SPARKS, George Parker (1830-1854) of Buffalo, N.Y., was born in the Borough of Tower Hamlets, London in December 1830 and emigrated to the United States after 1850. He can be credited with the design of one of the first multi-storey cast iron buildings in Ontario. Together with his business partner Reuben C. Sage, they designed the Anglo-American Hotel in Hamilton, Ontario, built in 1854-55 and it was a mature and sophisticated Italianate landmark and one of the first fully developed works in that style in the province. Within five years the hotel operation had failed, and the building re-opened as the Wesleyan Ladies College in 1861. A photographic illustration and description of the building appeared in the pictorial book entitled Hamilton: The Birmingham of Canada, 1893, 53. Sparks was one of the first professional architects active in Buffalo, and advertised his services from late 1853 through July of 1854, soliciting work from clients "....who wish to combine experience with Architectural elegance" and offering to design buildings "..for Private, Public or Ecclesiastical purposes" (Buffalo Daily Courier, 17 July 1854, 1, advert.). In 1854 he joined forces with Reuben C. Sage, an architect who was a generation older than Sparks. The promising career of Sparks ended abruptly when he died suddenly at the very young age of 24 years on 1 November 1854 (death notice, Buffalo Daily Republic, 1 Nov. 1854, 2; death notice Buffalo Morning Express, 2 Nov. 1854, 2; inf. Robert Hamilton, Hamilton, Ont.).
SPARKS & SAGE
HAMILTON, ONT., The Anglo-American Hotel, King Street, 1854; demol. c. 1930 (Buffalo Daily Courier, 1 May 1854, 2, descrip.; Daily Spectator [Hamilton], 4 May 1854, 2, descrip.; Weekly Spectator [Hamilton], 11 May 1854, 2, descrip.; inf. Robert Hamilton, of Hamilton, Ont.)
G.P. SPARKS
BUFFALO, ONT., St. James Church, 1854 (Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, 19 June 1854, 3, t.c.)