Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House
The house in 2012
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska) is located in Nebraska
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska) is located in the United States
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Location1545 R Street
Lincoln, Nebraska
Coordinates40°48′56″N 96°41′59″W / 40.81556°N 96.69972°W / 40.81556; -96.69972 (Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House)
AreaLess than one acre
Built1937 (1937)
Built byOlsson Construction
ArchitectMartin I. Aitken
Architectural styleArt Deco
NRHP reference No.86001183[1]
Added to NRHPMay 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

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

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

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d "Phi Delta Theta to Build". Lincoln Journal Star. March 17, 1937. p. 10. Retrieved July 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b "Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
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