Vigilant Firehouse Transforms into Vigilant Books & Coffee
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WHEELING -- The Vigilant Firehouse on Main Street sat empty for over 10 years and hasn't been a firehouse since 1976 when the Wheeling Fire Department moved into a newer space just a block away.
But living right across the street from it and seeing the building fall apart more as the days went on, Chuck Wood and Vera Uyehara knew they had to do something. Instead of only housing fire trucks, uniforms and tools, they had a vision of turning the space into a bookstore.
After years of rehabilitation work, their own Vigilant Books & Coffee held its grand opening Friday, opening the old firehouse back to the community for the first time in a long time.
People kept the store busy, with eager readers finding places to sit or stand in place while checking out books curious to them, a line of people ordering lates and passerby walking in just to see what was done with the previously empty space. Wood, Uyehara and their employees were super pleased with the turnout.
Originally, the bookstore had a space on Market Street open since 2019. But Wood said it was small and the space was never the original or permanent plan for the business.
"We thought when we bought [the firehouse], we'd be in six months, opening a bookstore," Wood said. "It's been 10 years this year."
Though not being a firehouse for decades, some items from when it still was one are on display at the front of the store.
At one point, current Wheeling Firefighters visited the store to see what had been done to their old station. They said it was “wonderful."
It took a lot to get where the store is now, Wood said. While the former firehouse is now ornately decorated with a colorful interior, chandeliers acting as nearly every light source and books ready to buy in the thousands, the work to fix the building was a lot more than he anticipated after he, in his own words, "stupidly" bought it for $30,000 from the previous owner.
"I say stupidly, because it costs far more than I anticipated," Wood said. "We had to put in a new roof, we had to rebuild the rear wall, we had to--just, everywhere."
But Wood said the work paid off, since he can now let the old firehouse be a community asset once again. And turning it into a bookstore and cafe wasn't just by random choice either -- after all, he's a published author with a passion for reading alongside his interest in space, thanks to his time at NASA as a space scientist and the Planetary Science Institute, where he's a senior scientist.
Almost unsurprisingly, Vigilant Books & Coffee has plenty of books to choose from in the science and history sections plus around the entire bookstore, such as Oliver Sack's "Anthropologist on Mars."
Because of this, bookstores are of utmost importance to him, where he likes to visit one every time he travels.
While he enjoys reading, the collection of books for sale aren't just from his own personal collection. Rather, they're donated to him from people in Wheeling or nearby areas, meaning the books have stayed local and aren't getting shipped out far, just like the store isn't generally getting books from far away either.
"Each of these books has its own story," Wood said. "Sometimes you can see notes inside, sometimes you can see in the middle of the book there are photographs, so books are just wonderful documents."
But just being a place to buy books wasn't the only goal. Wood made sure to include a cafe so people can use the business as a third space, or somewhere to hang out besides a home or a bar.
"The first place is where you live, the second place is where you work or go to school, and the third place is some pleasant, convenient and accessible place you can just drop in whenever you want," Wood said. "It's where you have a comfortable place to be, have all sorts of people who may be friends or maybe people to make new friends with."
On the second floor, thousands more books are ready to be inventoried and eventually put up for sale at a later date. Both Wood and Uyehara are taking on the effort, with some help from volunteers.
Vigilant Books & Coffee will be open Sunday-Wednesday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.