The Star Theater at 479 Broadway in Lawrence was opened in 1913 by Frank Bosketti in the Arlington district as a vaudeville house which ran silent films and then "talkies" as they emerged. According to Ken Skulski it was converted from a cooperative store and Bosketti "added the trademark brick facade." Bosketti's grandson, also Frank, said his grandfather and his partner, Alexander L. Siskind, had owned interests in several theaters and apartment buildings in the city. The 1931 Film Daily Yearbook listed the Star run by the Empire Amusement Company of 1 Lawrence St. in Lawrence, a company managed by Siskind (whose interests also included the Victoria Amusement Co.) which at the time also operated the Broadway, Colonial, Empire, Palace and Premier in addition to the Star.
Frank’s son Nicholas (Nick Bosketti) took over ownership of the Star in 1954 upon his father’s death and operated the theater until the late 1960s when it was sold to the shoe store next door. The new owner demolished it shortly thereafter and made the lot into a parking lot. Several other businesses including a Kentucky Fried Chicken have occupied the site since.
see Cinema Treasures:19944