House History

The Chi Upsilon chapter was instituted on January 15, 1916 by Drs. Eben J. Carey and Jay Albert Keys. The chapter eventually purchased their first house on the Northeast corner of 25th and Capitol. It was a frame house that was only used by the fraternity for six months before they switched into the second chapter house, a brick structure located on the Northwest corner of 22nd and Davenport (the current location of the Creighton University Towers). The house was closed in 1917 and remained that way for the duration of the war.

In the fall of 1919, the chapter opened its doors again, this time at 3635 Lafayette Ave (pictured bottom right?). They were headquartered there for a while before moving to a new house at 201 S. 32nd Street, where they lived until 1932, when they moved once again, to a house (pictured upper left) located at 3120 Davenport Ave and formerly owned by Henry W. Yates. Mr. Yates came to Omaha as a wholesale grocer, but only two years after arriving in Omaha, he joined the Kountze brothers to begin a banking career, eventually rising to president of the First National Bank. A variety of business interests occupied him: real estate, railroad, bridge, stockyards development, and white lead smelting. He joined the Omaha Library Association to establish a circulating library in Omaha, and participated in the founding of Brownell Hall, an Episcopal School for young women in 1863.

For a few years, starting in the mid 1940's, the fraternity switched to another new residence: an old brick building located at 111 South 34th Street (pictured upper right). During this time, the house and its members were tenderly cared for by the housekeeper/cook, who they referred to as "Ma." The chapter was dislodged from this house because of its impending demolition to clear room for the new Mutual of Omaha building. The last home that they inhabited before their current house was a block away, at 209 South 33rd Street. It was an old hotel (pictured left), which they moved into sometime in the late '50s or early '60s and, ironically, was eventually demolished to put in a parking lot for the Mutual of Omaha building.

In 1952, the chapter hired Mae Webb to cook for the house. She stayed until 1985, when she retired, and the current house's kitchen has been dedicated to all of her loyalty and friendship.

The Chi Upsilon chapter currently resides at the Earl Buck residence (pictured bottom left), which was designed in Jacobean Revival style by H. A. Raapke and built in 1916. The stately house was Gottlieb Storz's (owner of Storz Brewery) wedding present to his niece, Louise, upon her marriage to Earl Buck. Constructed of brick and trimmed with limestone, the house displays many of the hallmarks of its architectural style, including wide Tudor-Gothic arches, limestone lintels over the windows, a large two-story bay window, and a gabled roof. Asymmetrical composition and Jacobethan fenestration are also typical of the style. The residence has an outlying carriage house with second-floor servants' quarters. Later owned by Francis P. Matthews, Secretary of the Navy from 1948 to 1950 and Ambassador to Ireland during 1951-1952.

The house was purchased by the Chi Upsilon chapter in 1968 and renamed the Hartmann House after Chi Upsilon class of '35 alumnus Clarence M. Hartmann. $25,000 was quickly spent on major repairs, fire exits, and turning the carriage house into bedrooms. Soon thereafter, the damaged ceilings were replaced, the roof was repaired, and a central fire alarm system was installed.

Another renovation was completed in the late 1980's, and we are once again, this year, beginning to drive towards the restoration of the house. This summer we began work on the second floor bathroom, which had to be completely torn out and redone because of significant water damage to the floor joists, and we replaced the master bedroom ceiling that was falling in and causing a disruption because of its lack of insulation. Before this summer, the inhabitant in the master bedroom and that of the room above it had to be good friends, because there was no noise dampening to allow any secrets between them. You can see some pictures of the recent renovations, as well as the project that we are hoping to start on the third floor bathroom on our house renovations page.