La Crosse, Wisconsin, Committee on Buildings and Grounds, Resolutions and Reports Relating to Buildings and Grounds
Scope and Contents
Common Council resolutions and reports began to be organized by a numbering system in Dec. 1932. Before that time the resolutions were kept folded up in chronological order, roughly by subject or Council committee (such as Parks, Judiciary, Fire, Police, etc.). This set of pre-1932 resolutions represents those labelled as Buildings & Grounds, and date from 1859-1932 (bulk 1874-1932).
Buildings and subjects best represented in this series are City Hall, 1870-1932; Elections (election booths), 1889-1930; Equipment, 1875-1930; Finance, 1859-1899; Market Square (Hay & Wood Market), 1874-1932; Parking, 1924-1931; Pest House/Isolation Hospital, 1875-1932; Poor House, 1872-1899; Property owned by the city and private land considered for rent or purchase by the city, 1868-1931; Pump House (Water Works), 1889-1927; Supplies, 1877-1930; and Weights & Measures, 1879-1930.
Dates
- 1859-1932
- Majority of material found within 1874 - 1932
Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Committee on Buildings and Grounds (Organization)
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Biographical/Historical Note
La Crosse received a charter from the Wisconsin legislature as a city in 1856. During these early times, meetings were held in the La Crosse County Courthouse. The city owned or rented space as was needed for various functions. A lot was purchased in 1863 on the northeast corner of 4th and Main Streets as a location for the first city hall. This building also served as the first Fire Station (Engine House). Construction began in 1869.(1) Even as late as 1881 only some of the city officers had office space in the Thomas B. Stoddard Engine House on Main Street; namely, City Clerk, Police Justice, Chief of Police, and the Council Chambers. The City Treasurer and Mayor maintained their offices at their “respective places of business.”(2) The old building is referred to as the “city building” and the site as the “city lot” in the resolutions.
This building and lot were sold in about 1887, but city offices continued to occupy the space until January 1892 when the new City Hall opened.(3) The second City Hall building was constructed in 1891 and was located at Fifth and State Streets. The dedication for the cornerstone of the building was held July 4, 1891, the same day as the dedication of the original wagon bridge across the main channel of the Mississippi River.
The 1891 building was constructed in 1891 at a cost of $54,000 and was dedicated Feb. 11, 1892. It was designed by Stoltze and Schick while Joseph Schwalbe and Son were the builders. The building served as La Crosse’s city hall until 1970 when the present City Hall was completed. The stately 1891 building was razed as part of the Harborview Urban Renewal project, under direction of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of La Crosse in 1970.
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(1) “City Hall Building Planned 50 Years Ago; Replaced Combination Main Street Structure,” La Crosse Tribune 6 July 1941.
(2) History of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, containing... (Chicago, IL : Western Historical Co.), 1881:501.
(3) “La Crosse’s First City Hall is No More,” La Crosse Tribune 25 Jul 1995 : A-1. The building was torn down to make way for the expansion of the State Bank parking lot.
Extent
1.6 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Resolutions and reports from the Committee on Buildings & Grounds to the Common Council, 1859-1932 (bulk 1874-1932). The materials are arranged by building name; therein, chronologically. There isn’t any further indexing to this collection at this time other than what the City Clerk has on index cards.
The reports are mostly requests for proposed buildings or improvements to existing city owned buildings. The series includes documents relating to: City Hall, 1870-1932; Elections (election booths), 1889-1930; Equipment, 1875-1930; Financial materials, 1859-1899; Market Square (Hay & Wood Market), 1874-1932; Parking, 1924-1931; Pest House/Isolation Hospital, 1875-1932; Poor House, 1872-1899; Property owned by the city and private land considered for rent or purchase by the city, 1868-1931; Pump House (Water Works), 1889-1927; Supplies, 1877-1930; and Weights & Measures, 1879-1930.
Arrangement
The original order of these reports was not maintained. In arranging this series, the resolutions were grouped alphabetically together by the building or site name; therein, chronologically.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1996.004) Resolutions were located in the City Clerk’s basement area of City Hall; came to the Archives as part of the Mayor’s Special Committee on Historic Records, Dec. 1996
Physical Description
4 archives boxes
OCLC Number
46313425
Processing Information
Processed by Anita Taylor Doering with assistance from Jaime Dechant, August 1998
Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Committee on Buildings and Grounds (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Committee on Buildings and Grounds, Resolutions and Reports Relating to Buildings and Grounds, 1859-1932 (bulk 1874-1932)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Anita Taylor Doering, Jamie Dechant
- Date
- 1998 August
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the La Crosse Public Library Archives Repository