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Glory Days in La Crosse comes down, landmark building from 1930s was designated “endangered” by historic group

Published

2 weeks ago

April 30, 2024

Demolition of the former Glory Days bar in downtown La Crosse began early Tuesday, with a lone bulldozer clearing furniture and other items out of the 4th Street landmark.

The tear down had been scheduled to start in early April, shortly after Easter.

A bulldozer moves debris out of the former Glory Days tavern on Tuesday

The 90-year-old building, designed by local architect Otto Merman, was used originally as two businesses, a gas station and a beverage store.

It had been operated as a bar for the last few decades. Since the late 1990s, it was called Glory Days with a green-and-gold Green Bay Packers theme, containing football memorabilia and a Wall of Fame signed by famous players.

Glory Days was built in the 1930’s, but remained empty recently after a restaurant next door burned down in 2022

The tavern was damaged in April of 2022, when the India Curry House next door burned down.

Last year, La Crosse’s Heritage Preservation Commission included Glory Days on its annual list of the most endangered historic buildings in the city.

The commission will be releasing a new list this month. Laura Godden, on the panel, discussed some of the city’s most historic buildings recently on La Crosse Talk PM.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.