GC Virtual Tour Book of Fraternity and Sorority Heritage Sites and Landmarks
 

We have threads on badge trends, arms and symbols, chapter houses and headquarters. This thread is a place for us to post pictures of important places in Greek history. I'm thinking of things like places of founding, monuments or memorials commemorating foundings, graves of founders or original chapter rooms or chapter houses. It could also be something like a rock (Sigma Nu?) or a stream that once had a wooden bridge over it (Kappa Kappa Gamma?) -- anything that should be included in our virtual tour book of Greek heritage.

I'll start us out where we should start, the birthplace of the first GLO, Phi Beta Kappa -- the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia. Unfortunately, the original Raleigh Tavern burned in 1859. But with the reconstruction of Colonial Williamsburg, the Raleigh Tavern was reconstructed as well (in 1932). Here is the reconstructed Raleigh Tavern:

http://www.history.org/almanack/plac...eightavern.jpg

http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/...urg_ralegh.jpg

You can make out the bust of Sir Walter Raleigh over the doorway.

And here is the reconstructed Apollo Room, the room at the back of the tavern, in which Phi Beta Kappa was founded:

http://p.vtourist.com/1837725-Apollo...lliamsburg.jpg

http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/wmsburg20b.jpg

Over the mantle is written Hilaritas sapientiae et bonae vitae proles -- jollity is the offspring of wisdom and good living.

Oooh, great idea! I can't wait until I get back to Michigan... I can put up some picture of the house where Alpha Sigma Tau was founded :)

The Range at UVA. PI Kappa Alpha fraternity was founded in 47 West Range on March 1, 1868. Notable residents of the West Range include Edgar Allen Poe and Woodrow Wilson.
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...dietAu0crasyCA

47 West Range is still used as student housing and is occupied and maintained by a 3rd or 4th year member of our Alpha Chapter.
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...3x9LKYvT6AvSso

That is so cool that you can do that.

http://www.google.com/url?source=img...aqnDOmpe3yfJJQ

The clock at Longwood University that commemorates the founding of the Farmville Four: Alpha Sigma Alpha+Kappa Delta+Sigma Sigma Sigma+Zeta Tau Alpha. It was installed in 2001, after the "newest" of the four (ASA) turned 100.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ngtonTriad.jpg

This is a marker in Lexington, VA, commemorating the Lexington Triad, Sigma Nu, Alpha Tao Omega and Kappa Alpha Order, all of which were founded in Lexington, VA.

http://www.duke.edu/web/sigmanu/imagessn/plaque.bmp

This plaque on the VMI Parade Grounds commemorates the founding of Sigma Nu, which took place on those grounds on an October night in 1868.

C'mon . . . tell your good story about it.

And don't I remember that all or part of "the rock" is now at Sigma Nu's HQ in Lexington?

Here's a picture of the Cannonball House, where both the Adelphean and the Philomathean Societies were founded:

http://www.cannonballhouse.org/Images/100_0345.jpg

These societies became Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu (the Macon Magnolias).

This is the Adelphean Room:

http://www.cannonballhouse.org/Images/ADPi1.jpg

and this is the Philomathean Room:

http://www.cannonballhouse.org/Images/100_2491.jpg

To see a picture of the Alpha Delta Pi fountain at Georgia Wesleyan, go to this page. It's too big to post here, and not the best picture of it.

These are located at Georgia Wesleyan College:

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/44612190.jpg

How's this?

http://hcap.artstor.org/collect/cic-...lege-large.jpg


And this:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SeUyqurJUW...4g/s320/04.jpg

Should we have some way to organize this thread? Otherwise, we might end up having a giant train of random quoting and conversation. Maybe a few posts that contain everything and is edited by one person and then the rest of the thread is someone dropping what they know--kind of like the closings/expansions thread. Just a thought?

Well, if you've got a plan for doing that, go for it. But I don't see how this thread will be any more disorganized or random than the badge trends thread, the arms and symbols thread, the HQ thread, the houses thread or other similar threads.

Personally, I think it's more fun and in keeping with the usually terribly disorganized GC ethos to let people post things about their own orgs and let the thread grow instead of trying to have a few master posts. It'll still turn into a train.

That crossed my mind too, but there's a limit of 10 photos per post, which is a big wrench for this highly visual audience.

MC- cool thread idea, I'm curious to see what else shows up! I've been to Monmouth but not for almost 10 years, back in the day of film instead of digital (yes digital existed, just not like it does today). I'm planning to go next fall, but I'm thinking another Kappa - or Pi Phi! - can step up before that happens.

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._1672237_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._7883087_n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3385057_n.jpg

http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/o...astlehouse.jpg

Student rooming house on South College Avenue in Greencastle IN where Kappa Alpha Theta was founded. Two of our four founders resided in this house.


http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/o...calmarker1.jpg

Front of marker...



http://i363.photobucket.com/albums/o...calmarker2.jpg

...and back of marker.

Well, I had an idea with how to keep the information organized, but its off site:
I have created a Google Map, which I have called the "Register of Fraternal Landmarks." Here we can organize our information, for instance, I have located the reconstructed Raleigh Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg and have marked it as a landmark and added historical information and a link to the Phi Beta Kappa Wikipedia entry as a "For more information, see"

here is the link to the map and I have allowed for anyone with the link to edit the map.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...bfcd2d9f726531