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