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University Green Area Heritage StudyHistoric Burlington Research Project - HP 206Historic Preservation Program - University of Vermont |
439 College Street
(Phi Delta Theta House)
The
structure located at 439 College Street in Burlington, VT, is a Colonial
Revival style built in the early twentieth century for the Phi Delta
Many
of the first meetings of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity took place on the
second floor of the Merchants Bank Block, the Middlebrook Block on College
Street, and Johnson and Lord’s Block on College Street, among others.3 As the number of members grew in the following years, the fraternity looked for
a more permanent locale for their meetings. After renting the Old Herrick House
on the corner of College and Willard for several years, as well as the Willard
House on 89 North Prospect Street,4 the fraternity purchased their first house at 439 College Street (Photo to the
left, courtesy of UVM Special Collections). Originally built by the University
of Vermont President John Wheeler, the Vermont Alpha Chapter purchased the
historic building for about $10,000.5 The structure was owned by Leverett and Florence Englesby at the time6 but was being occupied by Owen R. Mason and his wife Sarah.7 Mason was the owner of Mason and Co., a building and contracting business
located at 144 College Street that specialized in the manufacturing of doors,
sashes, blinds, and house finishes.8
In
February of 1903 the Englesbys sold the property to the Vermont Alpha of Phi
Delta Theta.9 The fraternity occupied this house for
several years until it was deemed too small for the continuously growing number
of members. It was eventually torn down, most likely in 1921,10
Architect
William McLeish Dunbar (Photo to the left, courtesy of UVM Special Collections)
designed the new Chapter House for the Vermont Alpha of Phi Delta Theta and
oversaw its construction between the years of 1922 and 1923.12 Local materials were used in the construction of the building in an attempt to
emulate the serene beauty and essence of the Green Mountain State.13 White marble was harvested from Proctor quarries and local slate was used to
construct the roof of the new structure.14 Vermont birch wood was also brought in to assemble the floors.15 The building’s interior was designed with several classical features that
suited its function as a fraternity home and reflected upon the simplicity and
dignity of the classic culture.16
This
was all possible due to the generous financial assistance of Roy Leonard
Patrick, a Phi Delta Theta brother and a University of Vermont alumni.17 Patrick was one of Vermont’s foremost businessmen and an avid supporter of the
University of Vermont, as well as the fraternity of Phi Delta Theta.18 He is primarily credited as being the one who inspired the unique design of the
new Chapter House.19
Then
men of the Vermont Alpha of Phi Delta Theta relocated to a house at 110 Church
Street during the construction of their new Chapter House.20 A
reception was held in June of 1923 in dedication of the new building.21 A
large crowd of friends and alumni gathered to witness the unveiling of the new
house and listen to architect William McLeish Dunbar describe the interesting
features of the structure.22 By the Fall of 1923, the house was
ready to be lived in by the fraternity (First floor plan seen below, courtesy
of UVM Special Collections).23
The
years following 1923 show little alteration to the structure at 439 College
Street. It was only in recent years that the house fall into disrepair due to
low maintenance and misuse over time.24 In 2011 the University of Vermont sorority Alpha Delta Pi took up headquarters
at 439 College Street and has had renovations and repairs done to the building
so that it would be brought up to code.25 The sorority currently resides there.
Notes
1
Robert V. Daniels, The University of Vermont: The First Two Hundred Years, (Hanover,
NH: University
Press of New England,
1991), 111.
2
Phi Delta Theta, The Chapter House of Vermont Alpha and How It Came To Be,
(Burlington, VT:
Privately Printed, 1927),
2.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid., 6.
5
Charles E. Allen, About Burlington Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Hobart J. Shanley and
Company, 1905),
52.
6
Burlington, VT, Warranty Deed, compiled by Charles E. Allen, City Clerk, Received
for record February
4, 1903, Book 49, Page
374.
7
Burlington
City Directory, (Burlington, VT: L.P. Waite and Co. Publishers, 1902), 173.
8
Ibid.
9
Burlington, VT, Warranty Deed, compiled by Charles E. Allen, City Clerk, Received
for record February
4, 1903, Book 49, Page
374.
10
It is at this time that the fraternity
of Phi Delta Theta is listed as living at 110 Church Street according to:
Burlington City Directory, (Springfield, MA: H.A.
Manning Co., 1922), 294.
11
Phi Delta Theta, The Chapter House of Vermont Alpha and How It Came To Be,
(Burlington, VT:
Privately Printed, 1927),
12.
12
Ibid., 13.
13
William McLeish Dunbar, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity House: University
of Vermont, (Reprinted from The
Architectural Forum, May
1928), 697.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 704.
17
Phi Delta Theta, The Chapter House of Vermont Alpha and How It Came To Be,
(Burlington, VT:
Privately Printed, 1927),
1.
18
“Auld Lang Syne,” University of Vermont Alumni News, March 1953, Volume 33, Number 6,
Page 6.
19
Phi Delta Theta, The Chapter House of Vermont Alpha and How It Came To Be,
(Burlington, VT:
Privately Printed, 1927),
1.
20
Burlington
City Directory, (Springfield, MA: H.A. Manning Co., 1922), 294.
21
“Many Alumni and Friends at Fraternity
Reception,” The Vermont Cynic, June
29, 1923.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
United States Department of the
Interior, National Register of Historic Places. University Green Historic
District. NPS Form 10900a (886), 23.
25
The Vermont Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta
Theta went inactive in 2011.
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