Directions will be sent to registered participants by email the week prior to the tour.
This whimsical Storybook-style, late Craftsman house, with its dramatic full-pitch roofline and massive stone chimney has had only two owners. In 1936, Norwegian immigrant Emil Peterson built the house for himself and his wife Vollea. Peterson was a sign maker who pioneered neon signage in Seattle and was involved with constructing the P-I globe. Emil and Vollea collected the stones for the outside of the house and transported them to the site. A friend, who worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a stonemason and helped to build Mt Rainier’s Paradise Inn, did the stonework for them. Emil painted the rosemaling floral decorations in the traditional Norwegian folk style around the inside of the turret entrance to the house and on the wooden slats on the staircase. More of Emil’s fine rosemaling is in the kitchen. Current owners have preserved the house and also created stunning woodland gardens.
Photo: Peterson Residence / Credit: John Carrington
Cost:
$45 general public / $35 members / $20 students