78 – 95 [334 Tenth St NW]

334 Tenth St NW
Atlanta, GA 30318

(Currently a Gravel Lot)

Charles Hall writes:

“PUSOG was looking for property – found one house at 5th and Fowler – it didn’t work for some reason (we didn’t sign a contract) – then we (probably one of the Dinunnos) found 334 10th – Steve Taylor’s father’s company loaned us $35,000.00 and we borrowed $8,000.00 from the Psi Upsilon Foundation. Steve Taylor is an alumnus now – his father’s company was Southern Satellite Systems, Inc. Steve put me in touch with his father and I negotiated both loans. Henry Poor didn’t have anything to do with the big loan, but did help convince the Foundation to loan the rest of the money – he was the Executive Director of Psi U at the time.”

Joe DiNunno writes:

“I’m not sure who on campus told me about the availability of the house at 334 tenth street, but it probably came through IFC. Chuck Hall handled the details of the deal that landed us in the house. Sounds like you got that info right.

Wheels and I moved in with the Rats into the house for the Summer of 1978. TACO had a field day when JC White brought her to the house in the Fall. Rush went very well from our new house.”

Steve King writes:

“the Chapter moved for a couple of years to a long gone apartment building just across the Tech Tunnel from what is now called Bobby Dodd Way. Think the freeway widening in the 1980s wiped out that building.”

In a letter from 78, Joe DiNunno, then Chapter President, wrote:

“May 8, 1978
Dear Brothers:

I would like to take this opportunity to first remind you that we will be having our spring initiation ceremony on Friday, May 12, 1978. I would also like to discuss the progress we have made towards the purchase of a new house.

Our spring initiation will be this Friday, May 12, at 7:30 P.M. in room 319 of the Georgia Tech Student Center. The ceremony will be followed by dinner at 8:30 P.M. at the “Beef and Burgundy” restaurant at Tower Place near the intersection of Peachtree and Piedmont. Cost for the dinner will be approximately $9.00 per person with a cash bar to be run by the restaurant.

With the help of the recently incorporated Psi Upsilon Society of Georgia, we have contracted to purchase a large two-story house on the northside of campus. To purchase the house we have obtained a loan from the Psi Upsilon Foundation for the 25% down payment. We are currently attempting to obtain a commercial bank loan for the remainder of the purchase price of the house.

In order to obtain the bank loan, we may need to have a number of people sign personal guarantees that would total up to the amount of the $32,000 loan. To accomplish this, we would like a number of alumni and brothers to guarantee at least $1000 apiece, hopefully more. Signing a guarantee does not require you to have the money on hand. The guarantees are only required to give the bank a better sense of security.

The chances of these guarantees ever being enforced are very small. The first reason for this is that the loan is for only 75% of the purchase price. If the bank has to foreclose, it is likely that the bank will be able to sell the house at a price that will cover their loan cost. The Psi Upsilon Foundation is the only one that stands to lose anything if foreclosure would even occur. The brothers of the Gamma Tau are quite confident that twenty-five men returning in the fall will leave us in good shape for the future. Plans for a big rush are already being finalized.

If only by some remote chance the bank will not be able to cover its costs, they could only collect on the guarantees by taking each individual to court to collect a couple of hundreds of dollars from each signee to cover their unrecovered losses.

With the risk involved in signing one of these personal guarantees very small, we hope that many of you will be able to help out the chapter this way. If you have any questions please call Chuck Hall at 892-3013 (or 262-7205). If you can help us out, we would like to hear from you at the Initiation dinner or by a telephone call to me at the Chapter House (collect 404-892-6398). In either case, we will follow this note up with a phone call. The brothers are all looking forward to seeing you this Friday.

Yours in the Bonds,

Joseph N. DiNunno, Jr.

President, Gamma Tau”

“Housing” by an anonymous Brother, 1980

After many years of vagabondry, the Gamma Tau Chapter has now spent two years in “permanent” quarters, located near Tech campus.

The Chapter presently occupies a small house on a busy thoroughfare in a residential neighborhood. The house, located at 334 Tenth Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia, was purchased in 1978 by the Psi Upsilon Society of Georgia, Inc., for $43,000.

Having a permanent Chapter house has been both a blessing and a burden. Chapter unity and campus identification have been two positive aspects of the venture. Unfortunately, the problems have been noteworthy.

While the undergraduates have been insulated from housing problems for the most part, it has not escaped the notice of everyone who has lived at 334 Tenth Street, that running a Fraternity House in a hostile environment can be difficult.

Neighborhood opposition brought the full weight of the City Zoning office down on unsuspecting alumni in the fall of 1978, and again in the fall of 1979. An attempt to obtain variance failed in 1978, and influence at the top, plus a realization by the City officials that zoning laws in Atlanta are capricious and unfair, has gained the house a reprieve.

Rental rates have remained constant for seven quarters now, but inflation, plus a necessary renotation of the mortgage at today’s high interest rates, dictate a rent increase by as much as twenty percent over previous quarters.

The future holds promise, though. 344 Tenth Street is a very valuable piece of property. The house is located near a MARTA station slated to be opened in 1983. The property is located adjacent to Tech and is zoned A-1. It is clear that the property can provide some cash for the relocation of the Chapter.

It must be remembered, however, that the next time the Chapter moves, it must be to quarters that have a useful life of at least ten years. Unfortunately, this will take a great deal of money and massive alumni support.”

Psi U Tours – circa 1994 by Brother Alex Hofelich

Hey, how’re you doing? I’m Alex your host for today. It’s nice to see all you beautiful people around. Glad you could visit and gladder you chose Psi U Tours. You could’ve chosen the other guys, but we know Psi U Tours is the best and going somewhere else would just be a waste of your time and talents. But enough of this chit-chat… on with the tour!

Now as we travel down Tenth Street, you’ll notice on your left the Psi Upsilon Fraternity House. No, it has not been condemned; it is quite a livable domicile, contrary to popular belief. Wave and say hi to the morons on the roof. You will notice the beautiful flora and lawn decorations. Yes, the grass is supposed to be that high, and the aluminum cans and cigarette butts art actually artfully arranged. And though you may believe that our azalea bushes merely thrive on abuse, they are actually space aliens here to recruit a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. But, please, step inside the foyer.

Yes, this is the foyer. Impressive, isn’t it? On the right we have our recycling bins filled to overflowing and no that is not a picture of a monkey on the wall, that’s actually a picture of Jesus, or is that Einstein? No, wait, that’s just one of Jeff Stephens’s baby pictures. On the left we have the fireplace protected by our Sovereign Saint and his two Golden Frogs. You may think that’s a canary on St. Francis’s shoulder, but it’s actually another golden frog.

From here we go into the living room. Be careful not to step in between the Brothers and the television. It could get ugly. Notice the new TV? Isn’t its picture so bright, so clear? Now we don’t have to turn out all the lights and block off all the windows to be able to see Real Sex 24.

Next we have the library. Generally unexciting as we’re surrounded by text books and word files. The owl, protector of Psi U and symbol of knowledge, watches from the mantel among trophies and awards.

Here’s 69. Sure it looks like a closet, but that’s just a trick. At one time the room was “169,” but the “1” fell off and we just haven’t gotten around to replacing it. Our current excuse is, “I prefer it this way.” Besides, for the most, the room has stood up to the numbers that represent it. The closet over there is pretty nice, except when the upstairs toilet decides to overflow. But those are minor inconveniences. This room was a favorite of Ratzilla’s. But anyway… On to the kitchen!

Some simple rules are followed here. There’s areas designated for the entire house use. There’s one set of cabinets, and the fridge. If you put stuff in either of these, you lose. Sorta like that law that says once you put something in the garbage, it’s no longer private property. The only exception is meat in the freezer. Don’t bogart another Brother’s meat. Dishes in personal cabinets are usually private property, but this rule isn’t always observed by all the brothers. Me, I don’t really mind, as long as you wash it afterwards. Back that way is the utility “closet,” the downstairs bathroom, one of the back doors. The downstairs bathroom used to have a bathtub in it, but it is now buried somewhere in the back yard. It was one of those huge copper jobs that was used several times to brew beer (it was washed first). One time, the beer turned out funny and some went bad in the tub. The couldn’t drain it so they threw it out and buried it in the back yard. But come back this way and we’ll visit the basement.

These are the steps to hell and the have the seven deadly sins on them. Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Wrath, Envy, Pride, Violence, Treachery. What? That’s nine. Well we added two deadly sins to match the nine levels of hell for our annual Heaven and Hell party. To the immediate right of the stairs is a dangerous section where we haphazardly keep most of our tools, paints, and other things that involve work. Past that is the Brother’s Room, which is filled almost every night with at least two or three people studying on weeknights, and role-playing on weekends. If we leave here and go back out the way we came, we will pass the boiler and furnace on the left and come to the “commons” part of the basement and see one of the primary pastimes of many Psi U’s: the fooseball table. Past that is the bar and then the other back door. On the right is the old TV that used to be upstairs, but is now down here as it doesn’t hurt the basement too much to be dark, and you can actually see the picture down here. And there’s the pentacle with the smiley face in it. Around the outer edge it say (in English) Have a Nice Day and (in Dwarvish Tolkien runes) Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and good with catsup, You’re not really paranoid if they’re all actually after you, Have a Nice Day… Somewhere Else, and Barney loves you. The basement is an all around cool place to be. Now let me take you all the way upstairs.

Don’t lean on that railing, please. If you do, you’re taking your life into your own hands and we are no longer responsible for you. On the immediate left we have the phone box. This is a converted speaker where people sit and talk on the phone, as both the upstairs and downstairs lines have jacks here. We have a general policy that there are no jacks in a private room, unless it is a private line paid for by the owner. Keeps bills and phone time much simpler. To our right we have room 201. This room is currently occupied by Ozzy and those he allows to live with him. On around the little corner and past the STOP sign is 202, the 203, the bathroom and 204 going around the hall in order. Here’s the part of the tour where I give you more of a free reign to wander around. Just please knock before going into a room. Otherwise, you may see things not fit for most human beings.

Be careful as you leave. Don’t walk through the foyer in step, otherwise you may go through the floor. One party there was a lot of synchronized dancing and the floor was doing evil things. So, please, no walking in step. Thank you for visiting and choosing Psi U tours.

We moved out of this house Summer of 1995.

(Know more? Comment! We’d love memories and pictures from this era)

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