Introduction

As suburbanization drew people out of the city centers in the beginning of the twentieth century, retail entities and theatres, moved out with them. The earliest among these suburban theatres was the Toy Theatre (today Avon Theatre) on Thayer Street, which did not yet rely exclusively on movie performances. Among the next generation of movie theatres were the Castle Theatre (1925) on Chalkstone Ave. and the Columbus Theatre on Broadway (from 1929-1962, the theatre was known as the Uptown Theatre). The client was a local real estate developer and builder, Domenic Annotti. The architect, Oresto di Saia, would later be involved in additions to the Veterans Memorial auditorium.