Charles Altfillisch had a greater impact on the present visual character of Decorah than any other single individual. As an engineer, from 1919 onwards he conceptualized and forcefully advocated for the Upper Iowa dike system, finally completed in 1951. As a city employee he designed major infrastructure systems and was in the 1930s the driving force behind the introduction of zoning and permitting procedures. He founded a Decorah firm that grew to four architects, who together designed many hundreds of buildings throughout the upper Midwest. Altfillisch designed major buildings at the University of Iowa, the Allamakee County Courthouse, and many hospitals and schools throughout the region.
The Decorah Historic Preservation Commission set out to catalog and celebrate Charles Altfillisch’s Decorah architecture. This ambitious volunteer effort resulted in extensive online resources: a detailed biography, a 60 property list organized within four tours, information on other Altfillisch properties, and a section of “Non-Altfillisch Properties” that corrects some common local misattributions.
Supported by the online resources, the free brochure includes a short bio, lists of the 60 properties on the 4 tours, a map, and a “Quick Tour” of the 6 best examples of Altfillisch’s work. The project cost of $2,500 was funded by the City of Decorah.
Charles Altfillisch was at one point very well-known, but after his retirement, his records were dispersed or destroyed. The challenge was to discover through research and interviews which buildings were his, to establish the contours of his career, and to revivify public interest in particular buildings and Altfillisch’s overall achievement. This project format–a free brochure supported by extensive, updatable online content–provides a useful model for other historic preservation research projects.
