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< Image: courtesy of the La Crosse
Public Library Archives
Henry Linker, a German immigrant and one of a family of
barbers, seems originally to have bought the
Postoffice Barber Shop and Bath Rooms from a Mr J W Birney soon after arriving
in La Crosse in 1881. An advertorial in the 1885-6 edition of Philippi's directory of the City of La
Crosse (La Crosse, Wis. : Philippi, 1885), notes that at his shop, situated
below the post office at 400 Main Street,
'His Bath Rooms are the largest and best appointed in La
Crosse, and are kept, as indeed is his whole establishment, most scrupulously
neat and clean.'
By 1890, Henry had been joined by brothers Charles and
George and had moved to 329 Main Street on the corner with Fourth Street. Henry
seems to have died shortly afterwards and by 1895 Charles and George had added
Turkish baths to their establishment and were trading as Linker Bros (C & G Linker)
Barber shop and Turkish Bath Rooms. None but
skilled artists employed and all work guaranteed to please the most fastidious.
Plain and Turkish Baths.
Turkish baths had become popular in La
Crosse by this time and there were already others in town. La Crosse Turkish
Bath Institute had opened in 1885 and was still in existence; there was another
new establishment just opened by J C Perkins a little further down Main Street
at No.204; and the Turkish baths which were to open in an extension to St
Francis Hospital1
in 1896 must have been well into the planning stage at this time.
The Linkers' Turkish baths must have been a success; by the
turn of the century they had moved into a new building, the Linker Building, on
the opposite side of Main Street at number 328.
< Image: courtesy of the La Crosse
Public Library Archives
This advertisement (above) for Linker's Turkish Bath Parlors
appeared in the 1905-1906 edition of Philippi's directory, and shows the new building
as it must have appeared when it opened. Fourth Street is on the left of the
image, and Main Street on the right.
The Linker Building at 329
Main Street: another view
In this image, the new building can be seen on the corner,
this side of Fourth Street and just beyond the Lyric Theatre, looking down Main
Street. Above the drink advertisement on the side of the building
can be seen a rather smaller one for 'Linker Bros Turkish Baths'.
Interestingly, when Linkers moved to the new building, another Turkish bath
was opened in their old premises by Messrs Weidner & Taggart. The brothers must
have been confident that, as the newest facility in town, they had little to
worry about.
Their prices were low compared with those in, for example, New York
or London, and their advertisement in the 1900 edition of Philippi's
directory (below), soon after they moved, made a point of mentioning the electric lighting and
ventilation, and this probably gave them good reason to be confident.
< Image: courtesy of the La Crosse
Public Library Archives
In 1916 the Linkers built another new
building, The Linker Hotel, Barber Shop and Turkish Bath, further down Main
Street at Nos.318-320.2
The second Linker Building 1916—
Here they remained until the hotel came under a new
management in 1937 and the lower floor and lobby were completely remodelled. By
this time the Linkers had become more interested in property
and industrial development.
Footnotes
1.
Memoirs of La
Crosse County… / by Benjamin F Bryant. — Madison, Wis : Western
Historical Association, 1907
Back
2.
A Checklist of La
Crosse hotels and motels, 1840s-1967 / compiled by Virginia Kreyer,
Carolyn Nelson, Donna Rumppe. — La Crosse, Wis : Murphy Library, 1978. — (Area
Research Center checklist series)
Back
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Anita Taylor Doering, Archivist, La Crosse Public Library Archives,
for help with information about the Linkers and their buildings
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