Fiji Academy and Ekklesia - Dates and Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Arthur's Hall
1852 Convention

At this time, we do not know the location of the August 5th, 1852 convention. However, a newspaper editorial describes public exercises at "Arthur's Hall." The entertainment consisted of orations, poems, music, and the like. The editorial was highly complimentary of those presenting.

This address was the location of attorneys' offices and a storefront in the 1850s. Arthur's Hall is listed in the 1852 city directory and is also mentioned in records of 1854.

44 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

Cincinnati, Ohio
Burnet House (site only)
1856 Convention

Completed in 1850 as a veritable palace and to wide acclaim, the Burnet House hotel was designed by noted architect Isaiah Rogers. It featured a forty-two foot wide central dome and 342 rooms. The hotel stood until 1926; the Union Central Building Annex replaced it.

Four chapters met in convention on August 16-17, 1856.

 

Northwest corner, Third Street and Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio

 

Louisville, Kentucky
United States Hotel
1859 Convention

We do not yet have any data on this hotel. The convention met here September 1-2, 1859. Reportedly five chapters attended.
 

 

Fourth St. and Jefferson St.
Louisville, Kentucky

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dispatch Building (site only)
1863 and 1864 Conventions

The 1863 and 1864 conventions met at Central Hall, in the Dispatch Building. Central Hall was used as a meeting place for various groups, including religious congregations and fraternal organizations. Apparently it was later called "Colfax Hall." The Dispatch was a local newspaper.

On August 13-14, 1863, four chapters gathered. Six chapters met on August 17-18, 1864.

An invitation to the 1864 convention states "Rendezvous St. Charles Hotel." Presumably, this is where delegates lodged. It was demolished in the 1920s for the Keystone Athletic Club.

Dispatch Building (site only)
99 Fifth Avenue (originally 69 Fifth Avenue)

 

St. Charles Hotel (site only)
Corner of Wood Street and 3rd Avenue
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

 

Meadville, Pennsylvania
Allegheny College
1866 Convention

The 1866 convention convened in the Allegheny Literary Society hall in Bentley Hall at Allegheny College. Public exercises (including an orator and poet) occurred at the YMCA hall.

The McHenry House hotel hosted the banquet. One contemporary said it "was celebrated as one of the best hotels in the country at that time." It was built about 1865 by the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad directly adjacent to the giant Meadville rail station; both hotel and station no longer exist.

 

Allegheny College
Meadville, Pennsylvania

 

 

Greencastle, Indiana
Indiana Asbury University (now DePauw University)
1867 Convention

The Philological Hall at Indiana Asbury University saw nine chapters meet at the 1867 convention. Located on the third floor of the college building, the hall housed one of the school's two literary societies. Public exercises occurred in the University chapel on the first floor. Famed historian John Clark Ridpath (DePauw 1863) spoke.

The college "edifice" was completed in 1842 and was DePauw's only building until the 1870s. It was later renamed West College and housed the preparatory school; it was razed in the 1930s. On the same site now stands West Library.

 

DePauw University
Greencastle, Indiana

 

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Monongahela House Hotel (site only)
1869, 1889, and 1891 Conventions

The Monongahela House, long the city's most famous hotel, was demolished in the mid-1930s. This corner is now the site of the United Way Building (1962).

The conventions of 1869, 1884, and 1891 were held here. Previous conventions (particularly 1863 and 1864) may have lodged here, although the evidence is unclear.

 

Northwest corner, Smithfield St. and Fort Pitt Blvd. (formerly Water St.), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

 

Delaware, Ohio
American House, Good Templar Hall, and Williams Opera House
1870 Convention

The American House hotel was the site of the 1870 convention's banquet and presumably the lodgings. It was also the site of the installation of Sigma Chi's Gamma chapter, its second. Convention meetings were held in Good Templar Hall and the public meeting in the Williams Opera House.

 

One delegate recalled, "The convention was held in a beautiful little hall in Delaware . . . . Cyrus Clark of Pittsburgh was the presiding officer . . . . The second night we assembled in the city hall and heard Bro. [William] McLaren's poem and Bro. [David] Hall's oration. The large hall was well filled with a brilliant audience . . . . The Delaware band discoursed the finest strains of music."

 

 

Indianapolis, Indiana
Indiana Statehouse (site only)
1872 Convention

The 1872 Convention met in the Indiana Senate's chambers on the second floor of the old statehouse. This building was completed in 1835 and demolished in 1877.

Its replacement, the current statehouse, exists today on the same location. Construction began in 1878. The cornerstone was laid in 1880; the building was finally completed eight years later.

 

200 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana

 

Indianapolis, Indiana
Bates House (site only)
1872, 1878, 1883 and 1890 Conventions

Bates House hotel hosted numerous Fiji gatherings. The 10th Convention lodged here in 1872. Meetings for that event occurred in the State Capitol building (see above).

The 1878 Convention met here, and determined to found The Phi Gamma Deltamagazine. The chapters of Indiana held many annual State Days at Bates House; that tradition continues today. The entire fraternity returned in 1883 and 1890 for the 14th and 19th Conventions.

This fine hotel was built in 1852; Lincoln spoke from a balcony on the way to his inauguration in 1861. Bates House was demolished in 1901 to make way for the Claypool Hotel (see below).

 

Corner of N. Illinois St. and W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, Indiana

 

 

New York, New York
Upsilon Chapter Hall (site only); Academy of Music (site only)
1873 Convention

Our chapter at the College of the City of New York hosted the twenty-fifth anniversary convention. Sessions met in the chapter's rented rooms April 29 to May 1, 1873. While we know the intersection at the northeast corner of Union Square, we do not know in which building the chapter hall was located. On the northwest corner was the Everett House hotel; to the southeast was the Westmoreland Apartment House. A small townhouse took the northeast corner. All three were torn down between 1908 and 1929 for larger buildings.

Public exercises convened at the New York Academy of Music. The Academy opened in 1854, burned in 1866, was restored, and was razed in 1925.

Incidentally, Omega Chapter announced itself to Columbia College (now University) at an event held at the Academy in January, 1869. They had operated as a "sub rosa" chapter for just over two years.

Upsilon Chapter Rooms, Park Ave. South (formerly 4th Ave.) and East 17th St.
New York Academy of Music, NE corner 14th St. and Irving Place
New York, New York 

 

Charlottesville, Virginia
Farish House Hotel; The Town Hall (Levy Opera House)
1874 Convention

Brothers from thirteen chapters gathered on October 28-29, 1873. The Farish hosted them for lodging and a banquet. Convention business occurred in the Town Hall about a block and a half away.

In 1854, the Farish House Hotel replaced the Eagle Tavern of Revolutionary War origin. The brick structure still stands in downtown Charlottesville; it operated as a hotel until the 1960s. Today it houses law offices.

The Town Hall was built in 1852 for plays and other entertainments, not government. 1888 saw it remodeled into the Levy Opera House. Since 1983 it has housed offices. 

 

Farish House: 100 Court Square
Levy Opera House: 350 Park Street (at corner of High Street)
Charlottesville, Virginia 

 

Meadville, Pennsylvania
Delamater Block
1877 Convention

Meadville was also the site of the 1877 convention. George W. Delamater (Allegheny 1869) built the Delamater Block in 1875, and provided a room there for the convention meetings. Over two days brothers considered constitutional amendments, and declined petitions to form chapters at McKendree, Westminster and Lawrence.

Pi Chapter at Allegheny College temporarily rented a hall here in the late 1870s. The block later became the Lafayette Hotel.

 

Northeast Corner of Water and Chestnut Streets
Meadville, Pennsylvania

 

 

Cleveland, Ohio
Forest City House (site only)
1879 Convention

A guest house or hotel has occupied the site of the Forest City House since 1812. The Forest City House was replaced in 1918 by the Hotel Cleveland (see below), which stands today and was the site of the 1970 Ekklesia.

October 15-17, 1879 saw twelve chapters in convention. They approve the coat-of-arms, and witnessed what was perhaps our first model initiation ceremony.

 

24 Public Square
Cleveland, Ohio 

 

Baltimore, Maryland 
The Carrollton (site only)
1880 Convention

Fifteen chapters sent delegates to meet September 8-10, 1880.

The Carrollton replaced the Revolutionary War-era Fountain Inn, demolished in 1871. In the great fire of 1904, the six-story hotel was destroyed. Later the Southern Hotel occupied the site; it was demolished in 2000 for the One Light Street tower development.

 

Light Street at corner of Redwood (formerly German Street)
Baltimore, Maryland

 

 

Point Chautauqua, New York
Grand Hotel (site only)
1881 Convention

Delegates from fourteen chapters gathered August 17-19, 1881. The convention met initially in the "Baptist Tabernacle." Presumably this was the Hartson Tabernacle, built in 1878 and torn down in 1904.

"Point Chautauqua started as a Baptist meeting ground, and in 1878 the deluxe Grand Hotel, one of the largest on the lake, opened there. The resort was designed by the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also planned New York's Central Park. Smaller hotels and cottages sprang up around the Grand Hotel to serve vacationers who appreciated the proximity to Chautauqua but did not appreciate the Institute's prohibition of liquor." --Town of Busti History

The Grand Hotel burned in 1902, a victim of arson.

 

Point Chautauqua, New York

 

Columbus, Ohio
Neil House (site only)
1882, 1888, and 1894 Conventions

The Neil House was located directly across from the Ohio Statehouse. The original burned in the mid 1800s and was replaced in 1862. That structure was itself demolished in 1922, and it turn its replacement was demolished in 1983. Today the Huntington Center occupies the site.

Brothers met here in 1882. They learned the Williams College chapter deserted to join Zeta Psi, and voted to expel those members. In 1888 and 1894 delegates lodged and banqueted here, and convened next door in the rented halls of Omicron Deuteron Chapter.

41 S. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 

 

 

Easton, Pennsylvania
United States Hotel
1885 and 1895 Conventions

The 1885 convention saw fourteen chapters attend from October 26 to 28. The long-delayed publication of a songbook was put in the hands of Walter C. Stier (Lafayette 188_) who finished the work.

Conventions would meet in October for the next fourteen years, with only three exceptions (Columbus 1888, Easton 1895, Nashville 1897).

On November 26-28, 1895, seventy-seven brothers met for the 47th Convention.

The United States Hotel was later renamed the Hotel Karldon.

Corner of North 3rd Street and Spring Garden
Easton, Pennsylvania 

 

Springfield, Ohio
K. of P. Hall and Arcade Hotel (sites only)
1886 Convention

The 22nd Convention met on October 28-30, 1886 with eighteen chapters attending. Meetings were held in the Knights of Pythias Hall. The Arcade Hotel hosted the banquet.  Built in 1883, it was torn down in 1988. A Marriott now occupies the site.

Thomas J. Kirkpatrick (Ohio Wesleyan 1879) presided at the convention and the banquet. He was editor of Farm and Fireside, the first publication of what later became the Crowell-Collier publishing firm. The convention photograph was taken in front of their offices.

Springfield is home to Wittenberg University, and our Sigma Chapter.  Sigma was chartered in 1884 and installed at the Arcade Hotel.

 

Knights of Pythias Hall, 42 1/2 S. Market Street.
Arcade Hotel, 100 S. Fountain Ave.
Farm and Fireside Block, northwest corner High St. and S. Wittenberg Ave. (formerly Factory St.).
Springfield, Ohio 

 

 

Bloomington, Illinois
Hotel Windsor
1887 Convention

The 23rd Convention saw eighteen chapters hold their preliminary meeting on October 27 at Hotel Windsor's private parlors. The next morning's session met at Odd Fellows' Hall. The closing banquet was also held at the Windsor.

The Windsor was lost during the 1900 burning of downtown Bloomington and later replaced with the Illinois Hotel. 

Jefferson and Center Streets
Bloomington, Illinois

 

Columbus, Ohio
Omicron Deuteron's Hall (site only)
1888 and 1894 Conventions
Omicron Deuteron Chapter at Ohio State rented rooms in the Pioneer Block. The building was located directly north of the Neil House hotel, and across from the Ohio Statehouse.

Fraternity conventions met here in 1888 and 1894. Lodging and banquets occurred at the Neil House next door (see above).

The Pioneer Block was built in 1877 and demolished in April 1901. It was replaced by the twelve-story Harrison Building, Columbus' first skyscraper.

 

25 S. High Street
Columbus, Ohio 

 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Continental Hotel (site only)
1892 Convention

The Continental opened in 1860 and was altered in 1876, 1903 and 1911. It was demolished in 1923 to make way for the Benjamin Franklin Hotel, now a historic landmark in its own right.

Ninety-six brothers registered for the October, 1892 convention. Here they adopted a Fraternity flag.

 

838 Chestnut Street at Ninth
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota 
West Hotel (site only)
1893 Convention

The West Hotel opened in 1884. The 45th Convention convened here October 19-21, 1893. Thirty delegates registered. Prior to this, the Fraternity had met no further west than Bloomington, Illinois. They would not go farther until 1915 in San Francisco. The West was demolished in 1940.

 

Hennepin Avenue and 5th Street,
Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Chicago, Illinois
The Auditorium Hotel
1896 Convention

This National Historic Landmark was completed in 1890 with 400 hotel rooms, offices, and an 4,200-seat auditorium. It was the site of our October 1896 convention. Seventy-five brothers registered. Here was made an appropriation for our first salaried employee, a clerk.

Since 1947 the Auditorium Building has housed Roosevelt University.

 

430 South Michigan Ave. (northwest corner, Congress Parkway) 
Chicago, Illinois 

 

Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee State Capitol
Duncan Hotel (site only)
Maxwell House Hotel (site only)
1896 Convention

Phi Gamma Delta's 1897 convention was held during the Tennessee Centennial Exposition at West Side Park, redeveloped in 1902 as Centennial Park.

The sessions of the 1897 convention were held in the Tennessee Statehouse. Phi Gamma Delta convened in the Senate chambers while Sigma Alpha Epsilon held its convention in the House chambers. William Strickland began constructing the Tennessee State Capitol building in 1845; it was completed in 1859 after his death.

600 Charlotte Avenue

The Duncan Hotel hosted the 1897 convention banquet. Sigma Alpha Epsilon had its convention headquarters here at the same time. It later became an office building and was demolished in the late 1970s or early 1980s for a parking lot.

Southeast corner of Fourth Avenue, North, and Cedar (now Charlotte) Street

The Maxwell House served as headquarters of the 1897 convention; the state governor hosted a reception for the brothers. The hotel was built in 1859 and burned Christmas Day, 1961. Maxwell House coffee was named after this hotel. In 1979 a hotel with the same name was built a few miles away from the original site.

 

Northeast corner, Church Street and Fourth Avenue (formerly Cherry)
Nashville, Tennessee 

 

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Hotel Schenley
(University of Pittsburgh's William Penn Union)
1898, 1911, and 1923 Ekklesiai

Just before it "officially" opened, the Schenley hosted Phi Gamma Delta's 1898 Convention, marking the Fraternity's 50th anniversary. This meeting also changed the Fraternity's governing structure from the self-elected "grand chapter" to a convention-elected Board of Archons (later called the Archonate). Afterwards, each convention was called an Ekklesia.

At the 75th Anniversary Ekklesia here in 1923, the Fraternity became international by chartering the University of Toronto.  It also ended jeweled badges by restoring the "Founders' Badge" that we wear today.  Many other changes in laws and structure made this a landmark event. 

In 1910 the University of Pittsburgh moved to this area. They acquired Hotel Schenley in 1956, converting it into apartments. Today the it is the University's William Pitt Union.

In 1967 the Fraternity placed a plaque commemorating the 1898 Ekklesia. To see it, enter from Fifth Avenue, opposite the Soldiers and Sailors Monument (see below). Walk left to the end of the lobby and turn right into the Grand Lounge. The plaque is to your left. Turn right to enter the Ballroom.

3959 Fifth Avenue, at the corner with Bigelow Boulevard, and backing to Forbes Avenue.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

 

Dayton, Ohio
Women's Christian Association Hall and Beckel House
1899 Ekklesia

138 brothers convened at the Women's Christian Association Hall, meeting place of the Mozart Club, on October 19-21, 1899. Charters were granted to form chapters at Maine and Missouri, and declined for Washington.

Women's Christian Association Hall
South side of Third St. between Ludlow and Wilkinson
Dayton, Ohio

The convention headquarters and closing banquet were at the Beckel House hotel. Beckel House was completed in 1866, with a west wing added in the mid-1880s.

 

Beckel House
Third and Jefferson Street
Dayton, Ohio

 

 

Niagara Falls, New York
International Hotel
1900, 1901, 1905 Ekklesiai

Ekklesiai at resort locations began at Niagara Falls in July 1900. The International hosted that convention; it was so well liked that the Fraternity returned in September 1901 and July 1905. 129 brothers attended the first gathering, then 141 and finally 178.

The 1900 meetings were held in the new opera house on Main Street. In 1901 they initially met at the Hotel. President William McKinley then arrived to stay at the hotel. The Fraternity gave its meeting room to the president's party for a luncheon, so on its last day the Ekklesia met at the opera house.

In the morning they approved a charter to revive the Tau Deuteron Chapter at Texas. That afternoon, "in the midst of discussion, the announcement was made that the president had been shot" while visiting the nearby Pan American Exposition. The Ekklesia was immediately adjourned and that evening's dance canceled. McKinley died a few days later.

The International Hotel was built in 1878. It burned in 1918 and was replaced by the Red Coach Inn.

Niagara Falls, New York

 

Fortress Monroe, Virginia
Chamberlin Hotel (site only)
1906 Ekklesia

A noted resort area in the late 1800s, Fortress Monroe sits on the Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk. It is also site of the largest stone fort built in the United States. The Chamberlin Hotel opened in 1894 next door to the large Hygeia resort, which was demolished in 1902. Fire destroyed the Chamberlin in 1920. Ten years later it reopened.  In 2008, it became a senior living facility.

The 1906 Ekklesia was the last of a string of seven held at resort locations like Niagara Falls. 145 brothers attended.

The 43rd annual meeting of the National Interfraternity Conference convened here in 1951.

 

32 Fenwic Road
Fort Monroe, Virginia

 

Chicago, Illinois
Mandel Hall, University of Chicago
1907 Ekklesia 

The eight annual conventions held from 1898 to 1906 averaged around 150 registered attendees each. Chicago's 1907 Ekklesia set a record with 312 in attendance. 
Mandel Hall was built in 1903 with other University buildings in the style of England's Oxford University. This music hall has hosted famous classical performers including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It was renovated in 1980-81. 

 

1131 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois

 

Waldorf Astoria Hotel (site only)
1908 Ekklesia

The famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel hosted the 60th Ekklesia in June and July, 1908. 

Originally it was two separate hotels: the thirteen-story Waldorf built in 1893, and the seventeen-story Astoria, built 1897.

In 1929, the hotel relocated to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building.

 

Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets

 

Detroit, Michigan
Hotel Cadillac (site only)
1909 Ekklesia

A famous hotel in its day, the Hotel Cadillac hosted the 61st Ekklesia in August 1909. The hotel was demolished and replaced with the Book Cadillac Hotel, site of the 1932 Ekklesia (see below). 

Corner of Michigan and Washington Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan

 

Niagara Falls, Ontario
Clifton Hotel
1910 Ekklesia

After three Ekklesiai on the American side in 1900, 1901 and 1905, equal justice was served with a visit to the Canadian side. 193 brothers gathered on August 3-5, 1910.

The Clifton operated from 1835 until it burned in 1898. It was rebuilt in 1905 as a five story structure facing the American falls. It too burned in 1933. The Oakes Garden Theatre on the site utilizes some of the Hotel's foundation.

 

River Road and Clifton Hill
Niagara Falls, Ontario

 

Indianapolis, Indiana
Claypool Hotel (site only)
1912 Ekklesia

Built on the site of the Bates House, the Claypool Hotel hosted the 64th Ekklesia in December, 1912. The attendance of 501 set a new record for Phi Gamma Delta conventions.

The Claypool Hotel was demolished in 1969. It is now the site of Claypool Court, a retail mall.

Incidentally, Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity was founded at the Claypool Hotel in 1908.

 

Corner of N. Illinois St. and W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, Indiana

 

 

Atlantic City, New Jersey
Hotel Chelsea (site only)
1913 Ekklesia

The Hotel Chelsea fronted on the Boardwalk. It featured a large auditorium. In the picture to the left, we see the original hotel, with the edge of the later addition appearing on the far right.

The hotel was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with a Holiday Inn. In 2008 it was remodeled as The Chelsea.

111 S. Chelsea Avenue
Atlantic City, New Jersey

 

 

San Francisco, California
Inside Inn (site only)
1915 Ekklesia

The 1915 Ekklesia coincided with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which ran for ten months and almost nineteen million visits. This world's fair was opportunity for the city and the nation to celebrate its progress. For Phi Gamma Delta, holding an ekklesia at an exposition was a natural progression, since for years brothers had met socially at such national gatherings. Local graduate chapters had sometimes rented homes for lodging visiting brothers (for example, Chicago in 1893, and St. Louis in 1904).

The Inside Inn was built in 1915 inside the Exposition grounds. It had 3,000 rooms. Like the other buildings it was meant to last only a few years. Today the only remaining building is the reconstructed Palace of Fine Arts, home of the Exploratorium science museum.

Lombard Street between Lyon and Baker, backed by Chestnut
San Francisco, California

 

 

Cleveland, Ohio
Hotel Hollenden (site only)
1916 Ekklesia

Opened in 1885, the eight-story Hollenden became the central hotel for events and politics in Cleveland. A 1926 addition boosted it to 1000 rooms. It was demolished in 1963 and replaced with the Hollenden House hotel. With the decline of downtown in the 1980s, it closed and was replaced by the 1992 Bank One Center.

457 registered for this winter meeting, December 27-30, 1916.

 

600 Superior Avenue at East 6th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 

 

New York, New York
Hotel Astor (site only)
1917 Ekklesia

Built in 1904, and site of Fiji graduate gatherings or "jamborees" from 1905 to 1907.  The Phi Gamma Delta Club was formed here in the summer of 1907.  The 69th Ekklesia convened here in December, 1917.

In 1967 the hotel was demolished for the 1515 Broadway office tower.

 

Times Square, 1515 Broadway (on the west side of Seventh Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets).
New York, New York

 

Chicago, Illinois
Congress Hotel
1919 and 1946 Ekklesiai

The Congress Hotel hosted the 1919 and 1946 "Victory" ekklesiai. 1919 broke records with 645 registered brothers, sixty more than New York 1917. In 1946 Chicago did it again with 877 registered. This was 222 more than the previous convention of 1940 in New York, and 183 over the previous record set in Pittsburgh, 1923.

The original tower was built in 1893 for the Columbian World's Exposition. It was designed to blend in with the Auditorium Hotel (above), to which it was connected until the building of Congress Parkway. The south tower (on the left in the picture) was added in 1902, with an addition in 1907.

It has passed through a series of owners - Pick, Americana, and Ramada - and today is independently owned as The Congress Plaza Hotel & Convention Center.

 

520 S. Michigan Avenue, southwest corner of Congress Parkway
Chicago, Illinois 

 

Kansas City, Missouri
The Muehlebach Hotel
1920 Ekklesia

Opened in 1915. Known as President Truman's headquarters in Kansas City. It was expanded in 1952, and again in 1956 with a seventeen-story tower. The tower was demolished in 1996. At that time the original Muehlebach was incorporated into a major expansion of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.

Kansas City Marriott Downtown
200 West 12th Street 
(southwest corner, 12th and Baltimore Avenue)
Kansas City, Missouri

 

 

Birmingham, Alabama
The Tutwiler Hotel (site only)
1921 Ekklesia

Host to the Ekklesia on December 28-31, 1921. The original Tutwiler was torn down in 1974. The site is now an office building.

A hotel by the name Tutwiler opened in 1986; it is a 1913 apartment building remodeled by the great-grandson of the original hotel's founder.

 

Original site: 5th Ave. North and 20th Street
"New" site: 2021 Park Place North (at 21st)
Birmingham, Alabama 

 

 

Richmond, Virginia
Jefferson Hotel
1925 Ekklesia

The Seventy-Sixth Ekklesia met from December 31, 1924 to January 3, 1925. It was the seventh of ten winter conventions held between 1912 and 1933. 374 brothers registered.

The Jefferson opened in 1895; six years later a fire burned over half the structure. It quickly rebounded and was enlarged in 1907. Declining conditions forced closure in 1980; six years later the doors opened again after over $34 million in renovation. www.jefferson-hotel.com

 

101 West Franklin Street
Richmond, Virginia 

 

Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Antlers (site only)
1926 Ekklesia

The Antlers was built in 1883; here Katherine Lee Bates wrote "American the Beautiful." After a devastating 1898 fire, the rebuilt Antlers opened in 1901 as a luxury destination. In 1908, Colorado College's Chi Sigma Chapter banqueted here after their installation.

Eighteen years later, the 78th Ekklesia convened here. 426 registered for the June 21-23 gathering.

The Antlers was demolished for a new hotel in 1964. www.antlers.com

 

4 South Cascade Avenue
Colorado Springs, Colorado

 

West Baden Springs, Indiana
West Baden Springs Hotel
1927 Ekklesia

December 28-31, 1927 saw 355 brothers convene at this resort, known for nearby mineral springs and the hotel's architecture.

This hotel was built in 1902 and called "The Eighth Wonder of the World." At the time of the Ekklesia the interior Pompeian court was the largest single room on the planet. The hotel failed during the Great Depression. A series of private colleges then occupied the property until 1983.

In 1996 Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana began a thirty million dollar renovation and spent ten years trying to secure a buyer for the vacant structure. Since 2007 it has been open as a luxury hotel as part of the The French Lick Resort Casino.

 

West Baden Springs, Indiana

 

Swampscott, Massachusetts
The New Ocean House (site only)
1929 and 1958 Ekklesiai

The 81st Ekklesia in 1929 brought 406 registrants. The 110th in 1958 saw 497, the second-lowest attendance since 1934.

Called "New" because the original burned in 1882, the New Ocean House itself burned in 1969.

 

North side of Puritan Road between Sutton Place and Smith Lane
Swampscott, Massachusetts

 

San Antonio, Texas
The Gunter Hotel
1930-31 Ekklesia

The 1930-31 Ekklesia was one of a number of winter conventions held in the early twentieth century. 314 registered for the December 30-January 2 meeting.

On November 13, 1993 the Gunter hosted the installation ceremonies and banquet for the Sigma Alpha Chapter, University of Texas at San Antonio.

Built in 1909, the Gunter is still in operation. www.gunterhotel.com

 

205 East Houston Street
San Antonio, Texas 

 

Detroit, Michigan
Book Cadillac Hotel
1932 Ekklesia

Designed by noted architect Louis Kamper, the thirty-three story Book Cadillac opened in December, 1924 as the largest hotel in the world.  The 84th Ekklesia convened here in June 1932. 375 brothers registered.

The hotel closed in 1984, and remained vacant for two decades. It reopened in October, 2008 after a three year, $200 million renovation.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the effort with a 2009 National Preservation Award.

http://www.bookcadillacwestin.com

 

Corner of Michigan and Washington Boulevard
Detroit, Michigan 

 

Washington, D.C.
Wardman Park Hotel/Sheraton Park Hotel
1933 and 1976 Ekklesiai

Host to two Ekklesiai, the Wardman Park opened in 1918. An annex, know the Wardman Tower, was added ten years later.

The 85th Ekklesia convened here, December 29, 1933 to January 1, 1934. The Wardman Park Theater served as convention hall. 385 registered.

After the hotel's sale in 1953 it became the Sheraton Park Hotel. Many expansions, including the 1964 Park Tower, helped make it the largest hotel in Washington: 1200 rooms on 16 acres. It hosted the 128th Ekklesia in August, 1976, with a registration higher than any previous since 1954.

In 1980, it was renamed Sheraton Washington Hotel and in 1998, the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

 

2660 Woodley Road, NW, adjacent to Connecticut Avenue.
Washington, D.C. 

 

Cleveland, Ohio
Wade Park Manor
1936 Ekklesia

The Wade Park Manor opened in 1923. After 1964 it became a retirement community, since 1983 called Judson Park.
www.judsonretirement.com

615 registered for the 1936 Ekklesia, the largest registration since 1923.

 

Judson Manor
1890 East 107th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 

 

Portland, Oregon
The Portland Hotel (site only)
1938 Ekklesia

The 1938 Ekklesia featured a caravan up the Columbia River Gorge with a police escort leading the way to a reception at the newly-completed Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood.  http://www.timberlinelodge.com

The Portland Hotel opened in 1890 and was demolished in 1951 for a parking lot. Thirty-three years later the site became Pioneer Courthouse Square, a downtown park for public gatherings. The eastern edge or the park includes a wrought-iron fence and gate from the hotel.

 

Pioneer Courthouse Square
SW Broadway and Yamhill
Portland, Oregon

 

New York, New York
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
1940 Ekklesia

Built in 1931, the second Waldorf Astoria stands 47 stories and occupies an entire city block.  It was the largest hotel in the world at the time of its construction. 

The Waldorf Astoria was site of the 92nd Ekklesia in June, 1940.  It has also been the location of many Xi Graduate Chapter events.
Hotel description and photos; www.waldorfastoria.com

 

301 Park Avenue, between 49th & 50th Streets
New York City 

 

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
William Penn Hotel
1948 and 1998 Ekklesiai

This hotel was completed in 1916 with an addition in 1927-28.  The 100th Anniversary Ekklesia in 1948 convened here, as did the 1998 150th Anniversary Ekklesia.  Both were held in the Grand Ballroom.

784 gathered June 22-26, 1948. 698 registered August 12-16, 1998.

 

530 William Penn Place

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 

 

Atlantic City, New Jersey
The Claridge Hotel
1950 Ekklesia

The 1950 Ekklesia occurred here September 6-9. 530 brothers registered.

The Claridge was originally built in 1930. Expanded and reopened in 1981 as The Claridge Hotel Casino. www.claridge.com

The National Interfraternity Conference's House of Delegates held its first meeting ever on May 1, 1954 at The Claridge. It met there again in 1955.

 

The Boardwalk between Park Place and Indiana Avenue,
facing Brighton Park
Atlantic City, New Jersey 

 

Toronto, Ontario
Royal York Hotel
1952 and 1982 Ekklesiai

Opened in 1929 on the site of hotels dating back to 1853, the Royal York rises 28 stories tall. When built, it was the largest hotel in the British Commonwealth. It is noted for its use in many films. www.royalyorkhotel.com

In 1952, the 104th Ekklesia had 528 register. Thirty years later 657 attended.

 

100 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario

 

Los Angeles, California
The Ambassador Hotel (site only)
1954 Ekklesia

The largest Ekklesia ever gathered at the Ambassador on September 1-4, 1954. 933 persons registered.

The Ambassador opened in 1921 and quickly became a Hollywood favorite. It hosted the first Golden Globes and six Academy Awards. Sadly, the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy also took place here.

The hotel closed in 1989.  Preservationists fought to save the structure, but the school board demolished the structure in 2006 to build a large school.

 

3400 Wilshire Boulevard, between Catalina Street and Mariposa Avenue
Los Angeles, California 

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hotel Nicollet (site only)
1956 Ekklesia

The original Hotel Nicollet was built in the 1850s and demolished in the 1920s. Its replacement of the same name, designed by Holabird & Roche, measured some fourteen stories. The graceful Gateway Park fronted the structure. After a period of abandonment, it was demolished in the 1980s for a parking lot.

The 1956 Ekklesia saw only 494 register, the lowest number since 1934, and surprising compared to the 933 registered in Los Angeles two years before.

 

North 2nd Street and Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota 

 

Washington, D.C.
ShorehamHotel
1960 Ekklesia

This neighbor to the Wardman Park Hotel opened in 1930 on eleven park-like acres. It is now the Omni Shoreham.

The 112th "Wilkinson" Ekklesia occurred here in August, 1960; it celebrated the long career and retirement of Cecil J. "Scoop" Wilkinson (Ohio Wesleyan 1917), Executive Director for nearly 38 years and Editor almost 38.  Registration stood at 605.

 

2500 Calvert Street, NW, at Connecticut Avenue
Washington, D.C.

 

 

Dallas, Texas
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
1962 Ekklesia

Built in 1958, the Sheraton Dallas stood thirty-eight stories tall. It connected to its forty-two story sister tower, the Southland Life building, through a common base. 544 registered for the 114th Ekklesia here on August 21-25, 1962.

In 1998, the hotel joined the Adams Mark chain. They converted the Southland Life and a third tower (added in 1980) into hotel space, creating the largest hotel in Texas.

Adams Mark Hotel
400 North Olive Street
Dallas, Texas 

 

French Lick, Indiana
Sheraton-French Lick Resort Hotel
1964 Ekklesia

The 1964 Ekklesia chartered chapters at Emory University, Arizona State, and General Motors Institute (now Kettering University).

French Lick is noted for its nearby mineral springs (hence this hotel and the nearby West Baden Springs Hotel, site of the 1927 Ekklesia). It is also noted for its politicians; here, Franklin Roosevelt announced his presidential candidacy.

The original pre-Civil War hotel on this site burned in 1897. The hotel is situated on the Hoosier National Forest.  http://www.frenchlick.com/

 

French Lick Springs Resort and Spa
8670 West State Road 56
French Lick, Indiana 

 

Denver, Colorado
The Brown Palace Hotel
1966 Ekklesia

The Brown Palace Hotel has served many presidents, particularly "Ike" Eisenhower, who often spent summer vacations there. The hotel was built in 1892.

582 registered for the "Mile-Hi" Ekklesia, held August 30 to September 3, 1966.

www.brownpalace.com

 

321 Seventeenth Street
Denver, Colorado

 

West End, Grand Bahamas
Grand Bahama Hotel and Country Club
1968 Ekklesia

The Grand Bahama Hotel began in 1951 and eventually boasted 2000 acres, a golf course, private airport, and marina with its own cruise ship running the four and a half hours from Florida.

Later the hotel was renamed Jack Tar Village; it closed in the late 1980s. In the late 1990s the property was redeveloped as Old Bahama Bay. www.oldbahamabay.com

 

West End, Grand Bahamas

 

Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel
1970 Ekklesia

The "Great Lakes" Ekklesia featured Apollo 13 Astronaut Jack Swigert (Colorado 1953) as the keynote speaker.

Originally built in 1918 as the Hotel Cleveland, it is now the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, a Marriot property. www.renaissancehotels.com/CLEBR

 

24 Public Square
Cleveland, Ohio 

 

San Francisco, California
Sheraton-Palace Hotel
1972 Ekklesia

507 registered for the 124th Ekklesia, held here August 23-26, 1972.

Originally built in 1875, the Palace Hotel burned in the 1906 earthquake and reopened in 1909. 1989 saw a complete restoration.

Incidentally, President Warren Harding died at the hotel on August 2, 1923. He was succeeded in office by the vice-president, Phi Gam Calvin Coolidge (Amherst 1895). www.sfpalace.com

 

Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery Street
San Francisco, California

 

Atlanta, Georgia
Stouffer's Atlanta Inn
1974 Ekklesia

The 126th Ekklesia chartered Wisconsin Eau-Claire. Norman Vincent Peale (Ohio Wesleyan 1920) was a speaker; Stone Mountain State Park saw a Luau. It was held August 21-24 with 618 registered.

Stouffer Hotels and Resorts is now Renaissance, a Marriott company.

 

Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown
590 West Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 

 

Mackinac Island, Michigan
Grand Hotel
1978 Ekklesia

Built in 1887, Grand Hotel overlooks the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The whole of Mackinac Island is a state park. Automobiles are not allowed.

537 registered at the 130th Ekklesia.

 

Mackinac Island, Michigan 

 

Nashville, Tennessee
Opryland Hotel
1980 Ekklesia

Six hundred and ten registered for the 132nd Ekklesia, August 12-16, 1980.

The Opryland Hotel was expanded in a three-year renovation completed in 2000. It now boasts over 2,800 guest rooms and over 600,000 square feet of convention space. 
www.gaylordopryland.com

 

2800 Opryland Drive
Nashville, Tennessee 

 

New Orleans, Louisiana
The Fairmont Hotel
1984 Ekklesia

Built in 1893 as The Grunewald and expanded in 1908, this hotel was renamed The Roosevelt in 1923.  That same decade it gained notoriety as campaign headquarters of notorious Louisiana politician Huey Long.  Renamed the Fairmont in 1963, it was fully remodeled in 1998. www.fairmontneworleans.com

 

123 Baronne Street at University Place
New Orleans, Louisiana 

 

Lexington, Kentucky
Hyatt Regency Lexington
1986 Ekklesia

Completed in 1976, the Hyatt Regency hosted the 138th Ekklesia ten years later. 744 registered. A visit to the newly-dedicated Headquarters building was a major draw.

This hotel has also seen many Fraternity conferences and seminars. Here the Upsilon Kappa Chapter at the University of Kentucky held its chartering banquet for its 1994 revival.

 

401 West High Street
Lexington, Kentucky

 

Denver, Colorado
Marriott City Center
1988 Ekklesia

645 attended the "Mile High" Ekklesia, August 10-14, 1988.

Built in 1982, the Marriott City Center has over 600 rooms and is twenty stories tall.

 

1701 California Street
Denver, Colorado 

 

Chicago, Illinois
Hyatt Regency Chicago
1990 Ekklesia

Site of the 142nd Ekklesia, held August 10-14, 1990.  793 registered-- the most since 1954.

At the time, this was the city's largest hotel with over 2000 guest rooms.www.chicagohyatt.com

 

151 East Wacker Drive, on Chicago's Riverwalk
Chicago, Illinois 

 

Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel
1992 Ekklesia

This eighteen-story hotel was location of the 144th Ekklesia in August, 1992. 693 registered.

 

1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. Adjacent to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

 

 

Kansas City, Missouri
Hyatt Regency Crown Center
1994 Ekklesia

The most notable feature of the 1994 Ekklesia was the passing of the COGS (Committee on Governance and Structure) recommendations. These modernized and streamlined the Fraternity's laws, and emphasized the the purple legionnaire as Phi Gamma Delta's most important officer. "PLs" serve as local chapter advisors.

The Hyatt Regency is part of the multi-faceted Crown Center complex of hotels, shopping, office space, and more begun in 1968.

A block away is the Liberty War Memorial. Among the artifacts in their collection includes a French artillery shell casing shaped into a vase and adorned with Phi Gamma Delta's letters (something permitted at the time). The donor was Allen B. Brown (Illinois 1917).

2345 McGee Street
Kansas City, Missouri

 

 

Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale Plaza Resort
1996 Ekklesia

652 registered for the 148th Ekklesia, August 7-11, 1996. As promised, this Ekklesia featured "a dry heat."
www.scottsdaleplaza.com

 

Scottsdale, Arizona

 

 

San Antonio, Texas
Hyatt Riverwalk
2000 Ekklesia

The historic Riverwalk area saw hundreds of Phi Gams at the 152nd Ekklesia, San Antonio's second. The hotel is directly across from the Alamo and features a sixteen-story atrium overlooking the Riverwalk.
sanantonioregency.hyatt.com

123 Losoya Street
San Antonio, Texas

 

Portland, Oregon
Doubletree Hotel Portland-Jantzen Beach
2002 Ekklesia

Hundreds converged at this riverside hotel in Portland on August 7-11, 2002. It featured a river cruise.

 

909 N. Hayden Island Drive
Portland, Oregon

 

Atlanta, Georgia
Marriott Marquis
2004 Ekklesia

The Marriott Marquis boasts the world's largest open-air atrium. August 11-15, 2004.

 

265 Peachtree Center Avenue
Atlanta, Georgia 

 

 

 

Minneapolis, Minnesota
Hyatt Regency
2006 Ekklesia

The third Ekklesia in Minnesota was held here August 10-13, 2006.

1300 Nicolett Mall
Minneapolis, Minnesota

 

Miami, FL 
Hilton Miami Downtown
2008 Ekklesia

Florida's first Ekklesia: August 7-10, 2008. 569 attended. 

 

1601 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, Florida 

 

Phoenix, AZ
Arizona Biltmore
2010 Ekklesia

This Frank Lloyd Wright designed hotel was built in 1929 and retains much of its historical fabric.

July 29-August 1, 2010. 573 attended.

 

2400 East Missouri Road,
Phoenix, Arizona 

 

New Orleans, LA 
New Orleans Marriott
2012 Ekklesia

Completed in 1972, this hotel boasts 1,329 rooms and over 80,000 square feet of meeting space. 

The Ekklesia included a Mardi Gras-style parade through the French Quarter on a Friday evening. The Ekklesia also approved charters to re-establish the chapters at Iowa and Cal State-Long Beach. August 2-5, 2012. 616 attended.

 

555 Canal Street, 
New Orleans, Louisiana 

 

Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis Marriott Downtown
2014 Ekklesia

Hosted the 166th Ekklesia in July, 2014. It featured an event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 690 attended. 

 

Boston, MA

Boston Westin Waterfront
2016 Ekklesia

Our first New England Ekklesia since 1958 in Swampscott, Ma, the Westin Boston Waterfront Hosted the 168th Ekklesia in August, 2016. The Ekklesia had several highlights including raising $78,000 through an Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit the Angel Fund for ALS research in memory of Steve Ruvin (WPI 1982) and our special event at Fenway Park for the Arizona DiamondBacks vs Boston Redsox.
903 attended - our largest since the 1954 Ekklesia in Los Angeles. 

 

Dallas, TX

Sheraton Dallas Hotel
2018 Ekklesia

The 170th Ekklesia was held July 26-29, 2018 in Dallas, TX. It featured a concert by country artist/songwriter Cory Morrow (Texas Tech 1995) at the historic Gilley's Dallas.