Alpha Chapter House Tour

by T.J. Boyle

 

Alpha Chapter House
3401 Prospect Street, NW.


Delta Phi Epsilon purchased this house in October 1940.
The facade remained the original red brick until the summer of 1961,
when House Manager Bro. Patrick Hannigan, Al-'58, painted the front white.
In 1970 Chapter President Bro. Michael Eriksen, Al-'79, had the front painted pale yellow.
In 1980 Chapter President Bro. Boyd Carano, Al-'78, had it painted gray.
In 1986 Bros. Terrence Boyle, Al-'63, and Brian Gay, Al-'85, repainted it pale yellow.
In April 1997, finding it too expensive to return the facade to the unpainted red brick,
Bro. Terrence Boyle and Chapter President Bro. William Holmberg, Al-'94, had it again painted pale yellow,
with the window- and door-trims white and the topmost carvings and the railings black.


The Stoop
and Main Entrance to the House.
The plaque, with the Fraternity's Greek Letters,
was the gift of Bro. Walter Jaeger, Al-'24,
a former National General Secretary
and National Vice-President for Alpha Chapter
of Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Fraternity
and for four decades one of the most respected teachers
at the G.U. Law and Foreign Service Schools.

The House's front steps were wooden until the early 1950s,
when after an especially lively party
the Acting Dean of the Foreign Service School, Rev. Frank Fadner, S.J.,
a Line Brother initiated on Alpha Chapter's 26th Line in 1932,
tripped while leaving the House and fell down the stoop.
His fall broke one of the wooden steps
and, soon after, the Chapter had the entire stoop encased in concrete.

For almost a century there was at the curb, in front of the stoop,
a 31" long, 17" wide, and 6" high carriage stone
made of ox-blood colored sandstone.
Years ago such stones were placed all through Georgetown
to help people when dismounting from their horse-drawn carriages.
In 1964 a drunk stumbled over one and sued the City,
which reacted by announcing it would haul away all such stones found on city sidewalks.
Delta Phi Epsilon, however, preserved a piece of House history
by moving its stone from the sidewalk up onto the front yard.
It is now in the crawl space under the stoop.

 

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CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR II
(The Exterior of the House:
The 34th Street side of the House)

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR III
(The Exterior of the House:
Roofs, Porch, Deck and Rear of the House)

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR IV
(The Main Floor:
Vestibule, Hallway & Great Room)

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR V
(The Main Floor:
Dining Room & Library)

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR VI
(The Main Floor:
Kitchen & Minnie's Bathroom

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR VII
(The Ground Floor:
Three Bedrooms, Party Room, Furnace Room & Rat Run) 

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR VIII
(The Second Floor:
Three Bedrooms, Hallway, Bathroom) 

CLICK HERE FOR HOUSE TOUR IX
(The Third Floor:
Six Bedrooms, Hallway, Bathroom) 

 

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Curious about the history of 3401 Prospect Street? Ever wonder what the Prussian Minister
thought of living there? Click here for a History of the Lot and Building.
Click here for Photographs of Prior Alpha Chapter Houses.

Click here to request Information about Living at Delta Phi Epsilon House

To Return to the , click here