The Colonials Club House, also known as the Beta Deuteron Charge House of Theta Delta Chi, is a historic building located in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

, United States. The building was significant in the development of the city's Fourth

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2012.

History

The Colonials Club House was built for a local fraternity, The Colonials or Colonial Club, which was established in 1908.Installation of Beta Deuteron
. ''The Shield''. vol. 36 no 3 (February 1920): 316–317. – via Google Books. Its address is 217 Ash Avenue in Ames, Iowa. Before its construction in 1910, off-campus student housing was clustered on the west side of the Iowa State College campus (now

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

) in the West Gate neighborhood. This building opened up the southeast side of the campus, and it became the preferred location for new

fraternity and sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

residences. Thus, the building was significant in the development of the city's Fourth

. In December 1919, the Colonials became the ''Beta Deuteron charge'' (chapter) of

Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...

(ΘΔΧ) fraternity. However, the forme Colonials Cub House was owned by the Colonial Realty Company whose stockholders were Colonial alumni who were not becoming members of Theta Delta Chi. Despite this, the house had the best location on campus and was in good condition. In 1920, the Beta Deuteron charge formed the Theta Delta Chi Realty Company of Ames Iowa which purchased the Colonial Club House for $15,000 ($ in 2022 money). The new company issued $20,000 in secured bonds to fund the purchase and renovation of the former clubhouse. The Ames National Bank invested $8,000 in the bonds. The building was listed on the

in 2012.

Architecture

The Colonials Club House started a new style in the future design of fraternity and sorority chapter houses at Iowa State. Earlier chapter houses in Ames were

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

framed structures that were designed to look like single-family dwellings. Designed by the

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

architectural firm of

Proudfoot & Bird Proudfoot & Bird was an American architectural firm that designed many buildings throughout the Midwest region of the United States. Originally established in 1882, it remains active through its several successors, and since 2017 has been known as ...

, this two-and-a-half-story brick structure featured the

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archi ...

style, which became one of the prominent styles for fraternity and sorority houses associated with the university. It was also the first masonry chapter house at Iowa State. The house's entrance features a large scale two-story entry porch with four

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

and two

pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...

that have stylized

Ionic capitals The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

, supporting a

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

and

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

. The frieze includes the Greek letters ΘΔΧ. The first floor includes the living room, a back hall (library), a dining room, and a front hall. The front hall has oak paneling, built-in seating, oak flooring, and an oak staircase. Oak pocket doors lead to the living room which as an oak fireplace mantel and an oak coffered ceiling. The building was renovated and expanded in 1920 to reconfigure the main level, expand the size of the living room, and add a sleeping porch. This expansion cost $5,000. A second addition in 1926 included a one-story accommodation for the fraternity's house mother. A third addition in 1966 was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Woodburn & O'Neil.

References

{{NRHP in Story County, Iowa Houses completed in 1910 Theta Delta Chi houses Colonial Revival architecture in Iowa Buildings and structures in Ames, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Story County, Iowa Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa

History

Architecture

See also

References