HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A downtown La Crosse bar where owner Paul Malin allegedly died by suicide in 1901; employees report moving objects, slamming doors, and a apparition with cold spots in the basement.
122 S 4th St, La Crosse, WI 54601
Research updated June 2026
Age
21+
Cost
$
Bar; standard drink prices
Access
Limited Access
Historic downtown building; basement-level activity area not publicly accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Malin Pool and Sample Room — late 19th-century La Crosse tavern · Site of Paul Malin's 1901 death · La Crosse downtown commercial history
The building at 122 S 4th St in downtown La Crosse has a documented history going back to the late 19th century, when it operated as the Malin Pool and Sample Room under owner Paul Malin. The La Crosse Tribune covered the property in a local history piece that confirmed Malin's presence and the building's role as a neighborhood tavern during La Crosse's saloon-dense Prohibition-era history.
Paul Malin allegedly died by suicide in the building in 1901, a detail preserved in local oral history and documented in the La Crosse Tribune's historical reporting. The exact circumstances remain unclear in surviving records. After Malin's death, the property changed ownership repeatedly over the following decades, eventually operating as the Bodega Brew Pub.
La Crosse's South 4th Street district was part of the city's commercial and entertainment core during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, serving a working-class clientele with ties to the river trade and lumber industry. The building's longevity as a tavern across multiple ownerships reflects that durable commercial use pattern.
Sources
The Bodega Brew Pub's paranormal reputation centers almost entirely on the basement, described by multiple employees as the most active area of the building. Cold spots have been reported that seem to move through the space rather than remaining fixed — a detail captured in both the La Crosse Tribune's historical feature and the Haunted Bar Guide's documentation.
The figure identified as Paul Malin has been reported in the basement by staff. Slamming doors and objects moving of their own accord round out the reported phenomena. The La Crosse Tribune's 'The Way It Was' history column treated the ghost story as an established piece of local lore with roots in the building's documented 1901 history.
Malin's alleged 1901 death by suicide in the building provides a traceable historical anchor for the haunting narrative, distinguishing the Bodega from venues where the ghost story has no verifiable origin. No independent documentation of the exact circumstances of Malin's death was located in available sources.
Notable Entities
A functioning bar in a building with over a century of documented history. The basement — site of reported cold spots and Paul Malin's alleged 1901 death — is not publicly accessible, but the building's ground floor retains the atmosphere of a classic downtown tavern that has changed hands many times.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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