Notre Dame School
Why it's listed
Notre Dame School at 34 St. Joseph's Street in Fall River is a large three-story brick parochial school with a basement, built in 1899 in the Colonial Revival style. Its design came from Louis G. Destremps, a parish member and local architect who specialized in church work and had already designed St. Joseph's Orphanage and Notre Dame Church. The building has a full entablature with small brackets and dentils, granite sills and lintels, end wings that project forward, and a recessed central entrance sheltered by fluted Doric columns. The school grew from a one-room classroom organized in a private home in 1876. A year later, members of the religious order of Jesus and Mary arrived from Canada to expand the teaching. Classes then met in the parish's first wooden church until larger quarters were needed. The new school opened in the fall of 1900 and was then called Notre Dame College. It is valued as a distinctive example of its style, with fine brick workmanship, and it still serves as a school.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the school is a distinctive example of Colonial Revival style, notable for its brick construction and fine workmanship. It also reflects the growth of the Notre Dame parish school system, which began in 1876. It is listed under Criterion 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 83000697, listed February 16, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 34 St. Joseph's St., Fall River |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | February 16, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000697 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Louis G. Destremps |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as the present use being a school; owned by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Fall River. |
| Acreage | 0.5 |
| Coordinates | 41.69132, -71.13344 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
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 83000697.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7063472
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.