Location: 537 West 261th Street, Bin# 2098642 . Block: 5958, Lot: 1.
Status: Never landmarked or heard.
Description from the Bronx Survey: Louise Le Gras Hall, located just north of West 261st Street on the grounds of the College of Mount St. Vincent, played a major role in the history of public education in Riverdale. The structure was erected by the Sisters of Charity, the Catholic charitable organization that founded the College, and opened in 1875 as a free school.
Despite the fact that the school was operated by the Roman Catholic Church, it was considered to be the first public school in Riverdale, since there was no other educational facility in this sparsely populated area. The school continued to be the only place where children from the northwest Bronx could receive a free education until 1910 when the city erected a larger structure on Riverdale Avenue.
The building currently houses the administrative offices for the Sisters of Charity. Designed in a severe style that befits its original function as a country schoolhouse, Louise Le Gras Hall does not exhibit the arresting architectural qualities that characterize some of its neighbors on campus. Nevertheless, with its simple geometric forms and massive dormered mansard roof projecting out over bracketed eaves, this brick structure achieves a certain monumentality .
This building is probably an example of historic importance outweighing architectural distinction.
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