{"nrhp_refnum":"90000114","name":"Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House","other_names":["Alpha Sigma Phi,Tau Delta Phi,Chi Phi Fraternity Houses"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"313 E. John","address_restricted":false,"city":"Champaign","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.109083027000054,"lon":-88.23369368299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-02-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half story, Tudor-influenced brick fraternity house at 313 E. John Street in Champaign, Illinois, built in 1906 by local realtor Marion F. Tackett to plans by E. G. Oldefest.","why_significant":"The house is significant under Criterion A as an early surviving example of the Greek Letter Society movement, which shaped higher education on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. It kept its design integrity and was home to several fraternities over time, reflecting the campus fraternity scene.","narrative":"Built in 1906 at 313 E. John Street in Champaign, this brick fraternity house has a slight Tudor influence, with gabled pavilions, shouldered parapets, sandstone lintels and sills, and a one-story entry porch with square brick posts. Marion F. Tackett, a local realtor who leased many early fraternity and sorority houses, built it for the Delta Pi chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon, using plans drawn by chapter member and 1906 alumnus E. G. Oldefest. Alpha Sigma Phi bought it in 1921 and occupied it until 1929, followed by Tau Delta Phi through 1939. After 1940 it served as a private dormitory until Greek use resumed in 1983, and Chi Phi purchased it in 1986. Apart from a small one-story south addition and minor code-related changes, the building retains its exterior form and much of its oak interior woodwork and staircase. It is valued as an early surviving example of campus fraternity housing at the University of Illinois.","period_of_significance":"1906 - 1939","architect_builder":"Oldefest, E.G.","architectural_style":"Tudor Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Currently used as a fraternity house (Chi Phi, which purchased it in 1986); it was a private dormitory from 1940 until 1983.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.103108-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/8907/28890751/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/90000114.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000114/55b585cd64-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000114/55b585cd64-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Dekes_uiuc.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Dekes_uiuc.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28890751","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Kappa_Epsilon_Fraternity_House_(Champaign,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q20711238"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/delta-kappa-epsilon-fraternity-house-90000114/"}