Altfillish houses earn Historic Preservation Awards

The Decorah Historic Preservation Commission Thursday presented its annual award to five homes designed by regional architect Charles Altfillisch:

• The 1922 Charles and Abbie Weiser residence, 609 W. Broadway, owned by Dale and Susan Goodman
• The 1935 E. J. and Virginia Goen residence, 500 Fifth Ave., owned by Matthew and Jerita  Burreson
• The 1940 Lester and Helen Larson residence, 100 Pleasant Hill Drive, owned by Neal and Rhonda Sheeley
• The 1957 Charles and Leila Altfillisch residence, 801 Mound St., owned by Michael Tone, Jeff Tone, and Susan Tone Pierce
• The 1960 Hjalmar and Helen Carlson residence, 303 Upper Broadway, owned by Ben and Padrin Grimstad
  

According to Commission chair Mark Muggli, the five homes represent the range of Altfillisch's residential designs. "We aren't claiming these are the only important Altfillisch homes in Decorah, but they are excellent, well-preserved examples of the work he did in each of the five decades he was active in Decorah."
 
"This award represents an early stage in our Commission's long-term project to inventory and celebrate the whole of Altfillisch's work in Decorah," said Commission member Adrienne Coffeen. "We hope the award announcement and our ceremony will help unearth information about other Altfillisch designs."
 
Charles Altfillisch (1891-1978) came to Decorah in about 1919 and produced work into the 1960s. Some of his most prominent large-scale architectural designs in Decorah are the West Side School, the Municipal Center and Firehouse, and many buildings at Luther College, including Main III, Valders Hall of Science, and the Tower dormitories. As City Engineer, Altfillisch was perhaps the single most important figure in the development of the flood control plan that brought the dike system to Decorah in 1950.

"We think it is really cool that we can present awards to Altfillisch houses at a ceremony inside of an Altfillisch-designed building like City Hall," said Commission member Diane Scholl.