Preserving Automotive History

A Legacy of American Coach Building

Reuter's Coach Works (4067 Boston Road in the Bronx, NY and 27R Catoonah Street in Ridgefield, Conn.) was the source of some of the world's most respected, most prized, most honored restorations of antique and classic cars.

For more than 60 years, Gus, Richard and Robert Reuter were a dominant force in antique automobile restoration. These three ran what many experts believe to be the best automobile body-restoration shop in the United States.

Reuters's Coach Works rejuvenated scores of great automotive dream machines, such as Duesenberg, Bugatti, Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Marmon, Packard, and Jaguar.

Gus Reuter's master craftsmanship is why some of the rarest cars ever built survive in museums across the country from Owls Head in Maine to the Peterson Museum in California.

The Reuter's generations of expert work and their connection of the names and automobile collections of Alec Ulmann, James Melton, Ken Purdy, Henry Austin Clark (Long Island Automotive Museum), Dr. Samuel Scher, Briggs Cunningham, Ed Jurist (Vintage Car Store), Arthur K. Watson (IBM), Nelson Rockefeller, Dr. Peter Williamson and two former Presidents (FDR's Packard Twelve and Woodrow Wilson's Pierce arrow) are the stuff of legend.

Today, automobiles wearing the 'Restored by Reuters' nameplate command millions of dollars at auction.

"America's Favorite Tenor" and His Automotive Legacy

James Melton was "America's Favorite Tenor," whose acclaim as a singer was eclipsed by his passion for collecting old cars. The Melton Museum (Norwalk, Conn.), one of the first automobile museums in the country, opened in 1948 and featured 100 antique automobiles which operated until he moved his collection to the James Melton Autorama in Hypoluxo, FL, in 1953.

O'Leary's family has a unique connection to the Melton Museum. His wife's grandfather (Gus Reuter of Reuter's Coach Works in the Bronx, NY) restored all the cars in Melton's famous collection. O'Leary has made an incredible discovery by unearthing a large box, stored for over three decades, containing many of the long-lost files dating back to the 1940s from the Melton Museum. These documents have been missing for over 70 years since the closure of one of Connecticut's major tourist attractions in 1953.

The lost folders include some unbelievable items such as unpublished photos of Melton's cars as well as James Melton with Connecticut Governor Robert Hurley from 1941 (signing the bill for Melton's Museum off the Merritt Parkway). The files also contain paperwork and photos related to the James Melton Autorama.

In addition to working with Melton's daughter (Margo Melton Nutt), O'Leary continues his research by receiving old photos, letters, 35mm slides, and other ephemera related to the Melton Museum and Autorama from individuals around the country.

The James Melton Autorama

In 1953, James Melton moved his collection from Connecticut to Hypoluxo, Florida, creating the James Melton Autorama. This new museum continued his passion for sharing automotive history with the public, featuring his remarkable collection of classic automobiles in a warmer climate for the benefit of tourists year-round. The Autorama featured nearly 100 antique automobiles in period sets, as well as a collection of toys, a giant cyclorama, and the Bernard Thomas "America the Beautiful" mural, which illustrated great moments in American history.

The Autorama carried on the legacy of the original Melton Museum, showcasing the same dedication to preserving and displaying automotive history that had made the Norwalk location one of Connecticut's most beloved tourist attractions.