iPhone Photography of Historic La Crosse, Wisconsin

Photos and text by Pete Sieger | July 18, 2024

Casino Bar, 304 Pearl Street. Photo by Pete Sieger.

POSTCARD

This past winter, while visiting my hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin, I did a walk-around in the historic downtown and photographed a variety of significant commercial buildings. With the unseasonably moderate temperature, and not a trace of snow anywhere, the photos look like they were shot in April or May. 

I used my best camera—the one I had on me—an iPhone 15 Pro Max. To achieve a less literal look, I rendered the images in black and white in keeping with the age of these historic structures. La Crosse lost many of its waterfront buildings to sweeping urban renewal in the 1960s. The Charmant Hotel, the Trust Point Building, Powell Place, the Pamperin Building, and the Casino Bar—all shown here—are a few of those that remain.

Photos 1–4: Pamperin Building, 113 Second Street South; Trust Point Building (originally the W.A. Roosevelt Company Building), 230 Front Street North; Powell Place, 105 Second Street South; and Charmont Hotel, 101 State Street. Photos by Pete Sieger.

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