Willys-Overland Building

St. Louis, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Willys–Overland Building, completed in February 1917 in St. Louis, Missouri, is a six-story Neoclassical commercial structure designed by Mills, Rhines, Bellman & Nordhoff. Originally serving as the Willys-Overland Company's main dealership and distribution center at 2300 Locust Street, the building was the largest automobile facility of its kind in St. Louis at the time of its construction. Its brick facade features large windows on all sides with minimal ornamentation, while internally, nearly one-foot-thick poured concrete floors supported the weight of automobiles, assembly operations, and heavy machinery. The ground floor housed a showroom; upper levels contained storage, assembly rooms, a body paint shop, and repair facilities, all connected by freight elevators. Upon opening, the building hosted the first indoor St. Louis Auto Show, relocating the event from its traditional outdoor home at Forest Park Highlands. The company's regional headquarters remained here through 1932, when the Great Depression forced the building's closure. After decades of varied occupancy, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and underwent a substantial $12 million renovation in 2005.