Alpha Sigma Phi - University of Washington

13 So why was it closed off and a new double-door entrance added? Again, because there was no basement. Access via the front steps to what we know now as the basement stopped at the Chapter room. The space was not connected to the back stairs. The in between space was undeveloped crawl space. The space from the back door went to the boiler room and storage rooms, a bathroom that has since been removed, and living quarters for houseboys and the cook (and some think a housemother). The Great Basement Expansion of the 1950s The basement, as we know it today, was another amazing endeavor of Mu brothers who went into a funding campaign to build the basement under a massive house that already existed. The structure was there but plans, architects, and funding had to be acquired. The project was alumni-backed and changed the in- terior of the Mu Chapter House forever. The basement project is why the fireplace between the solarium doors had to be removed and rebuilt in the new basement using the existing chimney. The space included a large glassed-in trophy case adjacent to the fire- place, a TV area, a pool hall, and the best party room on Greek Row. 1980s Bring More Change to the Basement and an Amazing Revelation The new basement stayed untouched for nearly 30 years when the undergraduate Chapter and alumni funded a total remodel of the basement, which added a men's and women's bathroom, new paneled walls, and other needed repairs. It was during this remod- el that the trophy case was removed, making way for an amazing discovery about 20 years later—the mysterious, but never found, secret tunnel to the Alpha Phi house. Was there really a tunnel to the Alpha Phi house? For years, this mythological tunnel was talked about by the undergraduate brothers. Did it really exist? It does exist. But it's not exactly a secret tunnel. Why did it take 20 years after the trophy case was removed to discover this? Curios- ity! But first, you need to understand the architecture. The trophy case was built in a space that feeds utility pipes to the Chapter House below the entire length of the patio area in front of the Chapter House. When the trophy case was removed during the remodel, the space was converted to a storage closet. The right side of the storage closet was a boarded up opening that was hid- den by the trophy case. The builders of the basement boarded this space up. Did they know what was on the other side of the space they boarded up? Of course. It was probably then that the myth of the tunnel to the Alpha Phi house jokingly was started, thereafter turning into Alpha Sig legend. So what is behind the boarded space and where does it go? About six or seven years ago, some inquisitive undergraduates saw the boarded up wall in the storage closet and decided to pull the boards away to see what was behind them. To their astonishment, there was a boardwalk that went into a very dark space. At a later point, they showed me the space and I went into it like they did. With light, it was easy to see an underground concrete room to the left of the boardwalk that went down pretty far. It was defi- nitely too creepy to inspect that area or to travel along the board- walk beyond a couple of dozen feet, but the space did continue all the way across the street. Destination Alpha Phi house? Did the original basement builders know what they found? Most likely. They found utility tunnels that connect the Greek houses on all four corners of 19th and 47th. From this grew a myth. The joy in all of this is that we have great stories from genera- tions after generations of Alpha Sigs spanning 105 years…all the way from Zeta Nu on University Boulevard in 1911 to Mu Chapter in 2017. Yes, today we have 2,000 brothers who have built life-lasting and life-changing memories, because a handful of men at the beginning of the 20th Century BELIEVED that building a fraternity house at 4554 19th Avenue Northeast, in the heart of Greek Row, was a worthy endeavor that would preserve a place in history for Mu Chapter for perpetuity. A hundred-plus years have passed, but the vision and tenacity of Alpha Sig alumni has stayed the same. Alumni are making certain that the $2 million goal to save the Mu Chapter House will be met. Why? Because it matters! ( ( (

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