Bernard Castro*
Class of 1963
- President Castro Convertible Corporation
My energy and ambition took me to the highest heights of the business world.
Bernard Castro was born in Sicily in 1904 and emigrated from Italy to the United States in 1919 at age 15. Although he did not speak English and was a stranger in a new world, he had ambition and energy. He never went to high school but attended night school to learn English.
Castro spent many hours working as an apprentice upholsterer. This experience taught him the secrets of furniture design. In 1931, in the midst of the Great Depression, he borrowed $300 to launch his own business. His company, Castro Convertibles, was the first to introduce the modern sofa bed mechanism and became one of the largest furniture retailers on the East Coast during the postwar era.
By 1963, Castro was the world's largest manufacturer of convertible furniture, selling directly to the consumer. The company had 48 showrooms from Massachusetts to Florida and six large factories.