Sonoma County Landmarks 96-99
Sobre Vista
Sobre Vista Drive
Eldridge
Built 1890

The Sobre Vista Estate includes four Sonoma County landmarks:

• Landmark 96: Main House
• Landmark 97: Bath/Pool House
• Landmark 98: Guest House
• Landmark 99: Tennis Court

In the late 1800s, Adolph and Alma Spreckels purchased land in Sonoma County to build a summer retreat which they named Sobre Vista. (Their primary residence was in San Francisco facing Lafayette Park.) The property had man-made lakes, residences, a game reserve, a pool, a dance hall, a golf course and a barn for raising race horses.

In the early 1900s, the estate hosted many guests including boxing champion Gene Tunney, banker A. P. Giannini, and movie stars Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable and John Barrymore.

By the late 1940s, the estate had been subdivided and sold to developers.

Today, the former estate is a residential neighborhood named Sobre Vista Estates which is on a private road. None of the landmarked structures are visible from the public right of way.

One would think that this property has many colorful tales to tell, but the web has recorded almost nothing about Sobre Vista.