Abstract

One photograph of Joseph Wakeen Sr. behind the bar at Milwaukee Bar, Restaurant & Hotel on Copeland Ave., circa 1950s.

Abstract

The John A. Elliott Stoddard Hotel Collection includes materials related to the Stoddard Hotel, including a 1935 edition of The Wisconsin Restaurateur; a 1947 program for the La Crosse Airport Dedication; financial documents dated March 1928-February 1929; a postcard advertising the Stoddard Hotel; and a map of La Crosse, Wis. which outlines the best route and mileage to the Stoddard Hotel from the highway (circa 1920s-1930s).

Abstract

The Northern Hotels Corporation Lawsuit Materials include correspondence, hotel registration cards, and bills from the Hotel Stoddard in La Crosse, Wisconsin, dating 1946-1947. These items pertain to a racial discrimination lawsuit filed against Northern Hotels Corporation, which managed the Hotel Stoddard. The lawsuit was decided in favor of the plantiff in 1947, for an award of $25 and costs.

Abstract

Stoddard Hotel operated as the most upscale hotel in La Crosse for nearly 80 years, but also served as a center for entertainment, weddings, conferences, meetings and the like.

Records include guest registers (with the guest’s signature) from 1904-1927; 1929-1930; financial volumes, 1903-1939, and a scrapbook, 1932-1934 highlighting events which took place at the Stoddard Hotel.

Abstract Photocopied materials include personal correspondence between Virginia Baker, daughter of Stoddard Hotel owner Calvin Baker, and her future husband, John A. Elliott. The bulk of the materials (all photocopied) relate to the 1929-1931 remodeling of the Stoddard Hotel. The modernization effort included new plumbing fixtures, interior decoration and furniture for the guest rooms which had the flavor of the Art Moderne style. An issue of The Wisconsin Restaurateur from October 1935...