The Robson Historic District is found within the original Mesa town site limits. The district is roughly bound on the north by University Drive; the south by Second Street; the west by Country Club Drive; and the east by Robson Street. This district is composed of commercial properties on the western and northern boundaries and residential buildings throughout the rest of the district. North of the district, across University Drive is the Evergreen Historic District. To the east of the district lies the West Second Street Historic District, and directly south of the district stands the City of Mesa Police Department complex. Although the original neighborhood has suffered from modern infill along its edges, in particular, along Country Club Drive, and University Drive, it retains a high degree of integrity at its interior.
The Robson Historic District in Mesa is significant for two reasons. First, it is considered significant under National Register Criterion A in the areas of Community Planning and development for its relationship to broad patterns of community development in Mesa. Second, the Robson Historic District illustrates important examples of architectural styles common in Arizona during the first half of the twentieth century. The Robson Historic District is considered significant under National Register Criterion C for the architectural styles and periods that it represent. The period of significance for the district starts in 1911 with the subdivision of the Pomeroy Place subdivision and continues until 1952, the end of the 50-year period of significance for the National Register.
The Robson Historic District consists of portions of the original townsite of Mesa that were later divided into smaller parcels and small subdivisions. This process of subdivision within the original townsite was an important factor in the change of Mesa from a Mormon community consisting of large garden lots to a modern residential community of small lots. This was a significant change in the community development of Mesa and the Robson Historic District is importantly associated with this process.
The Robson Historic District is significant for its association with the development of a cohesive neighborhood of middle class and upper class families in Mesa prior to 1950. development continued at a smaller scale after 1950, but by this time most of the new residential development in Mesa was in areas outside the original town site.
With three exceptions, the portions of the original blocks which encompass the Robson Historic District escaped a formal process of subdivision common in other areas of Mesa. The large garden lots of the early Mormon community were gradually split into smaller and smaller lots over the years to allow for more intensive residential development. The result of this slow, informal process is an eclectic mix of building styles and construction dates.
The three exceptions to this pattern of development are the Pomeroy Place, W.S. McMannon, and W.R. Stewart subdivisions. These three very small subdivisions represent early attempts at converting the garden blocks into residential lots.
Pomeroy Place, the largest of the three subdivisions, was platted by Frank T. and S. Dora Pomeroy, early Mesa pioneers. They assembled the subdivision which was owned by several other prominent Mesa residents. These included John M. and Georgia E. Vance, D. Franklin and Annie Johnson, Don M. and Julia A. LeBaron, and J. Erastus LeBaron, a single man. Don M. LeBaron was another prominent Mesa pioneer. He came to Mesa in 1879 and founded a bakery and general store in 1986. Shortly after joining the Pomeroy Place development, LeBaron moved with many other Mormons to Mexico. He returned to Mesa in 1926 to continue a career in real estate development. His son, Edwin M. LeBaron, had started his own real estate firm in 1905 as the Edwin M. LeBaron Real Estate and Insurance Co. Edwin also operated the Arizona Land Company in the twenties. The LeBaron name is now memorialized in the Robson Historic District with LeBaron Street, originally platted as Roland Street as part of the Pomeroy Place subdivision.
The small W.S. McMannon subdivision in the Robson Historic District is further evidence of the residential aspirations of early Mesa pioneers. McMannon, a veteran of the Spanish-American war in 1898, platted several small subdivisions in Mesa. He operated a real estate and insurance firm for many years. In addition to developing his own subdivisions, McMannon also teamed up with the "dean" of Arizona realtors, W.R. Stewart, to create the McMannon and Stewart subdivision in 1919.
W.R. Stewart had a similar career, but one even more prominent than McMannon's. He got his start as a real estate developer in 1914 and continued to subdivide and market Mesa real estate for the next forty years. He was credited with building more than one hundred homes in Mesa. Although W.R. Stewart platted many small subdivisions in the early years of Mesa, he is usually remembered for several large subdivisions he platted after World War II. He was called the "dean of the state's realtors" at his death. In addition to his career in real estate, Stewart is responsible for the design of the Arizona state flag and financing of the Stewart Chapel at Mesa Methodist Church.
LeBaron, McMannon, and Stewart were three developers who had a tremendous impact of the growth and development of the town. While the Robson Historic District contains only three of the many subdivisions developed by these three individuals, it is typical and representative of their vision for the conversion of the community from large Mormon garden lots into a number of small residential lots.