Out with the old, in with the new, La Crosse in the 1970s

The 1960s and 70s were a time of urban renewal for downtown La Crosse, especially for government buildings.

You can still find business buildings over a century old in the downtown area, but some long-standing landmarks didn’t make it to the 80s.

The La Crosse County Courthouse was among the earliest to be replaced. That building along State Street was demolished in the spring of 1965, and was replaced with a Montgomery Ward store, and later a large parking lot until the Belle Square complex was built in 2017.

That new courthouse and jail held the county offices, including four courtrooms. The current courthouse, with five active courtrooms, has been open on Vine Street since 1997, on the block just north of where the old courthouse operated for 60 years.

City Hall and the Post Office could be found on State Street, as well.

The existing city hall, which opened in 1970, replaced the red-stone building on the spot now used as the Post Office parking lot.

As for the Post Office it held federal offices, including the Selective Service office, where you had to apply for a draft card.

One Saturday in February of 1976, two groups picketed quietly on 4th Street, near the La Crosse Post Office.

The group standing directly outside the Post Office wanted to preserve the decades-old building.

Across the street was a second group, including union workers, who were ready to build the new post office on the block.

That new postal building, after which the old one would be torn down. The new post office would open in ’77, but preservationists were able to save outside terra cotta decorations from the old building. Those pieces of art are displayed now just east of the current post office, at the old City Hall site.

But it wasn’t just government buildings making way for the future.

The Hotel Stoddard was a major attraction for decades at 4th and State, across from the Post Office and the Rivoli Theater.

In the late 70s, the Crystal Ballroom at the Stoddard was home to the Cabaret Dinner Theater, presenting shows such as ‘Barefoot in the Park’ and ‘Pippin.’

The Stoddard eventually came down in the early 80s, where people can now park their cars to go to the Rivoli and the Post Office.