Originally built by the architect R. Thomas Short in Art Deco style, it opened in 1933 during the Great Depression and flourished until 1987 when the rise of the multiplex cinemas forced it to close its doors, but not for good. In 1994, the Town of Riverhead purchased it and then in 2005, Dianne and Bob Castaldi, whose firm Castle Restoration and Construction, Inc. specializing in historical renovations, purchased the theater with an eye to both restoring it to its grand glory and reinventing it into a new state-of-the-art performing arts center.