Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House | |
_from_NE_1.JPG) The house in 2012 | |
   | |
| Location | 1545 R Street Lincoln, Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°48′56″N 96°41′59″W / 40.81556°N 96.69972°W |
| Area | Less than one acre |
| Built | 1937 |
| Built by | Olsson Construction |
| Architect | Martin I. Aitken |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 86001183[1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 28, 1986 |
The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House is a historic house on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Art Deco-style house was built for the university's chapter of Phi Delta Theta. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
History
[edit]The Nebraska Alpha chapter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity was founded in 1875 at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska.[2] It was the first fraternity at the university.[3] However, it was inactive from 1876 to 1883 due to an anti-fraternity movement on campus.[2]
The fraternity built a new chapter house on 1545 R Street in 1937, south of the university's campus.[4][5][6] The house cost $55,000 ($1,261,396 in 2024) to build.[7] The fraternity moved into its new house in September 1937.[7] It was the fourth house occupied by the fraternity.[3]
The Lincoln City Council designated the house a Lincoln Landmark in September 1985.[4] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 1986, as the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House.[8]
Architecture
[edit]The fraternity hired local architect Martin I. Aitken to design its new chapter house on 1545 R Street in 1937.[4][6] The chapter house was built by the Olson Construction Company from concrete, steel, and buff stone, with no wood except for interior trim.[8][6][7] The house is an L-shaped, three-story structure with a flat roof.[5][4] It is in Art Deco style, which was rarely used for residential construction in Lincoln.[4][5]
The house's main facade is covered in Kansas limestone over brick and structural clay tile.[4][5] The other exterior walls was covered in buff colored brick.[5] Each story of the façade has three windows, that decrease in size from the ground level to the third floor.[5]
In the northeast corner, the house features a rounded tower of translucent glass blocks. Inside, the tower is a cantilevered circular staircase with a steel railing.[7][5] There are incised horizontal grooves at the corners, suggesting quoins.[4] The building is enclosed by a metal fence with a geometric Art Deco motif.[5]
The Phi Delta Theta House's interior has a foyer, a reception hall, a living room, a dining room, a card room, several studies, a kitchen, a trophy room, a chapter room, a house mother's room, and fourteen bedrooms to sleep thirty students.[4][6][3] The living room has a fireplace with a limestone mantle, carved to resemble the "quoin" exterior feature.[4] An L-shaped, two-story addition, built of similar materials, was added in 1966.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ a b Shepard, Francis W., ed. (1927). Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities (11th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Publishing Company. p. 123-125. – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "Modernist Design Features New Phi Delta Theta Chapter House". Lincoln Journal Star. March 21, 1937. p. 35. Retrieved July 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Edward F. Zimmer (January 10, 1986). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House". National Park Service. Retrieved May 21, 2019. With accompanying pictures
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sawyers, H. Keith; Olshavsky, Peter (July 17, 2018). "Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Phi Delta Theta to Build". Lincoln Journal Star. March 17, 1937. p. 10. Retrieved July 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House at 16th and R is one of the Most Distinctive in the United States". Lincoln Journal Star. September 12, 1937. p. 28. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
- ^ a b "Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
