Founding Date

Apr 12th, 1907

The University of California, Berkeley was the first full-curriculum public university in the state and opened in Berkeley in September 1869. Named in honor of the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley who had strong ties to Yale University in Connecticut, it was only after a merger with the College of California and the completion of two halls in 1873 that the university opened with 167 male and 222 female students. Beginning in 1891 Phoebe Apperson Hearst made several large gifts to Berkeley, funding a number of programs and new buildings. In 1898, she sponsored an international competition in Antwerp, Belgium, where French architect Emile Bernard submitted the winning design for a campus master plan. Many of these buildings which she funded were for “House Clubs” – housing for women students. The first of these clubs was named ‘Pie del Monte Club.’ Mrs. Hearst settled them in her home at the foot of Gizzly Peak and the girls soon realized that fraternity life possessed the advantages they desired. Letters dating back to 1900 to the ‘Grand Council of Delta Gamma’ were numerous and are preserved in the archival files at Delta Gamma Fraternity’s Executive Offices in Columbus, Ohio. Many house clubs wrote to become charter members wrote letters between 1900 and 1905 but were turned down. It wasn’t until January 1906 that Pie del Monte tried one more time to petition the Fraternity and was approved to become Gamma chapter of Delta Gamma. On April 4, 1907, the women of Pie del Monte received word by telegram that the Fraternity would grant their charter. On April 12, the Gamma chapter was installed by collegians of Upsilon-Stanford. The rest is history as Gamma chapter has built a sisterhood that has continued for 105 years. Pie del Monte was the first charter group to own property during the petitioning status, so the house in Phoebe Apperson’s name was deeded over to the Gamma chapter once they were installed. As the size of the chapter increased, it became obvious that Gamma would soon need a new house, so they began making plans to find other accommodations. In December 1908, the Gamma women began renting a 3-story house on the north side of campus on the corner of Euclid and Virginia streets. Once again, the Gamma chapter outgrew the house, so they began to make plans to own a larger chapter house. By 1912, the chapter and its housing corporation had raised enough money to submit an initial payment for a plot of land at 2710 Channing Way. Construction broke ground in the fall of 1913, and by May of 1914, the 30 chapter members moved in to their new 3-story home. House also on Channing Street were Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, and Gamma Phi Beta. Additional land was purchased to the east of the house to add a garden to the property. In the summer of 1955, a living room was added on to the front of the house, and in 1957 the sun porch was converted to a kitchen. The 1970s brought more renovations. A house mother suite and guest rooms were added, as well as a sun deck on the roof of the house. The Gamma chapter still resides in this house.