The lack of fraternity houses at Kenyon has also necessitated the making of special arrangements for a chapter hall. The first chapter meetings of Chi were held in the rooms of the actives. In the spring of 1890, two rooms and a hallway were rented on the second floor over the post office, located on the southeast corner of Brooklyn Street and Chase Avenue. In the fall of 1901, the active chapter, under the leadership of Walter J. Morris ’02 and J. Kell Brandon ’02, aided by Herbert F. Williams, determined that Chi should have a Lodge of its own, befitting the position that it had attained on the Hill. According to a notation in the chapter minutes of October 20, 1901, the ground for the Lodge was obtained from Dr. William F. Peirce, president of Kenyon College. The decision was made to build the Lodge in the form of a tomb, the material to be tile. Using every spare moment, the actives labored mightily with the outcome that the structure was entirely the work of their own hands. No one, not a Delt, had ever put his foot inside the sacred portals of the Lodge. This tradition was maintained for many years.
Even when fire badly damaged the Lodge on January 21, 1909, the Chi men worked inside the building, using water that Greeks and nonGreeks, eager to help, brought to the door, but no farther. Sympathetic fellow Greeks turned their heads and sought to avert their eyes before the open door, so as not even to catch a glimpse of some hidden mystery – so greatly had the feeling changed between Chi Chapter and her sister fraternities.
The first meeting in the Lodge was held on the evening of April 12, 1902. Nearly 30 years later, the tile construction had outlived its usefulness. Here Robert A. Weaver ’12 stepped in. Under his direction and largely, if not entirely, at his expense, the Lodge was torn down, and the present beloved Lodge, made of cement blocks, was built. The outside appearance of the Lodge was not changed but the facilities for chapter meetings and banquets were greatly improved.