Michigan Alpha Chapter House of Phi Delta Theta
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Designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn, the Michigan Alpha Chapter House of Phi Delta Theta is one of his notable residential buildings. The house, finished in 1903, is on the Michigan Register of Historic Places. It is located at 1437 Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor, Michigan near the southeast edge of the University of Michigan's Central Campus.
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[edit] History
The Michigan Alpha Chapter built their Georgian Revival style house between 1902 and 1903 as the fraternity's first permanent house on campus. Phi Delta Theta was the seventh fraternity established at the University of Michigan on November 28, 1864.[1] The house was built with funds from alumni, faculty members and active chapter members.
The three story house built by Koch Brothers construction firm replaced a mansion built by University of Michigan Librarian Andrew Ten Brook in the 1860s.[2] The house was constructed with red brick on a raised foundation featuring a projecting central portico entrance supported with doric columns. The house has thirteen bedrooms and can accommodate more than thirty residents.
On March 22, 1983, the State of Michigan Historic Preservation Office placed the house on the Michigan Register of Historic Places.[3] The house is considered historically and architecturally significant for two reasons. It is one of the earliest surviving examples of non-industrial, non-commercial designs by Kahn. It is also tied with another Kahn residential structure as the oldest fraternity house on the University of Michigan campus still being used by the organization that built it.
In the early 2000s, the Michigan Alpha Chapter spent approximately $500,000 to completely renovate the house and restore its historic integrity.[4] Today, the exterior of the house is almost identical to Kahn's original design. Elements of the interior finish were modified following major fires in the early 1970s and building code upgrades during the recent renovation; however, most of the original floor plan remains unchanged.
[edit] Reference and further reading
- Matuz, Roger (2007). Albert Kahn, Architect of Detroit. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814329566.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Phi Delta Theta.
- ^ Downtown Ann Arbor Historical Street Exhibit Program. Ann Arbor District Library.
- ^ Michigan Register of Historic Places. State of Michigan Historic Preservation Office.
- ^ "The Sword & Shield", Michigan Alpha Alumni Association, Vol. LXXVIII No. 2, Fall 2007.
