Riverside Park
Riverside Park has been opened since 1911, originally called Levee Park and is located off the Mississippi River and in downtown La Crosse. Riverside Park is well known for hosting Riverfest, the Rotary lights, being a docking station for the Mississippi Queen and the Julia Bell Swain. In addition, the park offers trails, open spaces, and plenty of areas to sit and enjoy the river. Visit website.
La Crosse Center
The La Crosse Center is located in the heart of the downtown La Crosse nested on the banks of the Mississippi River. This convention hall and arena was originally built in 1980. In the spring of 2000, the La Crosse Center nearly doubled in size with a $14 million expansion. The new project features two grand halls that combine for 36,000 square feet. The second floor hosts a 6,000 sq. ft. ballroom that has a spectacular view of the Mississippi River. Adjacent to the Ballroom are three boardrooms and a conference room. The entire complex provides nearly 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space. Visit website.
Pump House Regional Arts Center
Located in the historic downtown La Crosse, The Pump House offers a wide range of visual and performing arts activities. The Center contains three visual art galleries, the 140 seat Dayton Theatre, art education classrooms with kiln and ceramics workspace, a conference room and meeting areas. The original Pump House was built in 1880 by the City of La Crosse to house the first main water pump to provide the fire protection for the community. Visit website.
City Brewery
City Brewing Company is a premier, state-of-the-art beverage production and packaging company. The facility has been transformed from a historical brewery into a facility capable of manufacturing and packaging beers, teas, soft drinks, energy drinks and other new age beverages. Visit website.
Gundersen Lutheran
Gundersen Lutheran is among the nation's top five percent of hospitals and one of the leading healthcare rating organizations in the country. Visit website.
Franciscan Neighborhood - Viterbo
An historical area of La Crosse influenced by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration whose endeavors were the foundation for Viterbo University. Visit website.
Cass & Tenth Street Historic District
This residential district has a high concentration of mid- to late- 19th century architecturally significant homes built by prominent La Crosse pioneers. The six-block square district extends north to King St. and east to 11th St and was listed on the National and State Register of Historic Places in 2000. Visit website.
Cass & King Street Historic District
The Cass and King Historic Residential District is the most acclaimed concentration of late 19th- and early 20th- century homes in the city. It features over 220 contributing properties built between mid-1880s and early 1940s with 44 considered outstanding examples of their style (especially Queen Anne and Prairie styles). Visit website.
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was founded in 1909 as the La Crosse Normal School. Today, it is one of the 13 four-year campuses in the University of Wisconsin System. Originally known for its nationally recognized physical education program, UW-La Crosse now offers 85 undergraduate programs in 30 disciplines, and 21 graduate programs and emphases in eight disciplines. Visit website.
Oak Grove Cemetery
Oak Grove Cemetery was established in 1852 by the founding fathers of La Crosse. In 1872, a nonprofit citizens group acquired the 47-acre cemetery and incorporated as the Oak Grove Cemetery Association of La Crosse. The cemetery now encompasses 80 acres laid out with grave markers, mausoleum buildings, statues, and other artistic features. Oak Grove Cemetery.
Old Towne North
An historical district with its original charm. Antique lovers gather here to sort through Caledonia Street Antique Market's 6,000 sq. ft. of antiques and collectibles. The neighborhood also features an annual antique show and flea market. Visit website.
Copeland Park
Opened in 1909, Copeland Park is located on the north side of La Crosse and offers a playground, two shelters, ice skating during winter months, basketball and tennis courts, fishing, and a wading pool. The park is also home to the Loggers baseball field; the north side Oktoberfest grounds; and the historic steam locomotive, Milwaukee Road Caboose, and Grand Crossing Tower. Visit website.
Hixon House
The Hixon House is a beautiful look back in time at an authentic Victorian home. Begun in 1859 by lumber baron Gideon Hixon, this Italianate house features beautiful woodwork and lavish interior decoration. His wife, Ellen, decorated the Hixon House in the Aesthetic fashion, and it has been preserved much as it was after its last remodeling and redecoration around 1900. The Hixon House has approximately 90% of its original furnishings, making it unusual among historic houses. It is a National Historic Landmark. Phase One of the restoration was finished in 2005. Visit website.
Western Technical College
Western Technical College was founded in 1912 as La Crosse Continuation and Adult Schools. It has seen many expansions and name changes over is history and now offers over 40 associate degrees in four divisions: Business, Family and Consumer Sciences, Human Services, and Industrial Technologies. Visit website.
Public Library - Swarthout Museum
The Swarthout Museum features changing exhibits about the history of La Crosse County, about everything from local businesses to daily life in the past. Library service to citizens of La Crosse had its beginnings in a subscription organization founded in 1868, called the Young Men's Library Association. Upon the death of former Civil War general and Wisconsin governor, Cadwallader Colden Washburn, a large bequest was given to the city to purchase land and construct a building to be called the La Crosse Public Library. Ground was broken in 1887 and in November 1888 the red brick library was dedicated and open to the public.
Children's Museum - Fifth Avenue
Historic Fifth Avenue is home to the La Crosse Children's Museum and People's Food Co-Op.
Historic Pearl Street
This historic district in downtown La Crosse features The Pearl Ice Cream Parlor, The Grand Hotel and Ballroom Gallery, Art - 211 Pearl, Cheddarheads Gift Gallery, and TJ's La Crosse Shoppe. It's "a pearl on the Mississippi." Visit website.
Historic Downtown
Just a few steps from Riverside Park is one of the largest commercial historic districts in the state. The district boasts 110 buildings, of which 96 contribute to the historic character of the district; building dates and styles range from 1866 Victorian through 1940 Art Deco. Enjoying unique shops, entertainment, museums, galleries, and award-winning restaurants. Stroll the Riverwalk and Levee, and continue your walk or take a bike ride on the city trail that originates in Riverside Park. Visit website.
Lost La Crosse
You'll just have to take the tour to discover "Lost La Crosse!"
Riverside Museum
In 1870, the steamboat War Eagle burned and sank at the docks in La Crosse. The Riverside Museum features the largest collection of artifacts brought up from the wreck of the War Eagle, as well as exhibits about the impact that the rivers had on the growth and development of La Crosse. The museum also has many artifacts from the Mississippi Valley Archaeological Center. Visit website.
