The Chapter House

A Castle in the Heart of Campus

When brothers first moved into 55 West Broadway in 1970, they didn’t call it the chapter house — they called it The Castle. The name stuck for good reason. Built of dressed limestone in the English Gothic tradition, the Sigma Nu house is one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings in all of Gettysburg, a three-story stone manor with soaring chimneys, leaded-glass windows, and a presence that commands the corner of West Broadway with unmistakable character.

Today, that same landmark building has been brought fully into the 21st century. A comprehensive, top-to-bottom renovation — from the slate roof down to the basement, through every floor, bedroom, and bathroom — has transformed The Castle into a living experience that no college dormitory can match.

Location

Barely Half a Block From Campus

The Sigma Nu house sits at 55 West Broadway — a thirty-second walk from the main campus gate and, measured honestly, closer to Gettysburg’s academic quad than a number of on-campus residence halls. You are not trading convenience for community here. You are gaining both.

Living at the house means rolling out of bed and being at class in minutes. It means getting back between lectures without a long trek. It means being woven into the campus while having a home that is genuinely yours.

Value

More House. Lower Cost.

One of the most compelling facts about living at the Sigma Nu house is one that rarely gets enough attention: it costs less than living in a Gettysburg College dormitory — often significantly less — while delivering a living experience that is in every measurable way superior.

You get more square footage, a real kitchen, fireplaces, a dining room, a living room, a meeting room, stained glass on the staircase, and a bathroom that was just renovated — all for less than the college charges to pack you into a standard double.

The Renovation

Completely Rebuilt, From Roof to Basement

The Castle has always had bones. What it has now is everything else. A comprehensive, whole-house renovation has touched every square foot of the building — new roof, new basement, refinished floors throughout, entirely rebuilt bathrooms, updated bedrooms, and modernized common spaces — while preserving every ounce of the historic character that makes the house irreplaceable.

The result is a house that feels genuinely luxurious — not despite its age, but because of it. Original wood millwork, ornate carved newel posts, stained-glass windows on the main staircase, decorative plaster fireplaces in the common rooms: these are the elements that make the Sigma Nu house unlike anything a college construction project could ever produce.

Interior

Spaces Worth Living In

The Sigma Nu house offers a range of common spaces that no dormitory — regardless of cost — can replicate. A formal chapter room with a Gothic stone fireplace serves as the heart of fraternity life. Adjacent sits a lounge with an ornate carved mantel, leather furniture, and walls lined with decades of brotherhood. Down the hall, a dining room with leaded-glass French doors provides a space for meals, meetings, and the kind of conversations that shape a life.

Living Quarters

Bedrooms & Bathrooms, Fully Renovated

Every bedroom in the house benefits from the renovation — updated lighting, freshened walls, and real space to live in. The premier rooms are genuinely impressive: large enough for a common area setup within the room itself, with high ceilings and multiple windows that fill the space with natural light.

The bathrooms are where the renovation speaks loudest. Floor-to-ceiling white subway tile, penny-tile floors in classic black-and-white, chrome fixtures, walk-in showers, and clean, modern design — this is not a dormitory bathroom. This is something better.

Ownership

One of Only Three — A Permanent Home

Of the many fraternities at Gettysburg College, only three own their own chapter house. Sigma Nu is one of them. That distinction matters more than it might initially seem.

When a fraternity owns its house, the brotherhood controls its destiny. There is no landlord, no lease renewal, no risk of being displaced. The house is an asset held in trust for every generation of brothers — past, present, and future. The investments made in renovation, in upkeep, in improvement, all compound over time and return to the brotherhood, not to a third-party property owner.

• ★One of only 3 fraternities at Gettysburg College that own their chapter house
• ★Brotherhood investment stays in the brotherhood — not paid to a landlord
• ★Stable, permanent home — no lease risk, no displacement
• ★Asset held across generations, improving with each class
• ★Whole-house renovation completed — roof, floors, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement
• ★Historic limestone Gothic architecture, irreplaceable on Gettysburg’s campus
• ★Half a block from campus — closer to the academic quad than many college dorms
• ★Housing cost lower than on-campus dormitory rates