The high wooded hill overlooking the Iowa River was the site for a number of the university fraternity houses built in the decade of the twenties. With the exception of William L. Steele's Kappa Sigma (now Pi Kappa Alpha) house, all represent one or another of the historic types associated with the period revival of these years. All of the houses were conceived as large-scale suburban or country houses. The heavily wooded location of many of these buildings makes them, on the whole, difficult to see when the foliage is out during the summer months. Several of them can be seen better from the west, across the river on North Riverside Drive.

In addition to the group of fraternity houses on North Dubuque, there are several others scattered about the northeast and northwest sections of the city, especially west of the river, in and around Ellis and Ridgeland avenues, north of River Street.