Property Record
229 2ND AVE N
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Irving and Alberta Pertzsch House |
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| Reference Number: | 230954 |
| Location (Address): | 229 2ND AVE N |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | Onalaska |
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| Year Built: | 1951 |
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| Survey Date: | 2015 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Ranch |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | 2016 survey report information: This sprawling, one-story Ranch house is sheathed with stone veneer and topped with a hipped roof. The street-facing elevation is dominated by large picture windows, including a mitered corner window, as well as three entrances. Windows along the side elevations appear to include original, horizontal sash examples; a porthole window is located along the south elevation of the garage wing. The house, which overlooks Lake Onalaska, was built in 1951 by Irving “Irv” H. and Alberta (nee Latshaw) Pertzsch, who wed in 1930. Following his 1923 graduation from Onalaska High School, Irving (born Irvin) first worked for the Standard Oil Company in Onalaska. After building Standard Oil stations in the area, he started in 1929 his own construction company which included bridge construction. The firm is identified as having built five of the bridges that link Wisconsin to Minnesota, along I-90; the company also paved STH 35 when it was built in 1952. After serving two years as an alderman, Irving was elected mayor of Onalaska in 1936 and served five consecutive, two-year terms. It was during this period that, along with the aid of WPA grants, he was instrumental in the installation of the city’s sewage system. It was also during this time that many of the city’s streets were first paved. In 1950, an elementary school was named after him; the school (located at 524 Main Street) continues to bear his name. Following the 1950 death of Mayor Ben Sias and the immediately subsequent death of John Nicholson (Sias’s replacement, who died just three days later) the City Council appointed Pertzsch to fulfill the term. He would hold the mayoral position until 1974. He officially retired from the construction business in 1982 and died in December 1984. Highlights of his civil service career include the 1936 dedication of Lake Onalaska, and the 1968 dedication of the new Onalaska City Hall (no longer extant). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for information below: Alonzo and Eleanore Herdrich to Irvin and Alberta Pertzsch, Warranty Deed, 13 December 1949, 228/313, #533115, this and all deeds hereafter on file at the Register of Deeds Office, La Crosse County Courthouse, La Crosse, WI; Pertzsch biographical information included in Dolbier, From Sawmills to Sunfish, 92-93, 145, 155, 156, 270; Moore, “Pertzsch Is Proof Nice Guys Get Elected,” 2/1-4. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |