Letter: ‘Old 99’ Replacement Moves Forward
The brothers of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as Fiji, are excited to announce that we are moving forward with the complete replacement of our 122-year-old chapter house, located at 99 Salisbury St. The original house, affectionally known as “Old 99,” was demolished on Oct. 28 to make way for a brand-new, 14,500 sq. ft. home for the chapter. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Nov. 20, which was also the 130th anniversary of our chartering at WPI. Phi Gamma Delta was the first Greek letter fraternity at WPI in 1891.
The original chapter house was completed Oct. 1, 1899. It is one of the oldest continually operating fraternity houses in the country. Worcester contractor Joseph Vaudreuil built the 24-room home, which was designed by Worcester architects Fuller, Frost, and Delano, at a cost of approximately $12,000—plus another $2,000 for furnishings. The house doubled in size with a major renovation in 1965, which added the famed sundeck. The difficult decision to rebuild was driven by engineering studies and the cost analysis of renovation and repair.
The new house will be a residential, colonial-style home on three levels and a basement, with 16 bedrooms to accommodate up to 40 live-ins. It will be built on the existing lot with similar footprint to the old house and will be equipped with full kitchen and dining facilities, and accessible study and social spaces. F.W. Madigan Company of Worcester will be building the new facility, which was designed by William J. Masiello Architect, also of Worcester. Several Fiji graduate brothers and Consigli Construction Co. assisted with the pre-construction planning. Funding for the new $5 million home was secured in large part by the generous support of our alumni. It is expected to be completed in fall 2022. And, yes, the “Fiji rock” is staying. The hundreds of layers of paint on it hold decades of memories and stories.
Since 1891, the Pi Iota Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at WPI has provided a sense of belonging, strong bonds of friendship, leadership, and success, and a means of giving back to WPI and the community. Several of our brothers serve the Institute in advisory roles and on the Board of Trustees. The undergraduate chapter has also been recognized with several fraternity awards for national performance. With new beginnings, the chapter will continue to give back and thrive in the modern college environment.
—David C. Willens ’09, ’10 MS, ’20 PhD Phi Gamma Delta Graduate Advisor