Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority House

A wraparound porch with a rounded corner is the focal point of this early transitional home. Its graceful simplicity reveals the influence of the Colonial Revival style upon the fussy Queen Anne. The offset entry, front-gabled roof, and mixed surface materials are Queen Anne hallmarks, but the lack of ornamentation illustrates a renewed interest in colonial American architecture.

Built between 1899 and 1904, its builder and early occupants are unknown. The home sat alone on the block until after 1916 when the adjoining lots were sold. By 1920, Minnie L. Terry was housemother to university students who boarded here, a neighborhood trend that began in the early 1920s. The Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority occupied the residence from 1922 to 1941, housing thirty women who shared one bathroom.

Despite a 1937 addition, the sorority outgrew the space and the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity then occupied the house from 1942 to 1960. Although decades of college students took a toll, subsequent owners’ extensive structural and aesthetic restoration has returned the residence to a single family home.