La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Mayor, Patrick Zielke Records
Scope and Contents
The papers are arranged in three groups: Correspondence, Newspaper Clippings, and Other.
The Correspondence group includes two sections. The first are carbon copies of outgoing correspondence from Mayor Patrick Zielke’s office regarding various city subjects, such as airport, baseball stadium, hotels, Pammel Creek flood project, and the like. There is a small folder of constituent correspondence in this series as well. Many of the letters are routine in nature. The other section consists of carbon copies of outgoing correspondence appointing citizens and council members to various city boards, committees, commissions, and task forces.
Newspaper Clippings were clipped and organized by date by the Mayor and include articles from the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune 1976; 1988-1989; 1992. Topics include issues of the day and some high school sports articles.
Finally, Other includes organizational charts of city departments, 1980; letters from Zielke to city employees who retired, 1981-1991; and declarations from the Mayor’s Office, 1988-1991.
There is no personal or biographical information on Zielke, other than a few editorials he wrote, 1984-1991.
Dates
- 1976-1994
- Majority of material found within 1981 - 1991
Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Mayor (Organization)
Access to Materials
Materials in this collection are available for patron use.
Biographical Note
Patrick Zielke, a La Crosse resident and Trane Co. employee, was first elected to the La Crosse Common Council in 1964. He became alderman of the 7th ward in 1966. In 1975, he was elected mayor of the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He served in this capacity for 22 years, the longest time ever in La Crosse history.
Being pro-business and industry, Zielke’s accomplishments during his administration include riverfront restoration and redevelopment of the downtown area. The Harborview project, which includes the La Crosse Center, Radisson Hotel and the former G. Heileman Brewing Co. headquarters, as well as the construction of First Bank Tower (now U.S. Bank) and parking ramp are part of Zielke’s legacy. Some of La Crosse’s most historic and oldest buildings were destroyed using federal money so that vast tracts of land could be utilized in this project in an effort to revitalize the downtown.
Zielke also assisted with the development of Valley View Mall, a new Logan High School, Shelby Mall, and the Market Square parking ramp and apartments. Other improvements made during 1975-1997 dealt with transportation projects such as bridges. In addition, an airport terminal and airport industrial park were created during his tenure.
Extent
1.6 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Papers of Patrick Zielke, Council member from 1964-1974 and Mayor of the City of La Crosse from 1975 to 1997. Zielke held the mayoral position for 22 years, the longest of anyone in La Crosse history.
About half of the papers are carbon copies of outgoing correspondence from the mayor’s office regarding board and committee appointments, and some correspondence about city topics. Many of the letters are routine in nature. The other half of the collection are newspaper clippings from the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune on various topics and issues, such as river boat gambling, hotels, taxes, etc., dating from 1976; 1988-1989; 1992. There is no personal or biographical information on Zielke, other than a few editorials he wrote, 1984-1991.
Acquisitions Information
(Accession no. 1997.031) Donated by Patrick Zielke, 1997 December
Physical Description
4 archives boxes
OCLC Number
46313460
Processing Information
Processed by Jaime Dechant and Anita Taylor Doering, June 1999
Creator
- La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Mayor (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Mayor, Patrick Zielke Records, 1976-1994 (bulk 1981-1991)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jamie Dechant, Anita Taylor Doering
- Date
- 1999 June
- 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