ELIZABETH AUTO GLASS  
450 RT. 1 ELIZABETH, NJ 07202  
 
908 353.6389

ELIZABETH AUTO GLASS MOVES UP THE ROAD A PIECE

In 1929 WIlliam Donahue opened an auto body shop named 'Donahue & Sons''. Today, it would have seemed peculiar that a carpenter would open a body shop but in 1929 car details were made of wood and so Donahue's craft was in big demand.

    Almost 75 years later, "Donahue & Sons" is still in business, and still owned and operated by a Donahue.  Until August of this year it was still in its original location at 611 Grove Street. The business was forced to move to make way for the new Routes 1 & 9 viaduct. Its new location, 450 Route 1, is a half mile south on the highway and is still in Elizabeth.

Tom Donahue, William's grandson, is at the helm of the business which changed its name to Elizabeth Auto Glass years ago when the industry grew to include such things like glass and metal. Plastic and fiberglass wasn't even a concept in 1922. The old location even had a substantial junk yard to house Donahue's wrecking company.
    The Donahue family were very active in Elizabeth, socially and as a business.  Tom's father, also named Thomas, took the shop over in the 1950's. Most people knew him as "Doc". In fact, the local restaurant, Doc Donahue's, was named after him. It was owned by Donahue's good friend Donny Gray who named it after his good buddy. Doc worked in the shop up until the time he passed away in 1999 at the age of 86.
    Like his father and grandfather, Tom loves the business. He gets to meet so many people and he now is part of the Elizabeth landscape. Tom has a degree in Political Science and a Masters in Liberal Science. He lives in Cranford with his wife, Dawn and daughters Mackenzie, 2, and Aidan, 3.

(above) Dawn Donahue takes daughters, Mackenzie and Aiden to visit their dad at work and play with his collection of very fragile model cars.

Memorabillia on the walls of Elizabeth Auto Glass include the old sign from Doc Donahue's Restaurant (top). Photos of Tom's father, Doc (above), and his grandfather, William (far left). To the right is a plaque presented by Mayor Tom Dunn to Doc Donahue for "Just being a good guy".

Elizabeth Auto Glass is a division of Elizabeth Auto Wrecking, please visit Elizabeth Auto Wrecking for all your used auto part needs.