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1963 Map of La Crosse

Name: 1963 Topographic Map of La Crosse
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1975
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1975

About this map

La Crosse is defined by its dramatic position between the Mississippi River and the high limestone bluffs of the Driftless Area. This 1963 survey, photorevised in 1974, details an urban landscape constrained by water and rock, showing the dense residential grid pressing against the base of Granddad Bluff and Cliffwood Bluff. The city’s institutional history is prominent, featuring numerous parish schools like Blessed Sacrament Sch and Aquinas High Sch, alongside Viterbo College and the Holy Cross Seminary.

Industry and transport are shaped by the rivers, with the Black River and La Crosse River converging near North La Crosse. The map captures the infrastructure of the era, including the La Crosse Municipal Airport on French Island and a complex rail network including the Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific. Outlying settlements like Shelby and Medary illustrate the early suburban expansion into Smith Valley and Ebner Coulee before later development altered these traditional drainage patterns.