Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity House, 1108 South First Street, Champaign, Champaign County, IL

2015 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Entry

Significance: Alpha Rho Chi was the first architectural fraternity in the United States. The Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity House has contributed to the broad pattern of higher education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the identified period of significance for Greek letter society houses on campus (1928-1940). As a fraternity, it embodied a lifestyle that characterized a significant supplementary component of the higher education process during the overall period of significance for the property type.

The chapter house is a prime example of Arts and Crafts style architecture as derived from its English antecedents and the French Eclectic architectural style. Characteristics of these styles prominent on the Alpha Rho Chi Fraternity House include its asymmetrical massing, steeply pitched English clay tile roof, picturesque chimneys, comer entrance tower, quoins, and unusual brickwork.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2117 N2118

Survey number: HABS IL-333

Building/structure dates: 1928 Initial Construction

fraternities and sororities colleges education tile roofs chimneys quoins brick buildings oval windows hip roofs arches dormitories concrete foundations limestone wood structural frames wood floors tile floors dormers fireplaces housing crests weather vanes turrets towers champaign alpha rho chi anthemios chapter alpha rho chi corporation anthemios alumni association yolanda baez batista dana burgess corey buss jennifer chorosevic lisa pfueller davidson nancy a edwards catherine ferrari david fleming allison gloude historic american buildings survey paul hardin kapp steven lentz raphael lescure greg morse elaine o mara carl rapps danely and smith royer mark schara aqeel shhaib william simon truman jefferson strong muhammad taimur sarwar samantha turney kelly valin christopher woollard photo alpha rho chi fraternity house south first street champaign county illinois architectural diagrams library of congress

1928 - 1980

Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/

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