Housing at the old county jail site? That was happening 52 years ago

The old 1965 courthouse and jail in La Crosse is now being converted to housing.  That building replaced an old jail at 10th and Zeisler Streets…and in 1965, Milwaukee lawyer Bruce Reid offered $12,000 to buy the former jail site, if he could also acquire adjoining city property with it.  Reid was planning a 72-unit apartment building near the marsh for $700,000.
 
Down the street from the new courthouse was the Federal Building at 4th and State, around since 1891.  There was talk of replacing it, but Washington said a new building might only include postal offices instead of other departments.  The new post office wasn’t built until the mid-70’s.  
 
Baton twirlers with the Tomah High School band got their pictures in the paper, with their new costumes.  The Tomah teams were called the Indians, and the baton girls were wearing Indian headdresses and buckskin costumes.  
 
In the fall of ’65, “The Addams Family” was a popular prime-time show.  Ted Cassidy, as Lurch the butler, recorded a dance song that was featured on the Halloween episode of “American Bandstand”…52 years ago, yesterday in La Crosse.