His Irish temper took over. He drove the truck back to the store and gave the keys to the truck and the store to "Pop" O'Brien. He told him to sell everything and keep the money. Then he caught a streetcar to Jones and Maley and started to sell cars that same day. Less than two years later, on January 12, 1933, he started his own Desoto-Plymouth dealership - "Sullivan and O'Brien" - at 501 Virginia Avenue.

Since that time, the O'Brien family business has continued to grow in the automobile business in Indianapolis. October 1, 1962 saw the Northside Chrysler Plymouth dealership open under the leadership of Mr. O'Brien's son, J. Thomas O'Brien. O'Brien Leasing & Rental was added on June 2, 1964, and in 1972, the dealership on Virginia Avenue moved to the current location in Greenwood. On February 1, 1990, O'Brien Toyota on Shadeland Avenue was added to the lineup. In 1992 we added Jeep products, which are sold and serviced at both the Northside and the Greenwood Chrysler Jeep locations. On October 24, 2002, we relocated our Northside dealership from 5102 N. Keystone Avenue to its current location on 96th Street.

The O'Brien Automotive Family is now in the fourth generation of automobile sales and service. In over seventy years, we've come a long way since our watermelons...since 1933.

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© 2006 O’Brien Automotive Family