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Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Sunday, September 07, 2008

Wooden sidewalks replaced in early 1900s

Q: During what period were the old wooden sidewalks in La Crosse’s 10th and Cass streets neighborhood replaced with concrete sidewalks?

A: Like today, property owners were financially responsible for sidewalks and their replacement. As a result, the La Crosse Common Council was reticent about requiring property owners to use certain materials in replacing sidewalks.

The La Crosse Public Library archivists were unable to find specific information on when plank sidewalks were replaced with concrete at 10th and Cass streets. Sidewalk resolutions dealing with Cass Street reveal orders to replace that stretch of sidewalk in 1913. Nowhere in the document does it say what construction material should be used, though concrete or concrete tile are good bets.

By 1900, the council specified that sidewalks in the downtown fire district be constructed of stone, brick, asphalt or concrete. Other properties outside this area were not directed to use specific

material.

For publicly owned property, the council simply decreed that sidewalks around schools, for instance, be replaced with concrete and budgeted money for this replacement, starting in 1903. Even then, the resolution simply designates cement tile or cement as the material of choice. By the following year, in 1904, the council passed legislation specifying that sidewalks abutting all new residences ought to be constructed of flagstone, hard brick, cement tile or asphaltum.

In the summer of 1903, many North Side homeowners were replacing plank sidewalks with concrete, so it’s plausible that a homeowner on or near the corner of 10th and Cass streets would have done so between 1899 and 1913.

In cooperation with the La Crosse Public Library, the Tribune invites readers to call in or e-mail questions of local interest. We’ll try to find the answers and publish them. The phone number for Ask the Trib is (608) 791-8450. Send questions to news@ lacrossetribune.com.