The Decorah Historic Preservation Commission celebrates downtown Decorah's National Register of Historic Places designation

Members of the Decorah Historic Preservation Commission Tuesday afternoon celebrated the recent listing of the Decorah Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The ribbon-cutting outside the Chamber of Commerce building Tuesday afternoon marked the completion of a three-year project that began with a small state-funded project feasibility grant in late 2014.   The application to the National Register of Historic Places was made possible by a $25,000 State of Iowa Historical Resource Development Program REAP grant.  The state grant was matched by $6,500 in local donations and by over 1,000 hours of local volunteer research time.

Commission chair Mark Muggli said the support the project received was "a sign of Decorah's civic-mindedness."  He especially praised the work of the volunteer researchers who studied the histories of 128 downtown Decorah buildings.

Tuesday's event included a reception after the ribbon-cutting, which Muggli said was appropriate.  "For today, we'd just like to celebrate."

Decorah Historic Preservation Commission chair Mark Muggli