Article by Caroline Dowling


Today

The Castle has gone through multiple owners in the over seventy-five years since it opened its doors, and has been more than a movie house for many of those years. With the arrival of larger multiplexes in the Providence area and with other theaters competing for business by offering bargain tickets, it was often difficult to survive on movies alone. In 1999 it hosted a food and entertainment program designed to highlight the exceptional cuisine and art coming out of Rhode Island, where bands played, art was shown, and top restaurants served their food; in 2000 Tipper Gore and members of the Democratic Party gave speeches on behalf of Al Gore for the presidential primaries. In November 2000 local businessman Anthony Gemma bought and revived the Castle together with his three brothers and a brother-in-law spending approximately $500,000 on the endeavor, over half of which was a loan from Providence's economic development committee, a testament to the building's historic importance.

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