World Theater
870 Purchase Street,
New Bedford,
MA
02740
870 Purchase Street,
New Bedford,
MA
02740
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Flower Theater
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The World Theater was located on Purchase Street, between Hillman Street and North Street, just north of downtown. In 1910 it was owned by Emil Hesse and George W. Auger. Before 1910 it was a burlesque theater known as the Flower Theater.
Contributed by
Jay Avila
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Are there any photos that survive?
So after a lot of digging I finally came up with an address. The World was listed in the 1909 Directory as 236 Purchase. HOWEVER this was before the road was re-numbered. Following the original numbering puts it on Purchase between Hillman and North St, on the east side of the road, where Melville Towers is now. The theater only shows up in the 1909 directory, and I checked from 1907 to 1915, so I’m tempted to think this place only ran for a year or two. Flower Theater wasn’t listed in any directory under theater, so that’s still a mystery. The 1911 atlas shows a different owner of the building than mentioned above, leading to my theory it was short lived (unless they just leased). Mr Hesse lived 2 blocks down purchase, and Mr Auger lived on Pleasant just north of the park, and had offices listed in 228 Purchase, the building next to the theater. The theater building was 110x30 feet, so it would have had a very low capacity, maybe 200-250 tops.
Here is an item from the October 10, 1908 issue of Moving Picture World mentioning the World Theatre and the Nickel Theatre: “New Bedford, Mass.—The management of the Nickel Theater has secured a lease of the World Theater, situated on Purchase street, between Hillman and North streets, and the house will be opened for business with an up-to-date moving picture show this week. The World Theater has been closed for several months, following financial tangles in which the original lessees became involved.”