The Central Theater, located at the corner of Bacon and Alfred Streets, originally opened as Biddeford Theater in 1915. Maine Theater Company bought the building in November 1915, and it opened as "Central Theater" on September 18, 1916.

There were other theaters in Biddeford during that time; the competition included the Balsam (also known as Moore's), the Nickel, and City Theater.

In January 1945 the building was ruined by fire, but was rebuilt and showed movies for 30 more years. Various resources report the number of seats as between 1100 and 1500. The theater closed in 1974-75, and by 1980 it was purchased by the city and remodeled to serve as the city police station.