This New Bedford Gym Location Once Actually Made People Fatter

How's this for an example of going from one extreme to another? The one-story building at 53 Church Street in New Bedford is home to Ever Fitness. It's a gym where people go to get in or stay in shape – but it wasn't always that way.

The building, on the west side of Church Street between Davis and Collette Streets, just north of the Taber Mill Apartments, opened in 1959. It served as the regional headquarters for the National Biscuit Company, or Nabisco.

Nabisco’s New Bedford Church Street Headquarters Opened in 1959

Nabisco, famous for its crackers and cookies, including Premium Saltines, Fig Newtons, Barnum's Animal Crackers, and Oreo Cookies, had its regional HQ in New Bedford.

READ MORE: This Massachusetts Town Is Where Fig Newtons Got Their Name

A Standard-Times news clipping from January 18, 1959, reported, "Newest building construction is the National Biscuit Company's New Bedford sales and distribution branch, which began operations December 15."

The Building’s Role in Regional Cookie Distribution

The building allowed Nabisco to expand operations in New Bedford, Fall River, and Cape Cod, "with enlarged facilities and additional equipment," the Standard-Times reported.

The National Biscuit Company operated for 30 years at 41 Merrimack Street in New Bedford before moving to its new home on Church Street. Nabisco's national headquarters was in New York at the time.

READ MORE: America's Favorite Cookie Was Invented in This MA Town By Accident

The paper reported that New Bedford's new Nabisco headquarters was "equipped with an ultra-modern conveyor system for receiving and handling of daily shipment of cookies and crackers from Nabisco bakeries."

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Historic Connections: Rail Lines and Nabisco Shipping

Nabisco made good use of the New Haven Railroad tracks, now used by South Coast Rail commuter trains, for shipping its products.

The first Nabisco sales branch opened in New Bedford in 1902.

Shoutout to the gang at Spinner Publications for research assistance on this article.