Christ Episcopal Church (La Crosse, Wisconsin) Records

Historical note

The first complete worship services connected to Christ Episcopal Church were held June 23, 1850, on Grandad Bluff on the eastern edge of La Crosse. Services were held in various homes and businesses occasionally thereafter. On February 10, 1857, Christ Episcopal Church was officially organized. Christ Church was the only church in Wisconsin to celebrate communion every week during 1860.

Christ Church's first house of worship was constructed in 1863 at the corner of 9th and Main streets. This church was home to the first pipe organ in La Crosse and the first vested boys' choir in Wisconsin. A new church facility on the same premises of the original (111 N. 9th St.) was dedicated September 10, 1899.

The architectural survey describes the structure as being constructed from gray and red sandstone quarried from Grandad Bluff, Romanesque in style with a Venetian Renaissance interior. The church was completed with a gothic cruciform shape with counter balancing buttresses, a 108 foot tower, and two impressive leaded stained glass windows. A window, depicting a figure of Christ, was designed by the Tiffany Glass Decorating Co. of New York in 1898. The church sanctuary can seat 550 people.

Vinter Hall, an addition that provided space for church school classes, offices and a nursery, was constructed in 1962.