Phi Mu Sorority House
Also known as: Delta Beta Chapter House of Phi Mu; Le Treinto Student House
Why it's listed
Completed in 1928 at 706 West Ohio Street in Urbana, this three-story brick building was built for the Delta Beta Chapter of Phi Mu, which had been established at the University of Illinois in 1921. The Crowl Construction Company supplied plans, construction and financing at a cost of over $60,000. Its Spanish Eclectic design includes a tile roof, a small corner campanile, an arcaded porch, a walled brick patio, decorative ironwork and glazed ornamental tiles. Inside, a two-part living room with a double-sided fireplace and an original staircase with an iron balustrade survive, and the floor plan has not changed. The house is listed as an excellent example of the sorority and fraternity house type on the Urbana-Champaign campus, where Greek societies became the main form of organized student housing. It is also regarded as the finest Spanish Eclectic building on that campus. Later occupants included a student house and two fraternities.
Significance in brief: It represents the Greek Letter Society movement at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, which by 1928 was the largest such movement in the nation (Criterion A). It is also considered the finest example of Spanish Eclectic architecture on the campus, with refined exterior details in excellent condition (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 90000751, listed May 21, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 706 W. Ohio St., Urbana |
|---|---|
| County | Champaign County |
| Listed | May 21, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000751 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1928 - 1940 |
| Architect / builder | Crowl Construction Company (builder); architect unknown |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival (Spanish Eclectic) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Exterior retains a high degree of integrity apart from sympathetic upper-floor window replacements; the floor plan is unchanged. Building was occupied by a fraternity from 1969 to 1990. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.10395, -88.21635 (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 90000751.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q20710410
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.