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Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House (Lincoln, Nebraska)
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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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]
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Architecture
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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]
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References
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