Dime Museum in Providence, Rhode Island. Also known as The Westminster Museé And Menagerie. Opened in 1886 by George F. Batcheller. Batcheller of the Batcheller & Doris Circus opened this dime museum and performance hall. Later he changed its policy to vaudeville, closed the exhibits and renamed it the Westminster Theatre. Below is an advertisement in The New York Clipper from December 1887. Providence Magazine in October, 1916 wrote of the Bijou’s predecessors, The Westminster, formerly the Westminster Musée, was opened about 1888 [sic] as a glorified dime museum, in which circus freaks found a winter home, and a stage performance was given in a rather pretentious auditorium. … After several seasons the freaks were abolished, the theatre was rebuilt and for about a quarter of a century it was operated as a burlesque house by George F. Batcheller, who made a fortune. In 1915, after Empire Street was improved, the name of the Empire Theatre was transferred to the Westminster, and it has since been operated as a picture-house.