Delta Psi, Alpha Chapter building

On March 23, 1897, the Alpha chapter of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall) purchased a wide lot on 434 Riverside Drive from Harriet B. Hale. The fraternity intended to build a new chapter house closer to Columbia University, which had recently moved to Morningside Heights. In addition to proximity to campus, the new site "afforded breathtaking views of the Hudson River and New Jersey palisades." The architects were Henry Hornbostel and George Carnegie Palmer; the latter was a member of the Columbia chapter of St. Anthony Hall. The architects filed plans with the city on August 26, 1898. The plans called for a five-story building constructed of brick and stone, costing $45,000 (equivalent to $ in today's money). However, the actual cost of the chapter house was closer to $80,000 (equivalent to $ in today's money). In 1899, the lot was worth another $20,000 (equivalent to $ in today's money). At the time the fraternity built this chapter house, students did not live on Columbia's campus. Thus, "Delta Psi was not only the first fraternity to erect its own chapter house near the new Columbia campus, but, in 1899, when it was completed, it was one of only a handful of buildings on Morningside Heights where students could live." Although two other fraternities also built chapter houses in the Morningside neighborhood, this is the only one still in use by a fraternity. Ultimately, land values increased so quickly that its cost outpriced student housing. By 1905, Columbia University provided on-campus residences for students. == Description ==

The Alpha chapter house was designed in Beaux Arts and French Renaissance revival styles. Also on the first floor, the Arts and Crafts style dining room stretches across the entire width of the building and features Dutch shelving, leaded windows, and wood wainscotting. The third floor also includes a library with built-in shelving, a fireplace, and a molded plaster ceiling; the library is dedicated in memory of Henry Evelyn Pierrepont Jr, who joined the fraternity in 1896 and died in 1903. The basement includes a caretaker's room and a "secret chapter meeting room". In 1906, fraternity historian Edward Fermor Hall wrote that the Alpha chapter house was "beautifully decorated and finished in marble at a large expense." == Noteworthy events ==

• On July 11, 1915, Delta Psi alumnus Daniel Leroy Dresser committed suicide over financial problems in the library of the chapter house. Dresser was the brother-in-law of George Washington Vanderbilt II of Biltmore Estate. ==See also==