{"nrhp_refnum":"83000724","name":"St. Patrick's Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1588 S. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fall River","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":41.70343896300005,"lon":-71.17373802299994,"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":"St. Patrick's Church is a large granite Gothic Revival Catholic church at 1588 South Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts, built between 1881 and 1889 to designs by Patrick Keely.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the church is a key landmark serving the southern part of the city, built as the Irish Catholic population grew and new parishes were founded. It is also one of three major Fall River Catholic churches designed by Patrick C. Keely, described as probably America's first Catholic ecclesiastical architect. It meets Criteria A and C.","narrative":"St. Patrick's Church is a granite Gothic Revival building at 1588 South Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. The parish was founded in 1873 by Bishop Thomas Hendricken of Providence, with Rev. John Kelly as first pastor; early Masses were held in a former broom factory. The cornerstone was laid on September 18, 1881, and the church opened for worship in 1889. Designed by Patrick C. Keely, it has a basilican plan with a rectangular nave, clerestory windows above the aisle roofs, buttressed corners, and a projecting central clock and bell tower with a large Gothic window. Its style was loosely based on English parish churches. Keely designed three major Catholic churches in Fall River and is described as probably America's first Catholic ecclesiastical architect. The church was built for Catholics in the southern part of the city during a period of rapid growth in the Irish Catholic population, and it remains a landmark in that less densely built area.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Patrick Keely","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is as a church.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.307992-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/7894/63789465/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000724.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000724/6910c8d25a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000724/6910c8d25a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St-Patrick-Church_FR.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St-Patrick-Church_FR.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789465","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Patrick%27s_Church_(Fall_River,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7590928"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/st-patricks-church-83000724/"}