Downtown Stories

Azoz, an international student from Saudi Arabia, found out how rules about public spaces are different than he expected.

Patrice Amoapim had an experience of racial stereotyping while out at a bar with friends.

After becoming executive director of The Pumphouse, Toni Asher had her first personal experiences with the problem of homelessness in La Crosse.

After the decision not to indict the officer who shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Kalon Bell and his colleagues organized a march from the UWL campus to City Hall to have their voices heard.

Bernard Black started African-American Cultural Alliances, and was surprised to find a need for furniture in our community.

Robert (Ernie) Boszhardt, an archaeologist of the Driftless Region, identifies the former Ho-Chunk cemetery where the Oktoberfest grounds are now located.

Riding his bike one day, Doug Connell spotted a garage that he believed to be a Greek Revival house, and he saved it from demolition.

Kyle Constalie’s poem, “Into Collision,” received second prize in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

In 1978 Les Crocker went down to the Odin J. Oyen building and discovered stacks of old designs and drawings.

Tegan Daly’s poem, “Trauma Center,” tied for third prize in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

Micah Day benefited from the YMCA Teen Center so much that he decided to make a handmade table to thank them.

In 1998 Chip DeNure celebrated the results of the North-South Corridor referendum vote at Jules Coffee Shop.

Jane Doe was a juror in a bar brawl case that was going to be dismissed until she fought for conviction.

“Two Rivers” by Mai Chao Duddeck was awarded honorable mention in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

Carol Erickson was involved in the Livable Neighborhoods organization that was instrumental in stopping road construction through the marsh.

Camoya Evans felt moved by Lillian Smith Davenport's grace to design her headstone over fifty years after Lillian's burial at Oak Grove Cemetery.

A Student of Color at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse questions the reasons for naming buildings after Alumni of Color.

Gene Falkenberg’s poem received honorable mention in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

Sarah Fellows explains how her husband Sam "beat" the union for his employees at Doerflingers.

Sarah Fellows had the job of procuring bananas for local merchants that were stored in her grandfather’s downtown warehouse and in storage rooms under Main Street in La Crosse.

Maureen Freedland agreed to be a plaintiff in the case against the Ten Commandments Monument in Cameron Park.

Dan Green fights against stereotypical images of Native Americans, including the statue in Riverside Park.

Jim Grenisen was one of the first people to explore a long forgotten fallout shelter in the basement of the Rivoli Theater.

Alf Gundersen, a venereal disease specialist, persuaded his father to move the Gundersen Clinic from 3rd and Pearl to a location closer to the current hospital.

Edwin Hill and 30 other architectural preservationists held a protest to try to save the old post office in 1976. They were vastly outnumbered in their quest.

Jake Hoeschler had an amusing experience in a bar talking with a man who was complaining about Frank Hoeschler - not knowing that Jake was his nephew.

Jake Hoeschler's uncle Frank Hoeschler paid tribute to his German heritage on his buildings and businesses, but was accused of being anti-American.

Jane Holland went to a local bar in 1982 with her husband and a friend, only to be kicked out because her two companions were perceived to be gay.

After going through a difficult time and having no permanent place to live, Christina Hotchkiss' boss found a way to make sure she got into a safe living situation.

Working with an interesting clientele and for a character of a boss at the Casino Bar was an impacting experience for Christina Hotchkiss.

“River Walk” by Susan Houlihan tied for third prize in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

As an international student studying in La Crosse, Rina Jeong was extremely excited to go to The Pearl Ice Cream Shop, but she encountered some challenges as a non-English speaker in a new country.

Tom Jones, an expert on Ho-Chunk basket weaving and a collector of baskets, describes this rare art form.

Chris Kahlow chained herself to the row houses at 6th and Main to protest their demolition in 2004.

William Koch describes the area of downtown La Crosse that included what at the time were called houses of "ill-fame."

Barb went downtown with friends in 1979 and was offered a job as a stripper.

Siiri Koski attended the 2017 Pride in the Park as an out bisexual woman for the first time.

“Ophelia Soft” by David Krump won first prize in the 2017 Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

ChongCher Lee is reminded of the uncertainty of life in the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp and the tremendous changes he has experienced throughout life.

Tracy Littlejohn was involved in the process of bringing the trompe-l'oeil style mural to The Pump House and appreciated the efforts made to make the mural both historically and culturally reflective.

Native American students share in their culture on Thanksgiving.

James Longhust unintentionally became a leader and found himself at home in his new city during his first La Crosse Labor Day Bicycle Festival.

In 2000 Víctor Macías-González moved to La Crosse and frequented the gay bars.

Michael Martino and Ronna Metz guide Spence Elementary students in the creation of a mural.

After not eating for a couple of days, John McCue stopped in the Tosa Club for some food despite having no money to pay for it.

Spence Elementary students create a space themed mural.

Ronna Metz shares the special meaning behind a constellation in the Across The Universe mural.

Shawn Micallef had a close encounter of the third kind in Riverside Park.

Benjamin Morris felt compelled to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock and describes how his identity as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church shaped his experiences.

Benjamin Morris, a hunter and gun owner, discusses helping organize the La Crosse March For Our Lives protest at Cameron Park that occurred in 2018.

As one of the only Black women in La Crosse, Robbie Moss experienced microaggressions while shopping downtown in the mid-1900s.

Mary O’Sullivan and others of the lesbian community of La Crosse, had great fun buying out-of-date tuxedos from Desmonds Formal Wear.

After returning from the Army and not finding a place to fit-in, Paul Pappas rented a room and lived in the YMCA in La Crosse for five or six years.

Kate Parker attended La Crosse SOUP to help raise funds for a wedding between two people experiencing homelessness.

Martin Peeples was uncomfortable with people who experienced homelessness until he became homeless himself.

Elmer Peterson was asked to create a sculpture for the city of La Crosse and chose to depict lacrosse players to honor the history of the area.

The La Crosse Regional Airport is not just an airport for Jim Pfafflin; instead, it’s his family’s homestead and his father’s legacy.

At a Black Lives Matter solidarity rally in Cameron Park, Jessica Polacek emphasizes that the Black community in La Crosse has the support of allies.

Rose Reinert recalls her experience resigning from her position on the Human Rights Commission.

Ernesto (Ernie) Rodriguez was surprised the police stopped him while walking downtown.

Ernesto (Ernie) Rodriguez experienced an instance of prejudice while walking down the street.

Before its demolition John Satory removed the Italian marble from Hotel Stoddard only to find evidence of how the building was planned and used.

Karl Schaettle was there the night an automobile accident caused serious damage to the Mount Vernon Street Bridge.

Jane Schley attended the La Crosse Oktoberfest festivities as a college freshman in 1974 and had an unpleasant encounter with the police.

Since 2003, Michael Sigman has been associated with the La Crosse Concert Band that has been performing for over a century.

Executive director, Anne Snow, turned her idea into a reality by making an old furniture building into a Children's Museum.

Shaundel Spivey witnessed a fight outside a bar in downtown La Crosse, and after speaking out when he saw unfair treatment of people based on race, he himself ended up being arrested.

William Stobb’s poem, “Fun,” inspired the the Hear, Here Poetry Contest.

Will Van Roosenbeek tells of a LGBT bookstore called Rainbow Revolution that was located on 5th Avenue.

Vandali Vang, a Hmoob student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, encounters the La Crosse Police while downtown with friends.

Hunter Wagner is a blind high school student who urban hikes in downtown La Crosse.

On the day of her graduation from UW-La Crosse, Antoiwana Williams was called the N-word.

During his childhood, Gustave Winter, born 1888, delivered packages to prostitutes in the red light district of La Crosse.

The Hmoob experience with war influenced Xong Xiong to engage in an anti-war protest in a congressman’s office.

Nauhoua (Tony) Yang fled from his home to a Thai refugee camp before finding a new home in La Crosse.

The Catholic Charities Winter Warming Center offered James Zaragoza a taste of home.

Richard Zierke started working at Heileman Brewery as a young man and appreciated the family atmosphere that existed before a new owner took over.