Church Street Historic District

Church Street and East Main Street in North Adams form a V-shaped neighborhood of 56 properties, most of them substantial 19th-century houses. Only four were built after 1900, so the area keeps a largely intact look from the era when the city grew from a rural town into an industrial and railroad center. The houses show a full run of styles, from Federal and Greek Revival to Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Stick, Shingle and even an early Prairie-style design. Architects represented include Marcus Fayette Cummings, Rufus Russell and Henry Neil Wilson. Much of the building followed the Civil War, when leading mill owners and businessmen moved their homes away from the mill neighborhoods and adopted fashionable styles seen in Albany, Troy and Boston. Two churches, including the landmark Notre Dame Church, and a former parochial school add to the group. Recent restorations and condominium conversions have supported preservation of the district.