Salvador Rodriguez (1845-1922) was a Spanish immigrant from Asturias who went to Cuba when he was fifteen and learned the cigar business there at an early age.  In 1871 in the midst of the Ten Year’s War in Cuba,, like many others he left Cuba for the United States where he settled in New York. According to Wallace Reyes in his book Cigar City Architecture and Legacy , after his arrival in New York Salvador was immediately offered a partnership with the also Spanish immigrants owners of Celestino Palacio & Co., one of the first clear Havana cigar manufacturers in New York and Key West. It appears Salvador alway lived in New York City, the 1905 New York Census shows fifty year old Salvador Rodriguez as a cigar manufacturer, his wife Ireland native Ellen McNamara, five sons and five daughters residents at 257 West 85th Street. The 1910 R. L. Polk & Co. city directory lists Salvador Rodriguez arriving in the US in 1860, a resident of New York, owner of the Charles the Great Cigar Factory. Salvador died October 1, 1922 in Connecticut and is buried in Hawthorne, Westchester County, NY.

While at the employ of Celestino Palacio & Co., Salvador developed a reputation as an expert buyer of Cuba’s fines tobacco leafs and saved enough money to start his own factory. In 1889 Salvador joined a fledging new group of cigar entrepreneurs that had established cigar manufacturing operations in Tampa and in 1891 opened a three-story wooden cigar factory with a large basement on what is today 402 S 22nd St. in Palmetto Beach, just south of Ybor City pictured herein.  It is only the second wooden cigar factory remaining today in Tampa, the other being the Oliva-Monne cigar factory. 

The Tobacco publication of March, 1902 and the Tobacco Leaf publication of December 7, 1902 state:

"Business is reported as exceedingly good at the factory of Slavador Rodriguez.  Many new jobbers have placed accounts with this old and reliable concern this year and have been more than pleased with it since the business was opened.  The indications are that the Charles the Great factory will soon be compelled to have larger quarters to handle the growing business which is coming its way."  

"Of all the cigar manufacturers who occupy prominent positions in the trade circles of this country, here is no more conspicuous and picturesque a figure than Salvador Rodriguez…he stands in point of experience almost equal without peer."

The May 27, 1908 edition of the Tobacco Publication states that José Pando of Garcia, Pando & Co. announced they were leasing the facility "previously occupied by Salvador Rodriguez in Palmetto Beach" and would start operations in a week.  The publication also stated that they would keep their factory in New York for some time eventually abolishing the New York factory and establishing their headquarters in Tampa.

The Salvador Rodriguez factory manufactured the Da Vinci, Salvador Rodriguez and its most popular and well known bran Charles the Great, the only Clear Havana cigar with an English name. Production at this Palmetto Beach factory continued until 1903 when they moved to a brand new much larger three story brick building today known as the Charles the Great factory building and currently owned by Arturo Fuente Cigar Factory, Inc.  This factory was built entirely of steel and concrete therefore entirely fireproof. Its design was departure from the typical factory layout in the manner in which the tobacco was handled. An underground vault or humidor was built entirely separate from the factory, accessed by means of a short vestibule from the basement. The vault allowed immediate access to tobacco leafs an advantage over other factories that had to rely on transporting leafs from distribution warehouses nearby.

The siding installed on this 17,000 sq. ft. building covers the over one hundred windows the building had while used as a cigar factory to allow enough light and ventilation for its workers.  It is currently owned by DMF of Tampa, Inc. and houses the offices of Pilgrim Permacoat, Inc.