Robison House

One of Sparks's earliest and largest houses was originally owned by George W. Robison, who bought his eighty-acre ranch in 1890. When the Southern Pacific decided to move its shops near his ranch, Robison subdivided his land and began to sell lots in 1903, using photographs of his house in advertisements for his land. The image of the two-story, wood-frame dwelling with its pedimented gables and bracketed eaves no doubt lent an air of respectability to Robison's speculative enterprise. The block on which this house stands has retained much of its original streetscape, with modest but attractive bungalows to the north. Looming over the neighborhood, however, is one of Sparks's latest redevelopment projects: an enormous theater complex and parking structure across D Street that puts the house in shadow for much of the day.