| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Flat-roofed three-story apartment house; white stone trim and two-story round corner bays. Projecting cornice with medallion brackets and dentil trim and parapet above; belt course under 3rd story window; flat arched windows; three-story round tower on front west corner with rough stone belt courses; three-story three-sided west and east projecting bays; stone sills shed roofed two-story open frame porch; altered entrance with added suspended door hood.
This vernacular restored structure constructed in 1904 is important as a representative of early apartment architecture in La Crosse.
This brick veneer apartment building probably was fairly prestigious in its day. Among the first tenants were Louis Conger, chief clerk of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad; Sarah Gelatt, widowed mother of R.B. Gelatt of the La Crosse Press; and Mrs. John D. Hogan, widow of the manager of the James J. Hogan's La Crosse Coffee and Spice Mills. (B) J.J. Hogan had established the mill in 1859 and by 1904 was a director of the Batavian Bank, former La Crosse mayor, and former Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
1996- "Rising three stories from a rusticated masonry foundation, this brick apartment building has round tower bays at each corner of the main (King Street) facade and three-sided projecting bays at the rear corners. A bracketed and dentiled projecting cornice with brick parapet tops the third story of the building, obscuring the structure's flat roof. A molded belt course runs beneath the upper story fenestration, and rusticated stone trim doubles as continuous heads and sills for the windows within the round tower bays. A full, three story open porch is located to the rear of this 1904 apartment building, historically known as the McDonald Flats. (The neighboring, two story apartment building--similar in appearance and construction--was also built in 1904, and known as the McDonald Flats). Windows and their metal overhangs are admittedly modern replacements, as is a shed roof porch entry with columnar supports."
- "La Crosse North/South Transportation Corridor", WisDOT ID #5991-04-00, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (1996).P
2017 UPDATE - BUILDING APPEARS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME AS WHEN IT WAS LAST SURVEYED IN 1996.
2023: McDonald Flats (B) is a three-story, Transitional Queen Anne Colonial Revival residential flat constructed in 1904. It is of wood construction sheathed in a brick veneer with a rectangular plan and a limestone block foundation. It has a flat roof with a simple parapet. Decorative elements include a projecting cornice with dentils, stringcourse below the upper windows, and three-story rounded bays at each corner of the building. Fenestration includes replacement, one-over-one, double-hung, vinyl sash. Some windows have stone sills and lintels. A porch is on the front (north) facade; it has a partial, corrugated metal, shed roof covered in asphalt shingles that is supported by Ionic columns. Openings directly above the porch were likely a second-story porch. Modern wood stairs on the rear (south) elevation of the building lead to secondary entrances to the individual units on each story. There is a basement entrance on the side (east) elevation.
This McDonald Flats building, known as unit B, was designed by local architects Hugo Schick and Andrew Roth, who are noted for their work with Gustave Stoltze designing commercial buildings in downtown La Crosse. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) Dr. L. Crocker, Dept. of Art, U.W. - La Crosse.
(B) La Crosse City Directory, 1905-1906.
(C) La Crosse of Today (1904), p. 23.
LACROSSE TRIBUNE 4/18/1995.
A. La Crosse Chronicle, 4 July 1903, 6 September 1903, 5 April 1904.
B. La Crosse Republican Leader, 13 April 1903.
C. La Crosse Leader Press, 22 September 1903, 11 February 1904. |
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