The Luther College campus has been added to the National Register of Historic Places

The Luther College central campus has officially been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The designation applies to the college's original 32 acres of land, 24 buildings and nine 'objects' or outdoor sculptures. Said Luther College President Jenifer K. Ward, "This designation creates new student, faculty and staff opportunities for understanding the interplay between architecture, landscape and history." The three and a half year process was co-led by Luther College and by the Decorah Historic Preservation Commission, which in 2017 was working on a project to catalog and celebrate the work of local architect/engineer Charles Altfillisch. Decorah Historic Preservation Commission Chair Mark Z. Muggli says, "Our work on Altfillisch led us to Luther College, where Altfillisch has the remarkable record of having designed every major Luther building between the 1926 Preus Gymnasium and the mid-1960s Tower dorms. The project initially focused on the under-appreciated 1952 Main III, but as we looked more broadly, we wanted to acknowledge Luther's large collection of mid-century modern buildings and its distinctive landscape." Muggli says the project received crucial support from former Luther College staff member Ryan Engelman, former Luther Vice President for Finance and Administration Eric Runestad, Luther President Paula Carlson and Luther College Archivist Hayley Jackson. A National Register designation requires local certification, evaluation and endorsements at the State Historic Preservation Office, and final designation by the federal Department of the Interior. Although many colleges have individually designated NRHP buildings, there are only three existing Iowa colleges with an extensive historic district and only a large handful of such districts in the upper Midwest.