Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women. Show all posts

Friday, February 19, 2010

May 15, 1924, Volume 5, Number 8

Housing Boom

The Paeonios Chapter finally established a chapter house, located at 1020 Houston St. Manhattan Kansas. The purchased house was no small hovel. It had been the previous residence of the President of the University, W. M. Jardine. It had been designed by the university architectural department, and had been recently remodeled. It sounds like a lovely place.

Is it still there? You bet it is! It doesn't look like it changed a lick.



On Page 6, we begin to see the first discussions of a real estate development being managed by the Mnesicles alumni. The alumni purchased 5 lots across from the Minnesota Stadium that was under construction at this time. The development is being called "Fraternity Court" and 2 of those lots were reported sold to the Sigma Phil Epsilon fraternity.



That must have been quite a party!



The Andronicus Chapter held it's spring formal at one of Los Angeles's lost landmarks - the Garden of Allah. It was located on the corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights Boulevards, on what would now be noted as the eastern end of the Sunset Strip. Initially, the property began as a mansion, built by actress Alla Nazimova, and was notorious for wild parties. The property did not develop into a hotel until 1927, so the chapter may have had shared close quarters with the famous actress, who lived openly as a lesbian.



In the 1930's the Garden of Allah was a regular stomping ground for hollwood types looking for a good time, the most notable of which was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, it was torn down in 1959.



E-Bay alert!

At the above-mentioned party, the female attendees were given silver bracelets mounted with the fraternity crests. If you find one online, you know what to do...



This is not always easy...

On Page 5, the final paragraph of the Mnesicles update, shows evidence of the kind of confusion this project encounters from time to time.

"Milton John Anderson, '20, who was still single at the lsat report is employed by German & Jensen, Architects and engineers
of Duluth. Milton L. Anderson, '21 often his partner in
crime, is also single but is located in Los Angeles with an architectural
office."

After being brothers for three years, you'd think this crazy coincidence would have come up by now. Instead, i had to backtrack and separate the entries for the 2 men on their middle initials.. Initials, i might add, that are NOT terribly far away from in the alphabet OR the keyboard. Shame on me for making the assumption that the editors had made some typos. Goodness knows that they haven't always been perfect....

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

March 15, 1924, Volume 5, Part 6

The following commentary was provided by Brother Rick Jenkins, Metagenes Alumnus and WGS Emeritus. It was too good not to post on its own merit.

A early mention of women in the profession is on Page 4 (Delegates Remember). Marion Petri and Gladys Bruillard found an interiors studio in Minneapolis. Marion and Gladys are members of the Beta Chapter of Alpha Alpha Gamma national architectural sorority. So is Teresa Snure, who is engaged to Bro. Frank R. Root of Mnesicles (page 11).

IIRC, these are the first mentions of Alpha Alpha Gamma in the Archi. Founded in 1922 Alpha Alpha Gamma was a professional sorority with 10 student chapters prior to WWII. Several were at schools with APX chapters. (Look for mention of expansion to Illinois in October 1924). The Archi will occasionally note joint events between chapters or engagements until the 1930s. In 1934 the alumnae of the sorority formed the Association of Women in Architecture (AWA), and in 1948 AAG reorganized as its undergraduate branch. The national organization disbanded in 1964. (See http://www.awa-la.org/history.php for more info.)

Alpha Rho Chi was not the only national architecture fraternity of this era. Scarab was also a member of Professional Interfraternity Conference for architecture. Triangle Fraternity would soon start recruiting architects to join their engineers. Besides the nationals, there were countless local architecture fraternities. (Some became APX chapters; this issue tells of plans to convert the local Delta Club to Dinocrates Chapter.) Alpha Alpha Gamma adds another, distaff element to this mix.

However from today's vantage point, AAG seems the strangest of the mix. It was not a competitor to APX, yet so many of their sisters could have been made our good brothers just a half-century later.