Photo circa 1960
Garages by Opdyke was founded in 1953 by Christopher P. Opdyke. Serving in the U.S. Navy Seabees during W.W. II, he built bases in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska and also in the Philippines in the South Pacific. Upon his return from service, he started his family in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, where he continued in the building trade as a trimmer for a church builder. With his growing family, Chris headed for the suburbs and spent his nights and weekends building our home in the Ardsley section of Abington township. Our dad, having earned a reputation for his quality workmanship was able then to go into business for himself. The post war boom in car buying created a need for garages and since most new homes were built without them, Chris immediately recognized the need for a specialist in that market. Our mom recalls the day in 1953 when a woman called and begged her to convince our dad to build her a garage; as no other builders were interested in the project. Garages by Opdyke was born.
Chris involved all six of his sons in the business. We were taught early the meaning of “what sold the next job”. .. Quality work, fair price and minimal inconvenience to the homeowner during construction. While four of his sons along with two daughters went on to other careers, we (Dan and Joe Opdyke) decided to stick with the family business. Dad retired in 1982 but continued for years to show up at jobsites as a “sidewalk supervisor”. Dad passed away in June of 2005.
In an effort to continue his legacy, we are committed to providing the same quality service and personal approach that our dad established in 1953. Our family pride is your guarantee that we will not compromise the high value of your biggest investment, your home. We realize that in our community a pre-fabricated or pole barn type garage just will not do. Each garage is designed to appear as if it was always there. Please take the time to see our many samples and if we can be of service to you, give us a call or contact us through our web site.
Regards,
Dan and Joe Opdyke
