Michael Staebler was born In 1843 in Lodi Township, near Ann Arbor, to German immigrants who had settled in the area in 1831.

In 1895, Staebler became proprietor of the hotel as well, renaming it the American House and expanding the building by adding a fourth floor.

He convinced his father to sell first motorcycles and then, in 1901, Toledo Steam cars, making Staebler & Sons the first automobile dealer in Ann Arbor.

By 1906 the firm was also selling REOs, Wintons, Maxwell-Briscoes, Cadillacs, Dorts, Franklins, and Oaklands.

Edward Staebler and his brother Walter ran the automobile dealership until 1952, after which the garage was remodeled into commercial space.

[2] The Germania Building is a square, stone-trimmed, red-orange brick, Late Victorian block measuring sixty-six by eighty feet in size standing on a fieldstone foundation.