Rao S. Govindaraju meets with Martha Altschaeffl in the living room of her home, which she is donating to the Lyles School of Civil Engineering.

Donation of house honors Al Altschaeffl, who contributed to many iconic campus structures

What do Mackey Arena, Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering, the Bell Tower and the Gateway to the Future arch have in common? They are among the more than 170 building projects across campus with soil foundations designed by Al Altschaeffl (BSCE 1952, MSCE 1955 PhD 1960), a professor of civil engineering with expertise in geotechnical engineering who continued to consult on projects following his retirement from the University in 2000.

His interests outside of work included stamp collecting, reading, investing and volunteering at Church of the Blessed Sacrament and West Lafayette School Corporation. Al died on April 12, 2019, in his West Lafayette home.

To honor Al’s devotion to Purdue, his wife, Martha (Filiatreau) Altschaeffl (HHS 1965, MA 1966), is donating the home the couple shared for 51 years together to the Lyles School of Civil Engineering through a planned gift. The house will be used as a temporary residence for visiting scholars and faculty. Built in 1929, it sits on Northwestern Avenue directly across from the Purdue Athletics facilities where the couple attended many Boilermaker athletic events.

Al Altschaeffl (third from left) with fellow civil engineering students.

“Al loved everything related to Purdue Athletics,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “Basketball, football, volleyball, baseball, wrestling — he enjoyed it all. He would usher at football and basketball games. On our first date, Al took me to a wrestling match in Lambert Fieldhouse. After that, he just kept calling.”

The couple was married in 1966 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on campus and held their wedding reception in the Anniversary Drawing Room in the Purdue Memorial Union. Two years later, they bought their dream home. Martha was the first to tour the three-bedroom house and fell in love with it because it reminded her of the house she grew up in. When Al looked at the house, he brought his friend Martin Gutzwiller, a professor of structural engineering from 1949-1982, along to help evaluate its construction. Gutzwiller’s approval of the structural integrity of the house, along with its prime location, made it an ideal home for the Altschaeffls.

Over the years, Al and Martha enjoyed entertaining in their home. They hosted receptions for award recipients and invited graduate students for backyard barbecues. Al served as major professor to approximately 100 graduate students during his tenure, many of whom remained in touch with the Altschaeffls. Recently, Martha met a man working on a neighbor’s house who recognized the name Altschaeffl and told her he had been a student in Al’s soils class and that Professor Altschaeffl was the only instructor he had who made the material easy to understand.

“Al expected a lot from his students,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “He could be tough. I hear from former students all the time. They would come back to visit us years later. Most of them have had very successful careers.”

Martha Altschaeffl on the stairs of her home, shortly after the couple moved in, in 1968.

From Humble Beginnings

A child of German immigrants, Al Altschaeffl was born in the United States. His father was unable to find work, so the family returned to Germany to live with relatives.

“Once Hitler came to power, they were afraid Al would be drafted into the Hitler Youth,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “So they came back to the United States and settled in New York. Al was a brilliant man. He attended the academically prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School before he came out to Purdue for college.”

Al Altschaeffl enrolled at Purdue as a freshman in 1948 and joined the faculty after earning his master’s and PhD. His expertise in soil mechanics made him a sought-after consultant on many of Purdue’s most iconic building projects. He especially enjoyed working on Purdue Arena in 1964, later renamed Mackey Arena, and the 2007 addition to the venue.

He also ushered at the Hall of Music, helped plan the logistics for commencement ceremonies for 30 years and served on the University Senate. Living right across the street from campus, the Altschaeffls walked to work every day.

Martha Altschaeffl arrived at Purdue in 1962, disembarking a bus from Louisville with only one suitcase. A graduate student in home management and family economics, Martha was a home management house adviser for undergraduate seniors. The curricula at the time included a homestay where seniors lived together and managed the household as part of their coursework.

“There were four houses in a row on State Street and I oversaw house No. 1,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “The students had to cook and clean, purchase groceries and plan a party. Here I was right out of college and I was supposed to be advising them on all this stuff.”

After some time as house mother, Martha Altschaeffl switched her focus to liberal arts and earned a second master’s degree in English. She eventually taught undergraduate courses in the department for 25 years, retiring soon after Al did. She was active in Purdue Women’s Club for many years, organizing the annual bus trip to Chicago. She also is board secretary for the West Lafayette Library Board of Trustees.

A Legacy of Loyalty

Martha Altschaeffl’s favorite space in the house is the living room. With textured walls, high ceilings, archways and ornate gates leading to the wooden staircase, the charming space exudes a cozy ambiance. The Altschaeffls are the third owners of the home.

“You live in a place long enough and you start to gather a lot of things,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “I could not imagine leaving this house with all its 50 years of accumulated life. One day, I was sitting on the sofa in the living room and I thought, ‘Why don’t I give the house to Purdue in Al’s memory?”

After 50 years with a birds’-eye view of a bustling campus, Martha Altschaeffl now sits in her living room imagining how the next occupants will enjoy the house that she and Al made a home. A plaque will be installed in the house, recounting the impact of the Altschaeffls’ shared Purdue legacy. But, as Martha will tell you, she’s not doing this for herself. She’s doing it for Al.

“Al devoted his entire life to Purdue,” Martha Altschaeffl said. “I want him to be remembered. I hope that the donation of this house will make his lifetime of contributions to the University more visible to future generations.”

Ways to Give

Although the majority of gifts to support Purdue come in some form of cash, trust or planned and estate gifts, the Purdue for Life Foundation accepts gifts of all kinds, including stocks, bonds and mutual funds or personal property such as art, jewelry and real estate. Learn more at purdueforlife.org/ways-to-give.

R.B. Stewart Society

The R.B. Stewart Society recognizes special benefactors who make a commitment to the future of the University in their estate plan — regardless of the amount. In his 36 years as controller and later vice president and treasurer, Stewart introduced pioneering ways of expansion through trust gifts and interest-free bonds, enabling Purdue to grow its endowment immensely. In 1971, Stewart made a planned gift to Purdue by donating his home, Westwood. It has served as the home of Purdue’s president ever since.