Children's Home
Why it's listed
Built in 1894 at 427 Robeson Street in Fall River, this red brick building served as the Children's Home, a charity founded in 1873 through a merger of the Fall River Orphan's Asylum and the Children's Friend Society. The organization aimed to function as a home rather than an institution, and the design reflects that goal. The 2 1/2-story building combines Colonial Revival features, including a columned front porch, bracketed cornice, gambrel roof and pedimented dormers, with an asymmetrical massing, intersecting gambrels, an elliptical front window and brownstone trim that recall the Queen Anne style. A stick style picnic shelter stands on the grounds. It replaced an earlier wooden building on the same street. The building is described as well crafted and virtually intact, ranking among the city's best late 19th century institutional structures, and it sits on a large lot. Its architecture and its long record as a favored Fall River charity support its listing.
Significance in brief: It is significant as one of the city's early social welfare agencies and as a well-crafted, largely intact example of late 19th century institutional architecture. Its Colonial Revival design with Queen Anne echoes gives it a home-like rather than institutional look. The form states it meets criteria A and C.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83000652, listed February 16, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 427 Robeson St., Fall River |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | February 16, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000652 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival (with Queen Anne-like elements) |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is offices; the form also notes the Children's Home has provided a residential program for about 20 children in recent years. |
| Acreage | 2.1 |
| Within district | Highlands Historic District |
| Coordinates | 41.71472, -71.14365 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83000652.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5098105
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.