By Cole Kindiger
La Crosse Tribune
LA CROSSE, Wis. — The National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of culturally important sites, recently added a beloved La Crosse building.
La Crosse’s Fire Station No. 4, listed in late August, was originally constructed in 1941 to blend into the existing residential neighborhood — so much so that it was reused as a single-family residence.
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The La Crosse Heritage Preservation Commission declared the station, the city’s first modern firehouse, a historical landmark in May 2021. It was added to Wisconsin’s historic register in June, along with a handful of other buildings including city hall and La Crosse’s only synagogue.
The old Fire Station No. 4 was built at the southeast corner of Gillette and Liberty streets, about two miles north of downtown La Crosse.
The city built the station with the most up-to-date technology and firefighting equipment available at the time. With its functional planning and residential scale, historians recognize the station as the first modern firehouse in La Crosse.
The building is associated with the history of firefighting in La Crosse and represents the evolution from the city’s older 19th-century firehouses, located outside of the city’s center. The station stands as the third-oldest standing firehouse in La Crosse, and according to historians, its unique scale and architectural style set it apart from its peers.
The firehouse served the surrounding community until it was decommissioned in 2024. Soon after, retired assistant fire chief Jeff Murphy purchased and renovated it to become his private residence.
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