The Robinson building was constructed before 1897, appearing on this series of the Sanborn maps as a two-story warehouse.  By 1904 the building housed a furniture store and in 1908 a millinery (women’s hat designer) was added. In 1914, it served Siloam as a boots and shoes store. Today, it is home to Downtown Dance Studio. 

The two-story brick masonry commercial building sits on a cast concrete foundation, displaying decorative features including brick corbelling in a unique triangular pattern. It originally possessed a traditional recessed wooden storefront supported by decorative iron posts, large display windows, and a row of transom windows above. The upper story is composed of three one-over-one double-hung windows, with stone or cast concrete sills and lintels. Just above the windows is a curved semi-circle band of brick headers which support the decorative column and triangle brickwork up to the pediment. The building is crowned by a triangular pediment similar in design to that on the Stockton Building (113 N. Broadway). 

The storefront experienced a number of alterations over the decades, including the covering of the transom windows and the rearrangement of the storefront’s general structure. A photograph from the 1960s shows the storefront covered in brick and aluminum framing.  Today, the storefront is further altered as the entrance is flush with the sidewalk and reoriented to the very right side. Most apparent changes above the storefront is the painting of the original red masonry and the alteration of the upper story window framing. 

For a number of years there was a shed awning over the storefront that was connected to the sidewalk by wood posts, shared with the Robinson-Franklin building (100 S. Broadway). The awning was removed in 2020. Though the previous addition of the shed awning detracted from the building’s architectural features, it did not impact the overall integrity of the building and is, therefore, considered contributing on the National Register.

For more information on this building’s history, contact the Siloam Springs Museum at Don@siloamspringsmuseum.com. For information on building improvement consultation, grants and tax credit opportunities, contact Main Street Siloam Springs at info@mainstreetsiloam.org.

Robinson Building, d. 1963, Siloam Printing Collection. 

Downtown Dance Studio, d. 2020, Main Street Siloam Springs.