Yesterday in La Crosse
Two ballerinas found a home downtown, 16 years ago
In the summer of 2004, a metal sculpture called ‘Dancers’ was installed in the parking lot of the Pump House Arts Center. Local artist Donna Gerke-Cutta designed the artwork showing a metallic pair of ballerinas, painted blue. It was the fourth in a series of works created for the Downtown La Crosse Sculpture Project, following Fledgling, Scrolled Tablets, and Water Over the Dam. In 2019, the Dancers got a new coat of paint, and were moved to the other side of Front Street, outside the Weber Center.
Democrats held their national convention that July in Boston, choosing John Kerry to challenge incumbent president George W. Bush. One speaker at the convention was billed as the only gay woman in Congress, Wisconsin House member Tammy Baldwin. And the convention introduced America to a young black politician from Illinois, who called himself ‘a skinny kid with a funny name.’
