Filed Under Businesses

Savage and Son, Inc.

Built in 1940 to serve as the new headquarters for the plumbing company founded in 1893

The Savage Building at 628 South Virginia Street was constructed in 1940, but the history of the business that the Savage family operated there goes back much further, and continues today. Frank Charles Savage partnered with B.J. Genesy to open a plumbing, tinning, and gas fitting business in Reno in 1893. In 1900, Savage established his own plumbing business downtown, and in the 1920s, his son Leonard Charles joined him under the name Savage & Son. Frank C. Savage died in 1935, but not before constructing the Savage Building at 400 East 4th Street (known today as the Morris Hotel) in 1931.

Savage & Son, Inc. operated out of 214 Sierra Street through the 1930s, until it became clear that they needed more space. Leonard Charles Savage had the building at 628 S. Virginia Street constructed in 1940 for $15,000. The new structure was originally designed to house four separate businesses, and in August of 1940, Savage & Son moved into the southernmost storefront. Within a few months, the other three were filled by the Nevada X-Ray Clinic, R.W. Conant photography, and Jacques Morvay linoleum. By the late 1950s, the building was reconfigured with just two storefronts, which were occupied for years by Savage & Son and an industrial supplier called Styris-Sutton Co.

The company kept its headquarters here for more than 50 years before moving to a larger facility on Yori Avenue in 1992. The Savage family continues to own the building on South Virginia Street as their business builds on its legacy as the oldest contracting firm in Northern Nevada.

Images

Savage and Son staff ca. 1944
Savage and Son staff ca. 1944 The owners and employees of Savage and Son pose outside the building on South Virginia Street around 1944. Occupying the building's other storefronts at this time were Conant Studio Portraiture, an X-Ray clinic, and Custom Decorating Studio, an interior furnishings business. Source: Nevada Historical Society Date: ca. 1944
Frank Charles Savage, 1926
Frank Charles Savage, 1926 Frank Charles Savage stands outside the company's original location on Sierra Street in 1926. Source: Savage and Son, Inc. Date: 1926
"The House of Service," August 1940
"The House of Service," August 1940 An August 1940 newspaper ad announces Savage & Son's new home at 628 South Virginia Street. Source: Reno Evening Gazette Date: August 31, 1940
Savage & Son and College Cyclery
Savage & Son and College Cyclery Savage and Son, Inc. shared the building with College Cyclery after the bicycle shop moved to South Virginia Street in 1975. Source: Savage and Son, Inc.
College Cyclery and Michael's Deli, 2016
College Cyclery and Michael's Deli, 2016 The building as viewed in 2016 housed College Cyclery and Michael's Deli. Creator: Alicia Barber Date: 2016

Location

628 S. Virginia Street, Reno, NV

Metadata

Alicia Barber, “Savage and Son, Inc.,” Reno Historical, accessed February 8, 2025, http://www.renohistorical.org/items/show/227.