This 2½-storey building on Mayfair Place (formerly 207 Mayfair Avenue) in Winnipeg, measuring 36 feet by 37 feet, was designed and constructed in 1903 by the firm of Alsip Brothers. Its first occupant was the family of Nassau James Robertson Preston.
After Preston’s death in 1940, the house was renovated into a personal care facility, known first as the McLeod Nursing Home under Matron Elsie McLeod. A few years later, she renamed it the Mayfair Nursing Home and, in the mid-1950s, the Arcadia Nursing Home. A front porch was added in 1957 and a large addition at the rear, designed by architect Lloyd Hugh Finch, was constructed in 1958.
The Arcadia Nursing Home closed in the late 1990s and, from 1999 to 2004, the building was used as a boarding facility called Nakiska Home for Indigenous clients who traveled to Winnipeg for medical care. That facility moved to another location in 2004, after which the building was turned into residential apartments.
At the time of a 2023 site visit, the building was vacant and being offered for sale.
The former Preston House (May 2023)
Source: George Penner
Annex to the former Preston House (May 2023)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88339, W97.13767
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Nassau James Robertson Preston (1857-1940)
Memorable Manitobans: Marjorie Irene Preston (1895-1986)
Memorable Manitobans: Lloyd Hugh Finch (1904-1967)
City of Winnipeg Building Permit 767/1903, City of Winnipeg Archives.
“Old house looking for new life,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 January 2005, page 77.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
1 Mayfair Place - Nassau Robertson Preston and Myrta Helen Preston House by Murray Peterson, City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings and Resources Committee, July 2025.
This page was prepared by George Penner and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 July 2025
Historic Sites of Manitoba
This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.
Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | OtherInclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.
Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca.Help us keep history alive!
