TOLEDO, Ohio — As Jeep Fest is right around the corner next month, Toledo School for the Arts wanted to celebrate the Toledo company that started it all.
Now open on Adams Street, the Toledo School for the Arts is hosting the Homage To Willys Vintage Car Show.
The exhibit of classic cars from Toledo's history are set up in their new Martin D. Porter Art Gallery.
And the connection between TSA and Willys?
The school sits inside of a former Willys Overland finishing plant.
"100 years ago, this very space was a showroom for Willys Overland, which was the predecessor to Jeep." Dave Gierke, TSA Director of Development said.
Organizers wanted to better connect the community with this burgeoning era of Toledo's automotive history.
"I learned so much by being involved in this project, and to be able to look at these cars up close and see how they were designed," Gierke said.
Along with celebrating the engineering artistry of these vintage vehicles, TSA also had artist celebrating the modern jeep grill through artistic expression as well.
Local artists, some of which are TSA graduates, were brought in to be inspired by the easily recognizable seven-bar grille.
The hope is the show can bring in the two groups of historic automotive buffs and art lovers together to find common ground.
"So they understand and take appreciation for the building, and get excited for the new space. And the potential, for what it was and what it is now, we're kind of bring those together " said Bethany Urbanksi, Development Business Manager for Toledo School for the Arts
"People that design automobiles are artists; architecture is art," Gierke said. "All of that stuff comes from the fundamentals that the students pick up here at our school, and we believe there is a great connection to that.
The Homage to Willys Vintage Car Show runs Thursdays through Sundays, Noon to 7p.m., now through the Toledo Jeep Fest weekend on Aug. 6.