{"nrhp_refnum":"08000876","name":"La Crosse Hotel","other_names":["DHR file no. 250-5001-0003"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"201 Central Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"La Crosse","county":"Mecklenburg County","state":"VA","lat":36.69759706200006,"lon":-78.09289758899996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick railroad hotel at 201 Central Avenue in the small town of La Crosse, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, built in 1917 by John H. Coulter.","why_significant":"The hotel is argued to be an outstanding, locally significant example of an early 20th century small-town railroad hotel with excellent integrity. It is significant in Commerce for serving travelers and locals, especially through its communal dining, under three women managers. It is significant in Architecture for its Colonial Revival design and intact interior finishes.","narrative":"Built in 1917 across the tracks from the Seaboard Air Line depot in La Crosse, Virginia, this two-story brick hotel served travelers and townspeople for decades. It has an L-shaped plan, a hipped metal roof, and a full-width screened front porch mixing Colonial Revival and Craftsman details. Inside are a lobby, a large parlor with a brick fireplace, a dining room, and guest rooms off double-loaded corridors. Dark varnished trim survives, as do colorful floral linoleum floor coverings in many upstairs rooms. John H. Coulter built the hotel, and Belle Willis ran it for more than 25 years, followed by the Rockwell family. Guests included traveling salesmen, railroad officials, long-term boarders such as teachers, and the entertainer Minnie Pearl. Meals were served three times a day in the communal dining room. The building is recognized for its commercial role in the town and for its well-preserved early twentieth-century design. The Town of La Crosse bought it in 2003 for use as a visitor center.","period_of_significance":"1917-1958","architect_builder":"Unknown (built in 1917 by John H. Coulter, per the property history)","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Owned by the Town of La Crosse, which is rehabilitating it as a visitor center; the hotel closed in 2001 and the form lists current use as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.419445-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/6819/41681938/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08000876.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000876/aa7a7df72f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000876/aa7a7df72f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LACROSSE_HOTEL,_MECKLENBURG_COUNTY,_VA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LACROSSE_HOTEL,_MECKLENBURG_COUNTY,_VA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41681938","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Crosse_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14712680"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/mecklenburg-county/la-crosse-hotel-08000876/"}