La Crosse, WI. – The Wisconsin Historical Society placed the Caledonia Street Commercial Historic District (La Crosse, La Crosse County) on the State Register of Historic Places in February of 2021.
The Caledonia Street Commercial Historic District represents the development of a prominent commercial area on the north side of the city of La Crosse. The historic district consists of a single block of masonry buildings identifiable as a commercial satellite district specifically serving the neighborhood, in contrast to the larger commercial downtown district further south. The district is significant for its collection of commercial buildings and represents a range of design influences reflecting the continuity of architectural design trends through the mid-1960s, though many of these buildings possess a similar basic form.
Once part of the village of North La Crosse and later annexed into the city of La Crosse, the commercial district is located along an important transportation corridor, first having a streetcar line and subsequently being converted to state highway, demonstrating both the evolution of the community and the district’s significance as a commercial hub. Businesses provided a wide range of goods and services to the immediate neighborhoods and included dry goods stores, groceries, theaters, restaurants, taverns, pharmacies, and clothing stores with offices and apartment spaces above. This district continues to be an important neighborhood commercial core, providing goods and services as it has since 1883.
The State Register is Wisconsin’s official list of state properties determined to be significant to Wisconsin’s heritage. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Wisconsin Historical Society administers both the State Register and National Register in Wisconsin.
To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.
