National Register of Historic Places

Hall of the Divine Child

Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan
Listed
April 16, 2017
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
100000885

About this property

The Hall of the Divine Child was a boarding school in Monroe, Michigan serving kindergarten through eighth grades. It was built in 1918 and closed in 1980; the building turned into the "Norman Towers". It was entered onto the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. In 1915, Bishop John Samuel Foley asked the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to construct a boys boarding school. Construction began that year, but World War I delayed the opening until 1918. The school opened in January of that year with 26 pupils. Attendees were primarily boarding students, but some day students attended. Originally the school also housed grade 1-6 girls attending St Mary's Academy (now St. Mary Catholic Central High School). In 1932, the girls were moved to a new facility, and Hall of the Divine Child began offering high school classes. In 1936, the school became a military academy, and a regulation drill uniform was adopted in 1938. In 1941, with a waiting list to enter, the high school curriculum was dropped and the school returned to K-8 classes. Enrollment peaked in the mid-1950s at about 350 students. However, in the following years, enrollment declined and operational costs increased. The school closed in 1980. In the early 1980s, the sisters sold the building to a limited partnership, which converted it to an apartment complex for older adults known as "Norman Towers." However, the sisters repossessed the building in the late 1990s, and resold it in 2005. As of 2017, a developer plans to renovate the structure. The Hall of the Divine Child is a four-and-a-half-story, red brick, institutional building with limestone trim. The facade is dominated by a central castellated tower, which has battlements and turrets.

Location

810 W. Elm Ave.
Monroe, Monroe County, Michigan
41.55183, -83.24184

Categories

ARCHITECTUREEDUCATION
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Nearby Battles

Battle of Fort Stephenson (War of 1812)
1813Early Republic
15 mi
Battle of Fort Stephenson Aug 1-2 1813
1813Early Republic
15.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Hall of the Divine Child listed on the National Register?

Hall of the Divine Child was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 2017.

What type of historic resource is Hall of the Divine Child?

Hall of the Divine Child is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Hall of the Divine Child?

The period of significance for Hall of the Divine Child is recorded as the industrial era.

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