"Building" Fraternity & Sorority Life at Muhlenberg
Tour Description
When we think about Greek houses at Muhlenberg, the few campus staples immediately come to mind: ATO, SigEp, PKT. But Muhlenberg's Greek history stretches back further than just these few organizations and campus houses. In fact, Muhlenberg's numerous fraternal and sororal organizations have owned and occupied houses across Allentown for the last century.
This tour is designed to give you a window into the many different homes of Muhlenberg's Greek students. Because so many organizations have occupied multiple houses over the years, we have arranged the tour by address.
Archival sources can often contain inaccuracies, and we seek to represent our history as correctly as possible, so please email us at susanfalciani@muhlenberg.edu if you spot something that should be corrected.
Locations for Tour
Hillcrest House - ATO (1924)
Alpha Tau Omega (ΑΤΩ): 1924 - 2000, 2012 - present The Pennsylvania Alpha Iota Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega (ATO) was founded in 1881 and is the oldest established fraternity at Muhlenberg College. ATO's large house was built on the southwest corner of…
Hillside House - Phi Kappa Tau (1958)
Phi Kappa Tau (PKT): 1958 - 1993, 1999 - 2013In the fall of 1958, PKT brothers moved into their new chapter house on the south of campus. The present-day Hillside House was designed by Allentown architect Robert Frey ‘45, who had been an Eta Chapter…
2316 Chew Street - SigEp (1965)
1965 - 2017: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)SigEp's own on-campus house was built in 1965 at 2316 Chew Street. According to the 1965 Ciarla, the new SigEp house “boast[ed] such accommodations as a sound-proof dormitory section, a spacious living and partying…
2308 Chew Street - PEP/ZBT (1960)
1960 - 1973: Phi Epsilon Pi (ΦΕΠ)
1973 - 1995: Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
This house, located on the upper section of the present-day Village parking lot (directly to the right of the ATO house) was built specially for Phi Epsilon Pi (PEP) and completed…
2221 Chew Street - AXO (Millerheim)
1986 - present: Alpha Chi Omega (ΑΧΩ)In April of 1913, Henry A. Miller (1969-1958), member of the Muhlenberg Class of 1895 and publisher of the Morning Call, moved into his brand new home with his family. Designed by E. M. Pickin and built by…
2223 Chew Street - Phi Sigma Sigma (Henrietta)
1986 - present: Phi Sigma Sigma (ΦΣΣ)The earliest reference we could find to this residence was in 1927, when a real estate agent named Harry A. Fritsch could be reached at the address. Through the 1940s and '50s, the home appears to have been a…
2141 Chew Street
1927 - 1928: Alpha Sigma Rho (AΣΡ) (local frat)
Alpha Sigma Rho was started at Muhlenberg as a local social club in 1927, though it only survived one year on record, disbanding in the fall of 1928. The organization did have a house at 2141 Chew…
2309 Turner Street - TKE (1965, Rehearsal House, 2010)
1965 - 2003: Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE)This house, located on Turner Street overlooking Lake Muhlenberg, was built in 1965 for Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE). The 1965 Ciarla described the house as such: "The youngest fraternity of Muhlenberg campus has…
325 N. 23rd Street (Hoffman House, 1928)
Feb 1952 - 1958: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)In February 1952, SigEp moved into the former residence of Dr. and Mrs. Edgar Swain at 325 N. 23 Street (known today as the Hoffman House). While residing here, the SigEp house was referred to as the “House…
407 N. 23rd Street
1930 - 1938: Theta Upsilon Omega (ΘΥΩ)
1938 - 1940: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)
1940 - 1978: Lambda Chi Alpha (ΛΧΑ)
Although this house was the temporary host to Theta Upsilon Omega and Sigma Phi Epsilon from 1930 - 1940, it was most promiently home…
401 N. 23rd Street (corner of 23rd & Gordon)
1958 - 1965: Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) This house, no longer standing, was referred to as the "White Elephant" around campus, and according to the 1965 Ciarla, the house had a basement staircase that was "difficult to navigate after a good time."
This…
2224 Liberty Street (1920)
November 1922 - 1958: Phi Kappa Tau (ΦKT)
1958 - 1965: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)
This house at 2224 Liberty Street was owned and lived in by Phi Kappa Tau (PKT) for 36 years from 1922 - 1958. According to The Muhlenberg Weekly, this house was…
320 North 22nd Street - DZ (Frederick Augustus)
1986 - present: Delta Zeta (ΔΖ)The earliest reference we can find for this residence is that one Rudolph Trinkle, shoe manufacturer and "hotelman," was living there until his death in 1931. The home changed hands, passing through the Oakes and Doern…
330 North 22nd Street - Phi Mu
1995 - present: Phi Mu (ΦΜ)This home was built in 1948 by Andrew Rosetti of the Allentown Tile and Marble Company. The Rosettis owned the home until 1958, at which point it was purchased by Walter and Sophie Bollier; Walter was president of the…
MacGregor 106
1989 - 1994: Alpha Epsilon Pi (ΑΕΠ)
1994-1995: Phi Mu (ΦΜ)
MacGregor 106 was the first residence of Alpha Epsilon Pi and it was renovated specifically for them in the spring of 1989, just after their installment on campus. According to The…
2140 Gordon Street
1926 - 1929: Druid Club (local frat, merges with Theta Upsilon Omega)
ca. 1930 - 1932: Sigma Lambda Pi (ΣΛΠ)
The Druid Club, a local organization that later merged with Theta Upsilon Omega, purchased this house in 1926. Eight Druids moved into the…
2202 Gordon Street (1940)
1999 - present: Delta Tau Delta (ΔΤΔ)In 1999, the College offered the new DTD chapter the College-owned 2202 Gordon Street house with the stipulation that the house would remain “substance-free.” Agreeing to this term, eight DTD brothers moved into…
2207 Gordon Street (1928)
September 1932 - unknown: Phi Epsilon Pi (ΦΕΠ)This Gordon Street house was the first residence of the newly created Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity after it absorbed the former Sigma Lambda Pi. A formal opening party was held in the house on September 25,…
2211 Gordon Street (1920)
August 17, 1932 - 1939: Delta Theta (ΔΘ)The Morning Call announced Delta Theta's move into this house on Gordon Street in 1932 and a formal opening was held for brothers and alumni at the house on August 17, 1932. The house provided lodging for 16…
2215 Gordon Street (1928)
1929 - 1938: Phi Epsilon (ΦΕ) / Theta Kappa Nu (ΘΚΝ)
Jan 1948 - Feb 1952: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)
Phi Epsilon moved into a new house at 2215 Gordon Street in 1929, and became an official chapter of Theta Kappa Nu in 1931 while residing at this…
2228 Gordon Street (1929)
1994 - ca. 2005: Alpha Epsilon Pi (ΑΕΠ)
2017 - present: Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
This address was the former drama house on campus before Alpha Epsilon Pi was granted the house by the College in 1994 in order to congratulate their good work on campus…
2014 W. Chew Street
1926 - 1928: Phi Epsilon (ΦΕ)In 1927, Phi Epsilon purchased a new house at 2014 Chew Street. According to The Muhlenberg Weekly, this new property was a “three-story brick structure, with rooms well adapted to the requirements of fraternity life.…
44 S. Fulton Street (1903)
1948 - 1960: Phi Epsilon Pi (ΦΕΠ)Phi Epsilon Pi, chartered at Muhlenberg in 1932, went inactive for a short time during World War II, and re-established at this Fulton Street house in 1948, living here continuously until its move to campus in…
731 Turner Street
ca. 1918 - 1924: Delta Theta (ΔΘ)The Delta Theta fraternity lived in this house at 731 Turner Street until 1924. It is currently unknown if they resided in any locations prior to this house after their 1898 founding.
1109 Linden Street
1920 - 1922: Phi Kappa Tau (ΦKT)Members of the Eta Chapter of Phi Kappa Tau lived in this Linden Street house from 1920-1922. According to The Muhlenberg Weekly, the organization sold this house to Mr. Goeken of Norristown in 1922 after purchasing…
933 N. Ott Street (1918)
1924 - 1932: Delta Theta (ΔΘ)The Delta Theta fraternity lived in this house, built in 1918, from 1924 until 1932. During this time, the house overlooked College Heights from a steep hill in Allentown's West End, and though it still stands today, the…
525 N. 21st Street
1927 - ca. 1933: Philos Frat (local organization)In the fall of 1927, the Philos Club moved into its first house at 525 N. 21st Street, where it stayed until approximately 1933. The Ciarlas from 1933 - 1935 show the Philos Club living in one other…
933 N. 27th Street
1940 - deactivation due to WWII: Sigma Phi Epsilon (ΣΦΕ)SigEp moved into this house at 933 N. 27 Street in 1940, and lived there until the chapter was deactivated due to World War II. They would reactivate at Muhlenberg in 1947 at a new address…
17 N. Madison Street
1923 - 1925: Phi Epsilon (ΦΕ)Phi Epsilon was officially created as a local fraternity by the College in 1922 from a group of students formerly known as the “Aztecs.” The group purchased a house at 17 N. Madison Street in 1923. Prior to living at this…
133 N. 15th Street
December 5, 1914 - 1919: Alpha Sigma Colony (1914-1918) / Phi Kappa Tau (ΦKT)Phi Kappa Tau began at Muhlenberg College as the Alpha Sigma Colony, founded in 1914. At the beginning of the 1914 schoolyear, early members of Alpha Sigma/PKT lived briefly…
Tour Postscript
Thanks to Lauren Atkinson '19 for her research into the history of Greek life at Muhlenberg as a Special Collections work-study student, and to Emily Robinson '19, Trexler Library Public Services Assistant, for digging deep, connecting all the dots, and turning it into a tour!Thanks to the Muhlenberg College Alumni Trust Fund for supporting the Pathways site and mobile app.