smaller companies after that, it saw the decline of the area itself. The demolition of the old Jeep factory when the new one was built. The building itself became derilict and became an eyesore. Right before the building was torn down, it witnessed the rebirth of the area with the new warehouse built by the Toledo Port Authority. At the end, it witnessed the eyesore being demolished to make way for newer buildings to come. So I am pretty happy to have these and the history it represents.
Before the building was torn down, set of the window sashes was salvaged. The sashes are in fairly good shape considering the amount of exposure and neglect it had over the years.
| Floor 1 - Clearance Feet : | 15'11" |
| Original : | Factory Maple on concrete | |
| Last Configuration : | Reinforced concrete slab |
| Floor 2 - Clearance Feet : | 15'5" |
| Original : | Maple top floor on sub-floor and wood joist | |
| Last Configuration : | Factory Maple on concrete |
| Floor 3 - Clearance Feet : | 15'3" to 16'7" |
| Original : | Maple top floor on sub-floor and wood joist | |
| Last Configuration : | Factory Maple on concrete |
| Roof | Composition built-up roofing on wood joist |
| Total Floor Area | 23857 sq. ft. |
| Walls | Hand-made/sand-molded clay brick masonry (evidence - no holes, solid brick units) Laid in a lime mortar comprised of 1 part lime putty and 3 parts sand (no portland cement) Constructed in a 4 wythe wide wall (4"x4" = 16 inches) Load-bearing design with the original wood floors set into the brick masonry in joist pockets Triple rowlock header arches over the window openings Stone window sills Walls were laid in repeating 7 course American style brick bond pattern Beautiful corbelled brick dentil cornice design (unique to this particular building) over the 3rd floor windows |
| Description | Flat slab construction. Had one 3000-lb capacity electric freight elevator. Steam radiators. Light and power lines in conduit. (1935) |
This particular set of window sashes came from the third floor front (second for the right most wall as standing in front of the building) and was there for 130 years.
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| Willys-Overland Building 1 Window Sash - 11/2015 | Willys-Overland Building 1 Window Sash - 7/2012 | Willys-Overland Building 1 Window Sash - 7/2012 |
The building itself had an interesting history. Building 1 was built for the Jewel Manuafacturing Company in 1885 for the price of $15,000. Jewel Manufacturing Company was a company that was created by David Ross Locke for the purpose of building sewing and tufting machines. David Ross Locke was a famous American journalist and political commentator that owned the Toledo Blade newspaper. He was fascinated by things mechanical and decided to venture into a business creating these machines and use them as publicity for subscribers of the Toledo Blade. The fascination with mechanical things started in 1871 when he and Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain) were on a lecture tour in Boston and saw a woman through a store window who could type 57 words in a minute. He ended up buying that typewriter and that started his interest in machines that economized time and labor.
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| Jewel Manufacturing Company - 1885 | David Ross Locke |
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| Jewel Manufacturing Company - Tufting Machine | Jewel Manufacturing Company - Tufting Machine |
David Ross Locke died in 1888. The factory closed and was sold to the Lozier & Yost Bicycle Company. They manufactured the Cleveland brand of bicycles.
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Lozier & Yost Bicycle Company Courtesy of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, obtained from http://images2.toledolibrary.org/ |
Lozier & Yost Bicycle Company
Courtesy of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, obtained from http://images2.toledolibrary.org/ |
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| Lozier & Yost Bicycle Company | 1899 Cleveland Bicycle |
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| 1899 Lozier Cleveland Catalog | 1899 Lozier Letterhead |
In 1900, Lozier sold the factory to American Bicyle Company (which was owned by Albert Pope). He purchased the factory in order to start building automobiles along side bicycles. In December 1900, the company built a 2 seat steam car called the Toledo Steam automobile. By 1902, the American Bicycle Company sold off it bicycle holdings and changed its name to International Motor Car Company. It started to build internal combustion cars (called Pope-Toledo) and by 1903, it abandoned the steam cars. The company eventually changed its name to Pope Manufacturing Company.
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| Pope Manufacturing Company | Pope-Toledo - Engine Testing |
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| Pope-Toledo - Building Bodies | Pope-Toledo - Chassis Assembly |
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| Pope-Toledo - Engine Assembly | Pope-Toledo - Finishing Chassis |
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| Pope-Toledo - Loading Cars | Pope-Toledo - Rubbing Bodies |
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| Pope-Toledo - Sheet Metal Department | Pope-Toledo - Transmission Assembly |
By 1908, the Pope-Toledo factory was closed. In 1909, John North Willys purchased the factory to move the Overland Car Company to the site. The building was used up until the 1930s. When Willys-Overland went into receivership, some of the building along Central Avenue were sold off. Building 1 was one of them.
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| Overland Car Company | Willys-Overland Company |
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| Willys-Overland Company |
1940s Photo
Courtesy of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, obtained from http://images2.toledolibrary.org/ |
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| 1948 Toledo Developing and Manufacturing Company |
Toledo Developing and Manufacturing Company
Courtesy of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, obtained from http://images2.toledolibrary.org/ |
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| 1969 Jeep Factory | L&L Plating - 2009 |
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| L&L Plating - 2010 | L&L Plating - 2012 |
The sashes themselves are in fairly good shape. I have extra panes of glass from other windows to replace the broken ones.
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| Upper Sash and Lower Sash Side | Center Muntin |
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| Muntins | Muntins |
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| Sash Cord Groove | Sash Cord Groove |
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| Tenon Joint | Sash Cord Groove |
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| Tenon Joint | Tenon Joint |
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| Tenon Join | Tenon Join |
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| Tenon Join | Muntins |
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| Muntins | Muntins |
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| Meeting Rail | Muntins |
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| Muntins | Tenon Joint |
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| Bottom Rail | Bottom Rail |
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| Bottom Rail | Bottom Rail |
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| Bottom Rail | Bottom Rail |
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| Sash Cord Groove | Sash Cord Groove |
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| Sash Cord Groove | Sash Cord Groove |
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| Sash Cord Groove | Sash Cord Groove |
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| Sash Cord Groove | Muntins |
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| Top Rail | Top Rail |
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| Muntins | "X1" marking of Top Sash |
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| "XXV" marking of Bottom Sash |
When the building was torn down, I was able to obtain a few items.
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| Eliis Brick | One of 2 containers of bricks and paving stones |
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| Wood Timbers | In November 2014, I received permission from the Toledo Port Authority to 3D scan the building. Over a 3 day period, the entire building was scanned. This kept a nice record of how the building was constructed and different measurements. |
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| November 2014 Building 1 Scan | Window Frame Dimensions |
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| Window Frame Dimensions | Window Frame Dimensions |
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| Window Frame Dimensions | Window Frame Dimensions |
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| Scanned Window Frame Details | Scanned Window Frame Details |
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| Scanned Window Frame Details | Building 1 Third Floor Scan |