Winner (#1)

Cedar Lee Theatre

The Cedar Lee Theatre is Northeast Ohio's premiere venue for independent, foreign, and art-house films. It is also the birthplace of the Cleveland International Film Festival, started in 1977 by current Cedar Lee owner and Cleveland Cinemas president Jonathan Forman.

First opening its doors in 1925 as an 1,100 seat, single-screen theater, the Cedar Lee Theatre was transformed into a twin-screen theater in 1983 to compete with the increasing number of multiplexes and to meet the demand to play an ever growing number of specialty films. Two Hollywood-style screening rooms were added in 1991 - allowing guests to the theater to enjoy truly specialized films. Finally in 1994 two modern stadium-style theaters were added to bring the current screen count to six.