SAGE, Reuben C. (c. 1820-c. 1886), a prominent architect in Buffalo, New York from 1854 until after 1880. He was active there in the following offices:
Sparks & Sage, Architects, Buffalo, N.Y., late 1853 to Nov. 1854 (with George P. Sparks)
Sage & Barger, Architects & Builders, Buffalo, N.Y., Dec. 1854 to Sept. 1855 (with Elias S. Barger)
Sage, Wilcox & Co., Architects, Buffalo, N.Y., 1856-58 (with Harlow M. Wilcox)
Sage & Allison, Architects, Buffalo, N.Y.,1859 to 1867 (with George M. Allison)
Reuben C. Sage, Architect, Buffalo, N.Y., 1868 to 1878
In late 1853 Sage invited George P. Sparks, a precocious architect nearly a generation younger than Sage, to form a partnership in Buffalo. Together, they obtained a major commission in Hamilton, Ontario for the new Anglo-American Hotel, 1853-54. Their collaboration ended abruptly in November 1854 when Sparks died at the young age of 24 years. The following year, Sage formed a new partnership with Elias S. Barger.
In 1855 the office of Sage & Barger was commissioned by the Canada Life Assurance Co., founded in 1847, to design a new headquarters building on James Street South in Hamilton, Ontario. In a contract presented to the Board of Canada Life Co. on 4 June 1855, the firm of Sage & Barger stated they would “…make all plans, elevations, sectional and detailed drawings as necessary, and to see that the plans are faithfully carried out for five percent of the cost of the building”. These terms were accepted by the Board. The previous year, on 13 June 1854, the company agreed to pay Frederick J. Rastrick, a leading architect in Hamilton, a fee of £ 12.10 for a design, but it appears that this plan was later shelved. Completed in September 1856, the design by Sage & Barger was lauded in the local press for the sophisticated treatment of the “Italian façade” with finely moulded cast iron columns, cast iron pilasters, and cast iron casements and window heads (Daily Spectator [Hamilton], 19 Sept. 1856, p. 2 col. 4). It was among the first, if not the first, building in Hamilton to make extensive use of cast iron for both the structural system and for the decorative elements, and it continued to serve as the headquarters for Canada Life Co. until 1882 when the company moved to a new building in Hamilton designed by Richard A. Waite. A photograph of the original building by Sage & Barger, taken in 1892, was published in Hamilton - The Birmingham of Canada, 1893, 95, illus.
Reuben Sage was born in Bennington, Vermont on 14 May 1804 and later moved to western New York. In 1850 he was recorded as a “joiner”, but by 1854 he had begun to style himself as an architect, establishing an office in Buffalo, N.Y. and forming a partnership with Elias S. Barger (1813-1865). Their collaboration was shortlived, and just three months after obtaining the contract for the Canada Life Building, it was dissolved by mutual consent (Buffalo Morning Express, 29 Sept. 1855, 3, advert.). Early in 1856, Sage joined forces with Harlow M. Wilcox, and their firm submitted an entry in the competition for the Customs House in Quebec City, P.Q., but their scheme was not among the finalists. Wilcox departed in 1858, and Sage asked George M. Allison to form a new partnership in 1859. They remained active until 1867, and after this date Sage maintained an office in Buffalo under his own name until 1878. No information on Sage has been found after this date.
In a speech delivered to the local chapter of the American Inst. of Architects in Buffalo in 1891, the prominent architect Cyrus K. Porter recalled the work of Sage & Barger, noting that “…many fine buildings were designed by them, among which were the banks on Seneca Street [in Buffalo], the Anglo-American Hotel [in Buffalo], and the Canada Life Assurance Building at Hamilton, Ont.” (full text of speech in the Buffalo Courier, 3l May 1891, p. 11).
SAGE & BARGER
HAMILTON, ONT., Canada Life Assurance Head Office Block, James Street South, 1855-56; occupied by the company until 1883, and later used by Hamilton Business College; demol. c. 1928 (Canada Life Assurance Co., Toronto, Corporate Archives, Minute Book for June 1855; Daily Spectator [Hamilton], 19 Sept. 1856, 2, description of the completed building., but lacking attribution; inf. Andrew Boese, Canada Life Archives, Toronto).
SAGE, WILCOX & CO.
QUEBEC CITY, QUE., Customs House, St. Andre Street, 1856, competition entry. The Buffalo N.Y. firm of Sage, Wilcox & Co. were one of 15 competitors who submitted a design in February 1856 for this major Canadian commission. They later received a letter dated 13 May 1856 from the Canadian government stating their design was not among the finalists (NAC, RG 11 A3, Vol. 128, letter No. 19272). The winner was William Thomas of Toronto.
SAGE & ALLISON
ST. CATHARINES, ONT., large residence for Samuel L. St. John, Ontario Street near Adams Street, 1865-66; demol. November 1949 (St. Catharines Journal, 4 Oct. 1999, illus.; inf. Dennis Gannon, St. Catharines; handwritten diary of Samuel St. John, now in the possession of Mr. Joseph Eddleman, Charleston, South Carolina).