32 West Main Street

Now & Then Walking Tour 

From automobiles and appliances to restaurants and books

At 32 West Main Street, generations of village residents have come to buy a car, borrow a book, have clothing cleaned, order household goods, share a meal, or browse a bookstore. Newspaper advertisements and local records trace these changing uses across nearly a century.

2008–present | Yesterday’s Muse Books

Yesterday’s Muse Books opened its village shop in December 2008. Founded by Jonathan Smalter, the independent bookseller offers used and rare books, with particular strengths in literature and history. Its sign and book-filled display windows give this stretch of Main Street a literary identity. 

The Webster Herald documents the shop’s community role from 2009 onward. That year, the Webster Public Library presented Storytime here; a separate notice for Nest Things Upstairs directed readers to Yesterday’s Muse to buy a visiting author’s books. In 2011, the shop announced a Winston Churchill Library and Reading Room, with books, memorabilia, photographs, and films. A 2013 feature promoted Matt Fox’s memoir of World War II soldier John Cipolla, and a 2019 notice invited families to Christmas Storytime. 

An October 2020 report described the return of indoor shopping after the pandemic closure. In December 2021, the newspaper marked the bookstore’s thirteenth anniversary. These clippings show the shop serving readers through both everyday browsing and special events. 

Yesterday’s Muse Books at 32 West Main Street, August 2024. The two-story brick facade rises above the bookstore’s shingled canopy and display windows. 

Yesterday’s Muse Books, 2018. Books fill the display windows beside the recessed entrance, while a sidewalk sign advertises rare and collectible books. 

Yesterday’s Muse Books, September 2011. Compare the entrance, display windows, and upper-story window groups with the later photographs. 

2006–2008 | Hearth, Cabinets & More

Before the bookstore, the storefront housed Hearth, Cabinets & More. A May 24, 2006 advertisement offered showroom design and estimating services alongside fireplaces, stoves, and cabinetry. The May 12, 2008 exterior photograph shows the business’s large sign above the central entrance, identifying a Truax & Hovey Ltd. showroom and brands including Vermont Castings, Majestic, and KraftMaid. [H2006; P2008]

Compare this photograph with the bookstore views: the upper brick facade, two groups of four windows, shingled canopy, and central entrance make the building recognizable despite changes in signs, colors, and merchandise.

Hearth, Cabinets & More at 32 West Main Street, May 12, 2008. The sign identifies a Truax & Hovey Ltd. showroom and advertises fireplaces and cabinetry. 

1991 | Family Ties

A January 30, 1991 newspaper listing places Family Ties restaurant at 32 West Main Street. This provides a dated reference for another restaurant at the address, although its opening and closing dates remain unconfirmed. [H1991]

1984–1987 | Luigi’s Ristorante and a proposed new name

Luigi’s Ristorante appears in an August 8, 1984 advertisement promoting takeout service and naming Frank Ferra as host. By October 1986, its advertised offerings included pizza, an antipasto buffet, a Friday fish fry, and parties for up to 40 people. These ads recall Main Street as a place for both everyday meals and family gatherings. [H1984; H1986]

A May 6, 1987 advertisement announced new ownership and said Luigi’s would soon become Websters Restaurant & Lounge. That announcement documents an intended change; it does not establish the date when the new name was adopted. [H1987]

1969 | Montgomery Ward Catalog & Agency

A July 23, 1969 advertisement identifies Montgomery Ward Catalog & Agency at 32 West Main Street, with Tom and Cyndy Wooster as owners. Customers could select merchandise from the catalog and shop for Signature appliances; one advertised special was a 16-cubic-foot upright freezer for $192. [H1969]

The undated black-and-white streetscape shows the Montgomery Ward sign on the building at right. Beside it stands the older municipal and fire hall, with the newer village hall farther left. The photograph and advertisement together document a period when this address connected village shoppers with a national retailer. [PWARD]

West Main Street during the Montgomery Ward era, date unknown. The catalog agency appears at right, beside the old municipal and fire hall; the newer village hall is at left. A July 23, 1969 advertisement independently places Montgomery Ward at 32 West Main Street. 

Montgomery Ward occupied this storefront in 1969. The original photograph (above center) shows the building from the side. The image at left enlarges a section of that photograph to approximate a front view; the image at right is an AI-generated reconstruction of how the store may have looked from the front. Both are visual interpretations, not original front-facing photographs. 

1964 | University Launderers & Dry Cleaners

On November 25, 1964, University Launderers & Dry Cleaners advertised at 32 West Main Street. The ad offered a children’s portrait promotion with Westvale Studios for November 30—an example of a local service business using a special event to attract customers. 

1957–1959 | Webster Public Library

The address also has an earlier connection to books. A January 10, 1957 newspaper report announced that the Webster Public Library had completed its move to 32 West Main Street and would open for service on January 12 at 1 p.m. By February 28, the library reported 378 new borrowers since opening there. Librarian Marie Zachman, identified as Mrs. Paul Zachman, was assisted by Mrs. William Sykes and Ruth Brown. 

The library’s own history identifies this location as the Emil Reitz Building and dates its next move, to a wing of the Town Hall on Ridge Road, to 1959. Decades before Yesterday’s Muse, village readers were already finding books at this address. 

1949–1955 | Webster Motors and Kellett Webster Corp.

Webster Motors advertised Ford sales, service, and parts at 32 West Main Street on December 8, 1949. A February 15, 1951 used-car notice named Whitey Brockman as sales manager. 

The September 22, 1955 advertisement carries a different business name: Kellett Webster Corp. Its used-car offerings ranged from a $75 Oldsmobile to a $1,395 Mercury hardtop. The shared address documents continued automotive sales, but the ads alone do not establish the ownership relationship between the two businesses. 

1939 | E. E. Reitz’s Garage

Before Webster Motors advertised Fords here, Emil E. Reitz ran a garage that sold and serviced Hudson and Essex cars. The 1938, 1939, and 1940 Rochester Suburban directories list E. E. Reitz’s Garage at 32 West Main Street and Emil’s home at 34. The 1939 directory also lists Ronald B. Reitz as a salesman at 32. 

Two undated photographs show the garage in different forms. In the two-story view, a car sits in the open service bay, with fuel pumps at the curb. Above the storefront, two groups of four windows closely match the upper facade of today’s 32 West Main Street. The one-story view shows a similar service bay and showroom, with Goodrich tires and tubes on the fascia and Socony gasoline pumps out front. It may show an earlier form of the same frontage, though the photographs do not establish when or how the second story was added. 

Look closely at the door in the one-story photograph: it is marked 34. The directory distinguishes the garage at 32 from the Reitz residence at 34, so both numbers are part of the story. The door number alone does not establish whether or how the two addresses shared the frontage at the time of the photograph. Both photographs show Reitz Garage signage. 

E. E. Reitz Garage, two-story view, date unknown. A car sits in the service bay behind the curbside pumps. The two groups of four upper windows closely match the facade at today’s 32 West Main Street. 

E. E. Reitz Garage, one-story view, date unknown. Two men and a dog stand beside a door marked 34. The signs advertise Hudson and Essex cars, Goodrich tires and tubes, used cars, and Socony gasoline. 

LOOK AT THE BUILDING

Compare the two-story Reitz Garage photograph with the later Montgomery Ward, Hearth, and bookstore views. Look for the two groups of four upper windows above a storefront that changed as new businesses moved in. The older Montgomery Ward streetscape places the property beside the village’s changing municipal buildings. These photographs record continuity in the exterior alongside changes in how residents used the address.

SOURCES

Yesterday’s Muse Books, “About Us”: https://www.yesterdaysmuse.com/about.php

Webster Public Library, “About Us”: https://websterlibrary.org/about-us/

1939 Rochester Suburban Directory, Webster section, printed page 696 (PDF page 17), Reitz entries: https://www.libraryweb.org/rochsubdir/1939/1939webster.pdf

1938 Rochester Suburban Directory, Webster section, Reitz entries: https://www.libraryweb.org/rochsubdir/1938/1938webster.pdf

1940 Rochester Suburban Directory, Webster section, Reitz entries: https://www.libraryweb.org/rochsubdir/1940/1940names-webster.pdf

Supplied undated two-story E. E. Reitz Garage photograph.

Supplied undated one-story E. E. Reitz Garage photograph; door marked 34.

The Webster Herald clippings supplied for this project; exact issue dates appear in the image captions and evidence gallery.

Supplied exterior photograph, filename dated May 12, 2008.

Supplied undated Montgomery Ward streetscape.