Cadillac Building

The Cadillac Building opened in 1916 within St. Louis' burgeoning Automotive Row during the early twentieth century. From 1911 to 1955, this district supported many early automotive distribution, sales, and service businesses on Olive and Locust Streets. By the mid-1910s, Locust Street served as the epicenter of Automobile Row, with numerous automotive-related businesses operating along these streets. Four years after the Cadillac building opened in St. Louis, two of every three cars on the road were Henry Ford's Model T but Cadillac had built a reputation as the nation's leader luxury car maker. In 1908, Cadillac also became the world's first automaker to have fully interchangeable parts. Cadillac was originally founded by Henry Ford, but between 1902 and 1903, Ford left that company and established the Ford Motor Car Company.

Before evolving into Automobile Row during the 1910s, the area primarily functioned as a residential neighborhood. From the 1850s to the 1880s, an abundance of residences moved west from downtown St. Louis into what became the Automotive District. The arrival of the Grand Avenue Railway Company in 1867 and, later, a streetcar line helped the area develop into an urban residential neighborhood known as "Midtown," which supported numerous shops, hotels, theaters, and bicycle shops. 

Even as late as 1909, Locust Street remained mainly residential, but a change was on the horizon; automotive shops and dealers began to appear by 1911, interwoven with such commercial enterprises as grocers, printers, pharmacies, saloons, and hotels. Efforts to widen streets in the region made the area increasingly automobile friendly. Construction finished on the Cadillac Building in 1916, just as Auto Row began to flourish.

In 1917, the newly formed St. Louis City Plan Commission proposed a plan to widen many of the city's streets to reduce traffic and congestion, especially in areas where urban expansion had rapidly overtaken former residential areas. By the time bond issues passed in the 1920s, Locus Street had already supported numerous automotive industry establishments.

Henry Ford had founded the company that would become Cadillac, but his original financial backers of that venture were concerned with his preoccupation with auto racing. Consequently, they reorganized the company and renamed it the Cadillac Automobile Co. Henry Ford went on to found Ford Motor Company and sold so many Model Ts that it comprised two of every three cars on the road. Nevertheless, Cadillac enjoyed its own brand of success. In 1908, Cadillac became the world's first automobile maker to use interchangeable parts, leading to the carmaker's slogan: "Standard of the World." one year later, on July 29, 1909, the newly formed General Motors Corporation (GM) acquired Cadillac Automobile Company for $4.5 million. 

The innovations continued for the automaker. In 1912, Cadillac introduced the first self-starter, eliminating the arduous and sometimes dangerous hand-cranking method of starting cars. The company competed with acclaimed luxury car producers such as Packard, Lozier, McFarland and Pierce-Arrow. Still, Cadillac made the top ten in overall U.S. auto sales every year from 1904 to 1915. 

Thus, by the time the showroom opened on Auto Row in St. Louis, Cadillac was an acclaimed car maker with a household name. The Cadillacs sold from the historic St. Louis building's showroom had 314 cubic inch, V-8 motors, which Cadillac had introduced in 1915. 

After Cadillac departed the facility, ownership changed hands several times through the early 1930s; many car dealers occupied the building. Around that same time, when the Great Depression took hold of the nation, diminished commercial activity along Locust reflected the country's economic struggles. Many businesses closed, while several automotive parts and service companies diversified their product selection to stay in business. By 1932, businesses alongside automotive stores included a restaurant, a sign company, a printer, and a telephone company. Automotive-related businesses enjoyed growth after World War II, but Automotive Row by then supported both car-related businesses and operations without connections to the automobile industry. 

Dealerships slowly moved away from Automotive Row after the war as automobile dealers required modern facilities. The dealers had to compete with Packard and "the Big Three" (Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors), which required that dealerships offer more to customers, including large showrooms, multiple models on display, financing capabilities, and a full-service area. Such demands required that buildings be constructed significantly larger and located in prime locations that Locust Street could not provide. Still, during the '40s and '50s, auto repair shops, paint and body shops, supply stores, and service stations remained in business and thrived. 

Detroit Historical Society. "Cadillac Motor Company." Encyclopedia of Detroit. detroithistorical.org. Accessed September 26, 2022. https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/cadillac-motor-company.

History.com Editors. "General Motors buys Cadillac." A&E Television: History Channel. History.com. July 27, 2020. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/general-motors-buys-cadillac.

Jones, Devry Becker. "Cadillac Building: Built in 1916." Historical Marker Database. HMdb.org. April 17, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=133087. 

Keenov, Ruth, Karen Bode Baxter, Timothy P. Malonev, and Mandv K. Ford. "Registration Form: Locust Street Automotive District." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2005. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Locust%20Street%20Automotive%20Dist.pdf