Some old buildings were getting attention, 15 years ago

In early 2006, the city of La Crosse was ordering the demolition of a nearly century-old building next to the new Cameron Avenue bridge.  The owners of Advanced Fiber Products on Cameron argued that the walls of the building were unstable because the two-year-old bridge was built only five feet away from the structure, said to be the original site of the Trane Company.   

One of the oldest houses in La Crosse was being recognized as part of the city’s 150th birthday.  The Rublee-Washburn House, high on a hill along Ferry Street, was built in 1856, the same year that La Crosse was declared a city.  For many years, it was the home of Cadwallader Washburn, who served as an area Congressman and Wisconsin’s governor.  The house still stands today, and has been listed as an endangered building within the city.   

One “W” in WWTC was endangered.  There were complaints about the plan to shorten the name of Western Wisconsin Technical College, by dropping the word “Wisconsin.” The change eventually did happen at Western Tech, but the name game was on in 2006, yesterday in La Crosse.