Chapel of St. Anne
Why it's listed
Built in 1915 on Claremont Avenue in Arlington, this chapel is a rustic Norman Gothic building of local fieldstone dug from its own site. It rises two and a half stories on a rectangular plan, with two shallow bays off the narthex, a gracefully curved apse, a slate ridge roof, a row of narrow round windows near the eaves and a rose window in the west wall. Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram designed it, and it is the only work of his in Arlington. Cram was a dedicated Gothic scholar, and one critic compared the chapel to a tenth- or eleventh-century church in the Pyrenees or Brittany. The dark interior is lit by stained glass from Charles Connick. Wooden and stone fragments, some from the 15th century, are set into the walls, along with a 16th-century marble Madonna and Child and carvings by European artisans. The chapel began as part of an orphanage run by the Society of St. John the Evangelist and now anchors St. Anne's School for Girls, set among trees and gardens.
Significance in brief: It is Arlington's only example of the work of Ralph Adams Cram, a noted Gothic Revival architect. It is a massive fieldstone building of near-perfect proportions, with stained glass by Charles Connick and architectural fragments from many periods and places built into its walls. The form says it retains integrity and meets 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 85001026, listed April 18, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Claremont Ave., Arlington |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 18, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001026 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Ralph Adams Cram (architect) |
| Architectural style | Norman Gothic |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in ecclesiastical use; it serves as the centerpiece of St. Anne's School for Girls. No major alterations are recorded. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.42345, -71.18376 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
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 85001026.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5073083
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.