Property Record
1452 George Street
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Bethel Lutheran Church |
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| Other Name: | The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day |
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| Reference Number: | 33364 |
| Location (Address): | 1452 George Street |
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| County: | La Crosse |
| City: | La Crosse |
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| Year Built: | 1890 |
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| Additions: | C. 1907 1934 |
| Survey Date: | 19962024 |
| Historic Use: | house of worship |
| Architectural Style: | Early Gothic Revival |
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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: | 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. Pointed arched portal and stained glass windows; dentil trim along gable and under eaves of church and tower. Rectangular front centrally placed entrance tower with lowered belfry and pyramidal roofed short steeple with brackets under the eaves. Rectangular extension on south side with lentil cornice and gable roofed door hood. Altered by the addition of paint to its brick exterior, the former Bethel Lutheran Church is the earliest 19th century Gothic Revival church in the city, although it is not the best representative of the style. (St. John the Baptist at 832 Avon is more elaborate as is the small Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel also on Avon). Pointed arched portal and stained glass windows; dentil trim along gable and under eaves of church and tower. Rectangular front centrally placed entrance tower with lowered belfry and pyramidal roofed short steeple with brackets under the eaves. Rectangular extension on south side with lentil cornice and gable roofed door hood. 1996- "This brick church is characteristic of the Gothic Revival style. The entrance facade displays a central bell tower with a belfry and steeple. Original openings in the clapboard-sided belfry have been boarded over, while the steeple consists of an asphalt shingle, pyramidal roof with bracketed eaves. A pointed arch entrance carries two wooden doors, and a pair of similarly arched windows is situated above the entry. Four symmetrically placed, Gothic windows exist in the north and south side walls, while a similar example flanks each side of the bell tower in the main facade. A dentiled cornice runs along the gable and under the eaves of the structure. A one story, brick wing extends from the rear. This church was originally known as the Bethel Lutheran Church. It was constructed in 1889, making it the oldest Gothic Revival church in La Crosse. With its integrity largely intact, this church is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style built in Wisconsin during the late-nineteenth century." - "La Crosse North/South Transportation Corridor", WisDOT ID #5991-04-00, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (1996). 2016 UPDATE - CHURCH MOSTLY INTACT FROM WHEN LAST SURVEYED IN 1996. HAS HAD ALTERNATE USES, SUCH AS A PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO I THE RECENT PAST. 2024: Concrete ramp added after 2012. The Bethel Lutheran congregation was organized in 1886 by a small group of Norwegian immigrants who resided in North La Crosse. The group attended services at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church but wished to have a church closer to them on the north side of the city. Construction began on the church in 1889 and was completed in 1890. The congregation occupied the building until November 1958, when it relocated to a new church building at the southwest corner of Livingston and Loomis Streets (AHI #237442). The building was subsequently used by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is currently used as a residential property. |
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| Bibliographic References: | (A) City Directories. (B) "75th Anniversary Bethel Lutheran Church, 1886-1961," LaCrosse: Molzahn Printing Co., 1961; on file in the church history files of the LaCrosse Public Library, LaCrosse, Wisconsin. (C) La Crosse Chronicle, 1 April 1898. (D) La Crosse Weekly Chronicle, 12 December 1889. (E) La Crosse Tribune and Leader-Press, 13 March 1934. 2024: Our Origin,” in 75th Anniversary 1886-1961 Bethel Lutheran Church (Molzahn Printing Company, 1961). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |