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The first Pike chapter house
(1914-1919)
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IF YOU AREN’T FAMILIAR with all of the pictures on this page, don’t be too surprised. During our
nearly ninety years on the University of Washington campus, Pi Kappa Alpha has moved more than a few times. Exactly how many? Well,
including our new home at 4515 21st Avenue NE, we have had seven chapter
house at the UW. And unless you’ve been watching the chapter grow since shortly after the last turn of the century, odds are slim that you have seen all of them.
It all began on May 12, 1914, when local UW fraternity Theta Sigma was given a charter as the fiftieth chapter of the national Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. They bought what
had previously been the Delta Gamma sorority house at 4550 18th Avenue NE, hung the letters on the porch, and Pikes was born... |
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By 1919, after just five years on campus, Pi Kappa Alpha already had nearly fifty active members and the fraternity searched for new housing to
accommodate them. To get the additional space, they moved to a new building farther from campus at 1804 Northeast 50th Street. This first move came early but left the chapter with room to grow and that space allowed the fraternity to succeed for over twenty years. If you have listened to Bob Keene’s stories about the “Bygone Days of Pi K A” at Founders’ Day, then you already know something about our golden years in the chapter house on 50th. |
The second Pike chapter house (1920-1940)
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The first interruption in Pi Kappa Alpha’s history at the UW came in the early 1940s as the campus was transformed by the outbreak of World War II. Every day more young men left campus to enlist in the military, and soon all fraternities had shut down or been converted to housing for ROTC units.
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The third Pike chapter house (1947-1953)
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Through the efforts of Bob Woock (‘38) and other previous members, Pi Kappa Alpha returned to the campus shortly after the war, and this time took up residence at 4510 21st Avenue NE. This housing situation was only temporary, however, because the fraternity was strong once again and need additional room. As Pikes wrote in the 1950 Tyee yearbook, “plans for the new house have been completed and work will begin soon on a house that is out of this world.”
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Our fourth chapter house, at 4502 20th Avenue Northeast, was the one that many of our alumni remember because it
was where nearly two hundred and fifty of our members were initiated. The building
stood until 2001, but was demolished in order to build the new Catholic
Newman Center. |
The fourth Pike chapter house (1954-1970)
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The fifth Pike chapter house (1979-1994)
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The second recolonization of the UW campus began in 1979, and soon Pikes took new housing at on 18th Avenue NE. Pi Kappa Alpha officially was rechartered on May 30, 1981. The three houses on 18th were the generous gift of Oscar Sandberg (‘49), and were home to Pikes until 1994. At that point in time, we realized the value of owning our property but also wanted to create room for chapter growth and put all of our members under one roof. A deal was struck to rent the Zeta Beta Tau property at 4626 21st Avenue NE, as the first
step to ownership of a single, larger chapter house. |
| A deal was struck to rent the Zeta Beta Tau property at 4626 21st Avenue NE, as the first
step to ownership of a single, larger chapter house. |
The sixth Pike chapter house (1995-1999)
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The New Pikehouse (1999-Present)
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Today, after five years in our temporary rental arrangement, we have achieved our goal and own property once again. Truly, we have been working towards this move since 1994. Changing chapter houses is never an easy decision, because it can also mean changing the identity of the chapter. But by purchasing property we are again establishing ourselves as a fixture on the UW campus - and sending a clear message that Pikes are here to stay. |
