The powerful 19th century mythos of Horatio Alger's rags-to-riches story captured the imagination and sparked the aspirations of countless immigrants like Norwegian Halle Steensland. From his humble beginnings as a rural Rock County store clerk, Steensland rose to prominence in the insurance and banking businesses before serving as Wisconsin's vice-consul to Sweden and Norway. Like many nouveau riche of his age, Steensland was also a philanthropist, although his donation of funding for the Steensland Bridge on East Washington Avenue and support of the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association's scenic drives also proved to be a shrewd investment in the value of his extensive Maple Bluff land holdings.

Steensland's opulent 1896 home expresses the "more is not enough" aesthetic of the Queen Anne style, exploding in a riot of texture, color and pattern. Local architects J.O. Gordon and F.W. Paunack used an exuberant pallet of red brick, rusticated stone, and molded brick and terra cotta to execute a richly ornamented house that conveyed Steensland's wealth through its sheer abundance of decorative work. Now surrounded by surface parking, the Steensland house was once located in the midst of similar homes of Madison elites, who chose this location due to its proximity to the Capitol Square.

This house is operated as the Bethel Parish resale shop and is open during normal business hours.