Hathaway's Theatre
Purchase Street; New Bedford, MA 02740
A.E. Hathaway was listed as an employee of the Grand Opera House in New Bedford
in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. In 1903
George Hastings' daughter, Edith sold the building to Andrew E. Hathaway. When
Mr. Hathaway acquired the property, there was a hardware and clothing store on
the first floor. The Empire Clothing Store was on the second floor, and John O' Neil’s
photography studio was located on the third floor.
Mr Hathaway remodeled the building as a theatre in 1903. It opened on November 9, 1903,
with a seating capacity of nine hundred people. In 1914 Mr. Hathaway sold the building
with its theatre to the W.T. Grant Co.. The theatre was remodeled into a clothing and
houseware store. This firm closed in 1975 when the store went out of business.