Empire Theatre
118 Elm Street,
New Bedford,
MA
02740
118 Elm Street,
New Bedford,
MA
02740
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Zeitz Bros. Circuit
Architects: James S. McIntyre
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A lost theatre of New Bedford. The Empire Theatre was opened on September 11, 1922 with Rudolph Valentino in “Blood and Sand”. It was closed in 1964, the final movie was Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady”. In 1965 it was used as a live theatre for one production.
Contributed by
Gerald A. DeLuca
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Recent comments (view all 13 comments)
The Theatre Historical Society of America’s theatres list, compiled by CT and THS member Barry Goodkin, says that the Empire was designed by J. S. McIntyre and opened Sept. 11, 1922.
In the October 30, 1961 issue of Boxoffice Magazine, an ad was run showing how many mainstream theatres were showing Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, a subtitled Italian movie. This theatre was one of those. Link to ad, then expand:
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Photos of the Empire and other New Bedford theatres can be seen in this great set:
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The Empire is listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook as having 1700 seats and open daily.
My father, Gilbert Hemenway, was a projectionist at many of the New Bedford area theaters, starting at the Allen Theater where he and his brother George were trained by their brother Floyd to be projectionists. In those days you had to study electronics and get a license to be a projectionist. Union contracts specified a 2-man booth, as the projection rooms were called. My father started as a ticket-taker and usher and thats how he met my mother.
In New Bedford he worked at the Empire, Capitol, New Bedford, Orpheum, Dartmouth Drive-In, and Fairhaven Drive-In. In Fall River it was the Plaza and the Embassy – and there was the Newport Theater which I cant find in the RI listings. In about 1948 when I was about 5 year old, my mother and I would go with my father to the Dartmouth Drive-In in our Chevy Coupe and I would sleep on the shelf in the back. Before I was born my father worked other theaters. One was the Keith in North Fairhaven. I miss all those theaters. With my father, I grew up in all those theaters.
Architect J. S. McIntyre’s first name was James. If this house didn’t open until September 11, 1922, there must have been some serious delays during construction. The April 3, 1920, issue of The American Contractor said that McIntyre was then taking bids on the Empire Theatre project in New Bedford.
From whalingcity.net/New Bedford Local History:
1922 The Empire Theater was built on 118 Elm Street, at the site of a horse stable that burned down in 1914.
It was a large theater with a capacity of 1,845. In its early years it presented live entertainment such as dancing, comedy, music, etc.
In 1932, the Zeitz family bought it, and it became a movie theater. It had a good run with top box office movies all through the years.
My Fair lady was the last movie shown in 1964.
In 1965 after a hiatus, a live performance called “Those wonderful Days of Burlesque” was the last show in the theater.
In 1956, a group of 5 teens were arrested while waiting for Elvis' “Jailhouse Rock” to play. They were making a lot of noise, shouting and hollering. They got six months probation, and were told by the judge to “Go Straight.”
Grand opening ads:
Empire theatre opening 10 Sep 1922, Sun The Sunday Standard (New Bedford, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
Last performance: August 25th, 1964.
Empire theatre closing 26 Aug 1964, Wed The Standard-Times (New Bedford, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
Vandalized in November.