The Archi - November 2011 - Alpha Rho Chi

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Milestones in Our History The Founding of Arcus Society 26 Milestones in Our History Arcus Society in 1913, in the photo submitted to Sigma Upsilon before the founding of Alpha Rho Chi. As every pledge of Alpha Rho Chi knows, our fraternity was founded on April 11, 1914, when Arcus Society of the University of Illinois and Sigma Upsilon of the University of Michigan came together in Chicago, Illinois, to form the first national architectural fraternity. As we approach the centennial of that noteworthy event, we’ve begun marking the anniversary of the milestones along the way. This year, we take a closer look at the founding of Arcus. It was 100 years ago, in the fall of 1911, that fifteen young men at the University of Illinois determined “to unite in a common bond of devotion to the arts,” as founding member Leo M. Bauer would later recount, “particularly that of architecture, to which they had dedicated their lives.” Chandler C. Cohagen, Bauer’s counterpart at Sigma Upsilon, would proudly recall that the members of Arcus were “to be found among the best campus organizations, honorary fraternities, student and class undertakings, and other worthy activities.” Membership was limited to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and three faculty members assumed advisory roles: Dr. Nathan C. Ricker, Loring H. Provine, and Allen H. Kimball. According to Bauer, it was Dr. Ricker—then professor emeritus of architecture and a former dean of the college of engineering—who first suggested the name “Arcus.” “He believed that the acanthus leaf represented the most beautiful form in plant or floral life,” said Bauer. “He reminded us that hardly any of the great architectural monuments designed by Grecian and Roman master architects were without the acanthus as a mode of decoration. He felt that any name to be chosen… should contain the last two letters of the word. Inasmuch as our lives would henceforth be bound to the profession of architecture, and always interwoven A 1913 sketch for the Arcus emblem, showing a cup, torch, pyramid, and sun; a diagonal band with seven stars; and the Latin fide et amore (“faith and love”). While we have no record of the final design, we do know that the fraternity’s motto (fidelitas, amor et artes—“faith, love, and the arts”) was a combination of the mottos of the two founding societies, and that the starred band and Egyptian sun on our coat of arms were inspired by the Arcus emblem. The Archi November 2011
Street in the late 1920s.) “Through Dr. Ricker’s advice and with his urge to press forward,” Bauer would later recall, “Arcus began a course of pursuit for expansion.” Brother W.M. Wadsworth began writing to various universities throughout the country looking for other During the time of its organization, Arcus held its meetings at the University’s YMCA (now Illini Hall). with the word architect, that we might well use the first three letters of the word, uniting it with the last two letters of acanthus, and hence we arrive at the final word or name ‘Arcus,’ beautiful, yet mysterious.” For the first year of its existence, on the advice of Professor Provine, Arcus Society operated in secret. As Bauer would later explain, Provine “wished that we at Illinois conduct our affairs in a quiet, dignified manner because of some opposition which had developed to all fraternities in the University Senate.” In the fall of 1912 the University of Illinois’ Council of Administration granted formal approval for the founding of the society, and Arcus went public. Leo M. Bauer, a member of the original Arcus Society, handled the “voluminous correspondence and tedious negotiation” with Michigan’s Sigma Upsilon. Dr. Ricker was instrumental in establishing the group’s presence on campus, initiating a series of conferences with the university’s dean of men, Thomas Arkle Clark, and securing formal recognition of Arcus Club from the faculty in the early months of 1913. Bauer would later recall Dr. Ricker as “a distinguished personality, with a brilliant mind,” saying “a more fatherly character never lived. He always gave of his most valuable time to those who sought his advice and counsel… He was a man of very great achievement and distinction.” During the time of its organization, the society held its meetings at the University’s YMCA. The men were able to secure a house during the fall semester of 1913, but the exact address may have been lost to history: Records from this time are sketchy, and later accounts of the chapter’s residence are conflicting. (The men of Arcus and, later, Anthemios appear to have occupied a succession of homes along Green Street, just north and west of the campus quad, before constructing the current chapter house on First This home (possibly located at 606 East Green) was listed as the Anthemios residence in the university’s 1915 yearbook and in the 1916 Archi, and may have been the house secured by Arcus in 1913. architectural societies interested in forming a national fraternity. Letters were sent to Harvard, Washington University, Georgia School of Technology, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, and the University of Michigan. This was the beginning of correspondence between Brother Cohagen of Sigma Upsilon and Brother Bauer of Arcus Society. For a time, Cornell’s Gargoyle Society showed considerable interest as well, and it was expected that three societies would form the nucleus for the first architectural fraternity, but Gargoyle eventually bowed out. Only Arcus and Sigma Upsilon seemed prepared to unite to create a national organization. Cohagen and Bauer charged one another “to promote a spirit of good will and benevolence [so] that if ever a meeting between them would take place… such would redound to the credit of the men whom they represented.” Although we all know the conclusion to this story, we’ll continue our retelling of it on the 100th anniversary of the year that meeting took place… 27 Milestones in Our History The Archi November 2011
Page 1 and 2: leadership professionalism service
Page 3 and 4: 28 Alpha Rho Chi through the Years
Page 5 and 6: created as a statement against desi
Page 7 and 8: 7 Escaping the Vacuum The Archi Nov
Page 9 and 10: tion of architects to those in trai
Page 11 and 12: Preserving America’s Best Idea Fr
Page 13 and 14: A 19th-century photo of the Colonel
Page 15 and 16: asked to survey nationally signific
Page 17 and 18: The reflecting pool in the Italian
Page 19 and 20: Louis Sullivan’s first bank proje
Page 21 and 22: Get in touch with your alumni assoc
Page 23 and 24: Steven & Shanon Bentz Vitruvius Rya
Page 25: Scott & Danielle (Likvan) Swanson D
Page 29 and 30: The pledges knew that the chapter r
Page 31 and 32: He responded, “I know it’s righ
Page 33 and 34: Metagenes circa 1982 Life at 105 Lu
Page 35 and 36: Demetrios 1983 Joining the Big Leag
Page 37 and 38: we were going to lose it. I guess w
Page 39 and 40: Winners of the APX Medal 2011 In 19

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