In 1905 Max Paul, through the help of his uncle, started a small bicycle repair shop in Old City Philadelphia. The original shop was named Max Paul Bicycle Repair and eventually Max moved his shop to 7018 Woodland Avenue in 1907.
Early vehicles were manufactured with the radiators mounted on the front of the vehicles. The first radiators were also made of copper, which required skilled crafts persons to repair. Max, with his training as a coppersmith, was well suited to provide services to those in need of radiator repair.
Max was soon unable to keep up with the demand for his services and hired his father-in-law, also a trained coppersmith, to help him repair radiators. He moved the bicycle repair shop to 53rd and Lancaster Avenue in West Philadelphia, renaming it Lincoln Highway Garage in 1908.
With a surge in automobile purchases in the early 1900's, and an equal amount of car accidents and breakdowns, moved Lincoln Highway Garage in 1917 to 3633 Walnut Street and again renamed the business, this time Lincoln Auto Radiator.
Originally, Lincoln Auto Radiator specialized in yes, radiator repair. Many types of transportation vehicles were repaired, including municipal vehicles ( fire carriages, horse carriages, etc.). As business expanded, Max intuitively began to explore additional opportunities within the automobile repair industry.
