The STILLMAN THEATER was among the most elaborate motion-picture houses in the U.S. It was conceived by Emanuel Mandelbaum, owner of the Knickerbocker Theater at East 83rd and EUCLID AVE., who wanted to open a downtown theater showing silent films instead of featuring vaudeville performances. The Stillman opened in 1916 on the former estate of STILLMAN WITT, a railroad builder, at 1115 Euclid Ave., and had a seating capacity of 1,800. A luxury hotel on the site (also called the Stillman) had been razed in 1902. As one of the 3 downtown outlets of the Loew's movie chain, it shared first-run MGM feature films with the STATE and the OHIO theaters. The Stillman was the first Cleveland venue to present The Jazz Singer (in 1928) and Gone with the Wind (in 1940). The Stillman closed on 28 July 1963, although, for a period, remnants of the lobby were visible from the Statler garage entrance.
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