Peterson House
616 Alverstone Street

A majestic home featuring 16-foot Tyndall stone pillars soaring to a third-floor balcony. A 600-square-foot ballroom; seven bay windows; three fireplaces; walls covered with oak paneling and elaborately embossed Lincrusta. This magnificent home is a block from Arlington and Sergeant, tucked in between the modest wood frame houses typical of the heart of the West End.

Built in 1914 by a prosperous Icelandic hardware merchant, Bjorn Petursson, the house remained in the original family until 1942. It then became a boarding house run by Gussie Warren and her family, a rooming house, a Children's Aid Group, and now a residence once again. Bjorn's brother Rognvaldur was the minister at the Unitarian Church, first located at Sergeant and Nena (now Sherbrook).

The church's record keeper, Frederik Sweinsson, was a commercial artist renowned for his murals and stage sets. He designed the 1904 Unitarian church at Sergeant and Sherbrook and created its stained glass windows, which were moved in 1920 to Rognvaldur's new church as Banning and Sergeant.

In 1912, Sweinsson moved to a new house at 626 Alverstone, where his household briefly included his son-in-law, Carl Thorson, later a Disney cartoonist who created Snow White. Sweinsson painted murals of Icelandic landscaped sand legends in Bjorn's house at 616 Alverstone; other artists may have contributed to the artwork, particularly the goddesses in the dining room.

Murals and elaborate stencilling originally existed in the foyer, Bjorn's den, dining room and parlour. Hidden for half a century, they have been uncovered by present home owner, Trish Masniuk. Trish continues to give tours of the home, as well as hold lectures and seniors teas to inform the public of the rich architectural and historical value of the Peterson House.