{"nrhp_refnum":"74000543","name":"Mount St. Mary's Academy and Convent","other_names":["Orphanage of the Holy Angels"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Church and Chapel Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Grass Valley","county":"Nevada County","state":"CA","lat":39.214654590000066,"lon":-121.06858680199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-05-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story stucco and masonry convent and academy building with an attached wooden Gothic-style chapel, at the corner of Church and Chapel Streets in Grass Valley, Nevada County, California. Construction began in March 1865.","why_significant":"The building was the first orphanage in the Mother Lode and in the interior of California. It later became a select boarding school, Mt. St. Mary's Academy, and continued to provide social service, religious training, education and culture to the region.","narrative":"Mount St. Mary's Academy and Convent in Grass Valley is a three-story white building, 120 by 40 feet, with rough stone and brick at the first floor and stuccoed upper stories. Its tall proportions, broad flat window surrounds, rusticated corners and long free-standing entrance stair recall rural Italian Palladian design, and a walled garden with boxwood walks, statues and a fountain sits in front. A wooden Gothic-style chapel, lined inside with embossed tin sheets, adjoins the north end. Construction began in 1865, and the Sisters moved in that May. The first orphans arrived in 1866, making it the first orphanage in the Mother Lode and interior California. Financial pressure led the Sisters to open a boarding school in 1868, and it became Mt. St. Mary's Academy in 1880. Boarders were housed here until 1927, classes continued until 1966, and the Sisters lived in the building until 1968. It was recognized for its social service, religious, educational and cultural contributions.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (begun March 1865; cornerstone laid 2 May 1865)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Simple and free Palladian Renaissance (academy); Gothic vernacular (St. Joseph's Chapel)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as fair and altered. Classroom use ended in 1966 and the Sisters left at Christmas 1968. The form states it is available to rent and used for fund-raising events.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.192384-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000543.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000543/07d561a3c6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000543/07d561a3c6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_St._Mary%27s_Academy_(Grass_Valley,_CA).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_St._Mary%27s_Academy_(Grass_Valley,_CA).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860138","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Saint_Mary%27s_Convent_and_Academy","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14683433"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/nevada-county/mount-st-marys-academy-and-convent-74000543/"}