I am writing this post on the Amtrak train grateful for the wifi. Last night as I was getting ready for this research trip, when I should have been packing, I was jumping down a rabbit hole, courtesy of a New York Alpha Pi Phi sister. She posted an article from the Daily Orange. The article was about a Syracuse native’s instagram account. “A little over two years ago, 29-year-old Syracuse native David Haas created his Syracuse history Instagram account to share little-known stories like these. Haas posts photos he takes throughout the city that have historical significance, typically buildings and homes. The captions of his posts explain the story behind the photo, be it an anecdote or historical information.”
A click on the instagram account had me trapped. When I told her I found the site fascinating, she said, “Isn’t it? Was scrolling thru the pix! Wish I had taken the time to check them out while up there!” Me, too! The instagram account is at is https://www.instagram.com/syracusehistory/. Here are a few of the links about some of the pictures with Greek-letter organization connections.
The Alpha Tau Omega house at Syracuse University. Photo by David Haas.
An article about the Alpha Tau Omega house on Walnut Place appeared on the Exploring Upstate New York web-site. http://exploringupstate.com/the-history-of-george-bond-and-the-epsilon-phi-house-in-syracuse-ny/. That house is just down the way from the old Pi Phi house where I spent my college years. The three staircase pictures in the previous post came from the last days of it being a Pi Phi house. The Phi Delta Theta chapter now lives in 210 Walnut Place in what had been the Pi Beta Phi house since the late 1930s except for a four-year period in the late 1980s when it was rented to the Alpha Omicron Pi chapter.
When I was in college (when the dinosaurs roamed the earth), the Phi Delts lived in the old Wilkinson mansion. The Delta Kappa Epsilons now own the house https://www.instagram.com/p/p2S8wSFVsA/?taken-by=syracusehistory. During my years at Syracuse, the old DKE house was turned into the Alumni Center. I even worked there on occasion for the catering division of food service. https://www.instagram.com/p/4PX56DlVqT/?taken-by=syracusehistory
The Former Delta Kappa Epsilon Chapter House at Syracuse University.
I passed the Tri Delta house several times a day on my way to campus and it was visible from the north windows of the Pi Phi house https://www.instagram.com/p/yuadZllVpg/?taken-by=syracusehistory.
There is also a picture of the former home of Delta Upsilon Harley Crane https://www.instagram.com/p/0oN9NmFVlx/?taken-by=syracusehistory.
Thank you, David Haas, for bringing attention to these Syracuse treasures!
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All rights reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
