{"nrhp_refnum":"73000277","name":"Academy Building","other_names":["Academy of Music Building","Borden Block"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fall River","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.70069818200005,"lon":-71.15189386799995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-07-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-story red brick commercial block and theater, built in 1876 on a corner site in Fall River, Massachusetts, fronting South Main, South Frontage and Second Streets. It was built for Simeon Borden and is also known as the Academy of Music Building and Borden Block.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it an outstanding example of Ruskinian Gothic architecture, the most important building of that style in Fall River and one of the finest in New England. It combined prime commercial space with the city's chief theater and opera house, which served as the cultural center for over half a century. The theater is also a rare, largely unaltered survivor with its original stage machinery, drops and sets.","narrative":"Completed in 1876 for Simeon Borden, the Academy Building is a four-story corner block in downtown Fall River, fronting South Main, South Frontage and Second Streets. Boston architects Hartwell and Swazey designed it in High Victorian, or Ruskinian, Gothic style, using red pressed brick with sandstone trim, polished granite and encaustic tile. Pointed-arch windows, carved grotesques, pinnacled stone columns and a bracketed cornice with pedimented gables give the facades their colorful character. Inside, the building held shops, three floors of offices and the Academy of Music theater, which has a horseshoe-shaped orchestra, three balconies and a frescoed saucer dome with a crystal chandelier. It was the finest commercial block in the city when new, and the theater served as Fall River's cultural center for over half a century. The original stage machinery, drops and sets survive, and the theater was then the only downtown house suited to live productions. Plans for urban renewal threatened the building with demolition at the time of its listing.","period_of_significance":"1876 (19th Century)","architect_builder":"Hartwell and Swazey, Boston architects","architectural_style":"High Victorian (Ruskinian) Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, with retail on the ground floor, offices above and a theater operating as a movie house. Included in a 1971 urban renewal plan that called for its demolition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.777378-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/7944/63794438/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/73000277.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000277/a7503126b1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73000277/a7503126b1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Academy_Building,_Fall_River,_Massachusetts.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Academy_Building,_Fall_River,_Massachusetts.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794438","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Building_(Fall_River,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4671339"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/academy-building-73000277/"}