— Jul 11, 2024
La Crosse's Radiant History
Within the last decade, many people have become familiar with the Radium Girls, the nearly forgotten story of the young women who worked for three of the biggest radium processing plants in the U.S. La Crosse also had industries and businesses that required working with the highly radioactive element.
— Jul 2, 2024
Working Women: Domestic Servants in La Crosse
As long as there have been wealthy families in large homes, there have been domestic workers supporting them. In La Crosse, many young, single, Norwegian immigrants worked in domestic service.
— Jun 19, 2024
Myrick Park: A Hidden Gem
Established in 1903 as one of the first public parks in the region, Myrick Park is a vibrant testament to the harmonious coexistence between urban life and natural beauty.
— May 6, 2024
Footsteps of La Crosse Website Launch
Footsteps of La Crosse is a project that makes historic & architectural walking tours accessible for folks looking to learn more about the history of La Crosse’s built environment and the people who shaped it. In May 2024, a new Footsteps website was launched with new features.
— May 6, 2024
Neighbors Making History: The Tesson Family - Life and Death on the Water
Frank H. Tesson, was a veteran boat pilot and captain during the heyday of steam boating on the Mississippi River. Frank B. Tesson met his death on distant seas in one of the most well-known disasters of the 20th century.
— Apr 18, 2024
Keeping Up Appearances: A Story of Blended Styles
Doubt loomed great over a caption on an old photograph written long ago with an ink pen that said, “Dwelling erected by the Rev. John C. Sherwin on NW corner of Cameron Ave. & 10th St.” Was the caption written with a shaky hand correct?
— Mar 12, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: Religious Romanesque
The most obvious feature in the Romanesque style is the round arch, rather than the Gothic pointed arch. Round arches require more massive walls to restrain the load above them, so the Romanesque interiors were often rather dark with a few small windows placed high up in churches.
— Mar 12, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: Romanesque Revival Homes
The Romanesque Revival was all about masses and large-scale forms. Most houses don't have the size to show the style well.
— Mar 1, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: Romanesque Revival Commercial Buildings
Commercial buildings were large enough to make use of the Romanesque Revival style. In La Crosse, the two largest use no decoration, while the smaller one uses relief sculpture to enliven the surface.
— Feb 28, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: Romanesque Revival Public Buildings
The Romanesque revival was based on church architecture, mostly in France and Spain, from the period of 950-1100 CE. The name means “like that in Rome” or in the Roman Empire.
— Jan 29, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: The Colonial Revival
During the 1876 U.S. Centennial celebrations, the old argument that the United States needed an “American” architecture was resurrected, but what at first seemed clear-cut and definable, soon changed into another catch-all style. By 1876, the various revival styles and the pseudo-revivals were well-known and documented, but relatively little was known about house types before the revolution.
— Jan 22, 2024
Architectural Styles and Revivals: The Queen Anne Style
This style, as developed and named by Richard Norman Shaw in England in the late 19th-century, claimed to be based on design elements used in the time of the English monarch Queen Anne. As the style moved to the United States, it lost many of medieval elements.