{"nrhp_refnum":"83000722","name":"St. Louis Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"440 Bradford Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fall River","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.69645776700003,"lon":-71.16665320399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-02-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick Roman Catholic church at 440 Bradford Avenue in Fall River, Massachusetts, built in 1885 and designed by Providence architect James Murphy. It overlooks Kennedy Park.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a subdued example of High Victorian Gothic design that has served a middle and working class parish for nearly a century. It cites the handsome facade, fine craftsmanship, intact quality, prominent location and long service to the Roman Catholic community. It meets criteria A and C.","narrative":"St. Louis Church, at 440 Bradford Avenue in Fall River, is a brick Roman Catholic church completed in 1885 to designs by Providence architect James Murphy. Its design is a restrained version of High Victorian Gothic. A four-level square center tower projects only slightly from the main block and is framed by buttresses that seem more symbolic than structural. Tudor arched entrances, pinnacles atop the side buttresses and a crenelated tower parapet are executed in gray granite or terra cotta, giving a simplified version of the polychromy found in more elaborate Ruskinian churches of the period. The church overlooks Kennedy Park. The parish was formed in 1885 when Bishop Hendriken of Providence created it from the western part of St. Mary's parish, and it was named for its first pastor, the Rev. Louis J. Deady. The building was listed for its architecture, its craftsmanship, its intact condition and its long service to the area's Catholic population.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"James Murphy","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as a church; altered in 1946.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.527123-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/7894/63789467/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000722.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000722/bc30498051-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000722/bc30498051-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ST_Louis_Church_FR.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ST_Louis_Church_FR.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789467","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis_Church_(Fall_River,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7589593"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/st-louis-church-83000722/"}