{"nrhp_refnum":"83000638","name":"Bristol County Superior Court","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"441 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fall River","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.70831285600008,"lon":-71.15407101399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A courthouse complex at 441 North Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, made up of the 1889 Bristol County Superior Court House and the adjoining 1930 Registry of Deeds building. Both are owned by Bristol County.","why_significant":"The 1889 courthouse is described as the city's finest example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture and a landmark civic building with a commanding granite presence. It reflects the prosperity of Fall River and the county during the textile boom. The 1930 Registry of Deeds was designed to match the earlier building in style, materials and setback. The form cites criteria A and C.","narrative":"Two joined buildings at 441 North Main Street in Fall River serve as the Bristol County Superior Court House and Registry of Deeds. The courthouse, authorized in 1887 and begun in March 1889, was designed by New Bedford architect Robert H. Black and built by the Darling Brothers at a reported cost of $181,016. Its walls of rough-cut Maine granite are three feet thick and backed with brick. Typical Richardsonian Romanesque features include arched entrances, a round turret with a conical cap, a square corner tower and steep slate roof planes. Court sessions had previously been held only in Taunton and New Bedford, with Fall River's first session in 1877. The building reflects the wealth of the textile boom years. The adjoining Registry of Deeds, designed by local architect Edward M. Corbett in 1930, matches the older structure in style, materials and setback. Together they were recognized for distinctive style, workmanship, intact condition and nearly a century of public service.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Robert H. Black (courthouse, 1889); Edward M. Corbett (Registry of Deeds, 1930); contractors Darling Brothers","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is as a courthouse and registry of deeds; the form describes the building as intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.291979-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/5/7894/63789405/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000638.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000638/5f932cf4b0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000638/5f932cf4b0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"Infrogmation, New Orleans","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FallRiver21June07SuperiorCourthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Infrogmation, New Orleans</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FallRiver21June07SuperiorCourthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789405","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_County_Superior_Court_(Fall_River,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4968886"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/bristol-county-superior-court-83000638/"}