Guests attending the November 1 First Friday at Toledo School for the Arts were invited to join various dignitaries from TSA, the City of Toledo, Jeep and Owens-Illinois for the unveiling of an Ohio Historical Marker after the First Friday activities.
Research on the building, built in 1916, began several years ago. Allison Reynolds Gogel, TSA Social Studies Instructor, unearthed an early photo of the building when it was in use by the original owner, the Willys-Overland Company, which later developed Toledo’s iconic Jeep brand of vehicles. The building was subsequently owned by Owens-Illinois, which used it to house its research and development department. The building was later a small business incubator and a tech incubator before TSA purchased the third and fourth floors in a condominium arrangement in 2004.
Taylor Moyer, another TSA Social Studies Instructor, conducted further research and championed the idea of obtaining an Ohio Historical Marker to celebrate the building, its history, and its future.
Contributed by Elizabeth Emmert, TSA Development Consultant