remembering the non-extant matthew uhl rowhouse (1871) through the discovery of a newel post

over the christmas holiday we visited family and friends in my hometown of la crosse wisc. during our stay, and like others past, i managed to find time to photograph the ever-changing urban landscape (including an old train yard) in and around the downtown area.

quite a bit has changed since i left la crosse in the late 1990's for undergraduate and graduate schooling in minneapolis, mn. the downtown area is more commonly referred to as "historic downtown la crosse," which was first introduced as early as 1990 with the founding of the non-profit organization "downtown mainstreet inc." in the past five to ten years, the "historic" component has really gained momentum, which i applaud and largely support.

the organization's efforts to slowly but surely reverse some of the horrific "remuddlings" that heavily damaged (in some cases irreversibly) the historic character of many downtown buildings during urban renewal. unfortunately, a few of the commercial buildings fell victim to the wrecking ball, either from major fires or the "need" to introduce new development, in the form of "cookie cutter" condos and commercial buildings.

one such case where a building was lost and still remains a rather sensitive topic of discussion, was brought to light again when we dropped by the storage facility of a local artisan and preservationist, who has been "collecting" artifacts from demolition sites since the 1970's. the dimly-lit building coupled with the arrangement or rather piles of "stuff" felt like we had walked in on an "american pickers" episode, sans mike and frank.

many artifacts he has gathered over the years are not for sale, and i respect that very much. however, when navigating through the terrain of this quasi-hoarder, i came across a painted newel post tucked away in a corner. i knew the exact building it was salvaged from. fortunately, this was one of the few artifacts he was willing to part with. after agreeing on a price, i placed it in the car containing boxes of socks, sweaters and frosted cookies from relatives.

when i returned to the shop after the chistmas holiday, i had a workman in the shop strip multiple layers of paint that had been applied time and again over the years. once completed to my satisfaction, i was given a refinished solid oak wood newel post that was truly impressive - both in the richness and overall character of the grain.

the elaborately tapered and turned solid oak wood newel post with original "cap" was rescued from the non-extant row houses constructed for dr. matthew uhl in 1871 (built at a cost of 6,000 dollars) by architect william nichols. additions were later constructed between 1872-73. there were three stooped entrances that contained impressive double doors with arch top panes of glass and white porcelain doorknobs with cast brass shanks. three identical staircases with matching oak wood newel posts with turned spindles and railing led the way to the second floor apartments. the basement level spaces were reserved for commercial concerns, including an old barbershop where as a boy, i would get a haircut every now and then.

the uhl row houses were considered to be the earliest and "best preserved" examples of a multiple dwelling complex remaining in the downtown area, if not the city. the italianate style red brick building with flat roof, retained the original painted wood bracketed cornice. in addition, the facade contained projecting limestone rectangular-shaped window hoods on the second floor and pedimented-shaped hoods or headers above the first floor windows.

remarkably, the two-over-two wood sash windows with largely intact "wavy" glass panes were slightly modified on only two of the windows along the facade. all the other windows were largely untouched since the time of construction.

dr. uhl constructed the row houses as speculative property at a time when the city of la crosse was enjoying rapid growth. interestingly, uhl's residence, believed to be a handsome frame dwelling, was located nearby at the corner at 6th and main street (non-extant).

despite public outcry, protests and in one case, a woman handcuffing her arm to one of the exterior railings when the backhoe arrived (she was later arrested) as a radical last-ditch effort to prevent demolition, the uhl row houses were brought down in 2004 and replaced with a bland and unsightly newly-built apartment complex.

the three images posted in the gallery below depict the newel post after being refinished and photographed in my studio. the black and white image posted above shows one of the three newel posts "in situ" taken by me around 2001. all three staircases were completely intact, comprised of oak and heavily painted.