Harry Tarnopolsky Paul

Born August 12, 1912 Died 1991

Harry Paul was born on August 12, 1912 on 309 Washington Avenue in Philadelphia. We know that in 1920 Harry was living in Darby, PA, with his family at Front Street. Harry quickly took a liking to his father's business, Lincoln Auto Radiator, located at 3633 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.

On XXX, he married Evelyn Adler at ______. By the late 1920's, Max's sons Harry and Edward joined the business and s. With many of the Paul Bros. employees overseas serving their country, the focus of the company was now directed towards winning the war.

Looking for further opportunities in the automobile industry, Max began to interview with car manufacturers for potential dealership interests. In 1968, Harry and Max were approached by Toyota Motor Corporation about the possibility of opening a franchise agency. Max saw a tremendous opportunity to not only further his collision business, but to introduce a niche automobile agency into the Philadelphia area. In March, 1969, Harry and Max introduced Central City Toyota, the first Toyota agency in Philadelphia.

In keeping with the family tradition of excellence, Central City Toyota became a thriving agency. Capitalizing on the gasoline crisis of the mid-1970's, Central City Toyota gained considerable market share due to their introduction of low priced, fuel efficient vehicles. The import craze of the 1970's positioned Paul Bros. as a leader in import vehicle repair in the Philadelphia area. However, Paul Bros. was now at a crossroads due to tremendous expansion.

Harry and Max implemented innovative production and repair methods to help expedite the transition to the exploding import car collision repair market. But disaster struck in November 30, 1981 as a massive fire destroyed Paul Bros. and Central City Toyota. With tremendous determination, Paul Bros. never missed a beat. Opening up the day after the fire, Paul Bros. completed renovations on their current location at 49th and Chestnut in the spring of 1983.

By 1985, Max became more involved in the daily operations as his father Harry went into semi-retirement. Sadly in 1991, Paul Bros. mourned the loss of Harry Paul at the age of 84, ending a brilliant era of innovation and advancements.