Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity House
Also known as: Eta Chapter House of Kappa Delta Rho
Why it's listed
Completed in 1929 at a cost of $75,000, this fraternity house at 1110 South Second Street in Champaign was built for the Eta Chapter of Kappa Delta Rho, established at the University of Illinois in 1921. The two and one-half story building has stucco over brick and limestone, a steeply pitched hipped roof, a square stair tower, and an ornate limestone basket-handle arch around the front door carved with the fraternity crest. Inside, a barrel-arched entry hall with coffered plaster ceilings, a wrought iron bannister, French doors, and a double-sided fireplace with a lincrusta frieze of horsemen survive largely original. The house was listed as an especially intact example of the fraternity house type, which became the main form of organized student housing on the Urbana-Champaign campus. It is also recognized as the finest French Eclectic design among the campus Greek houses. Its significance period runs from 1929 to 1940.
Significance in brief: It is described as one of the most intact examples of the fraternity or sorority house property type at the Urbana-Champaign campus, reflecting the Greek letter society movement in campus student housing (Criterion A). It is also called the finest example of French Eclectic style among Greek houses on the Illinois campus (Criterion C).
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90000750, listed May 21, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 1110 S. Second St., Champaign |
|---|---|
| County | Champaign County |
| Listed | May 21, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000750 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1929-1940 |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: French Eclectic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as education-related housing, with an active fraternity; minor exterior material replacements and some interior changes have been made. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.10463, -88.23749 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90000750.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20710941
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.