The Maxbilt Theatre originally opened on July 6, 1929. Built by Russian Jewish immigrant and real estate developer Max Silberman, the theater replaced the New Mountain Casino, a multi-purpose venue that had burned earlier that year. The casino, built in 1910, housed a soda fountain, bowling alley, office spaces, and a second-floor theater marked by an oversized Palladian window. After the fire, Silberman purchased the site, demolished the remains, and invested $60,000 to construct a modern entertainment venue with retail spaces. Designed specifically for the new “talkie” films, the Maxbilt was outfitted with cutting-edge Western Electric sound equipment and quickly became a cultural centerpiece in the Catskills, attracting residents and tourists alike.

During construction, Silberman leased the Maxbilt to the Stanley Sobelson Corporation, a prominent theater chain in New York and New Jersey, for $80,000 over fifteen years. The theater’s opening main event was a boxing match, drawing fighters and spectators from across the state. While the boxing events were a major attraction, the primary focus remained on film. The Maxbilt began showing first-run Hollywood films, advertising in the Catskill Mountain News and featuring multiple screenings each weekend, along with weekday matinees. The theater also hosted vaudeville acts, beauty pageants, and community events.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the theater changed ownership multiple times, eventually coming under the control of T. Whipple, president of the First National Bank, around 1940. Under Whipple’s ownership, the theater was renovated with new seating, a fresh marquee, and improved lighting, and it was renamed the Whipple Theatre. It continued to operate under various leases until 1950, when Sam Davis purchased the property and rebranded it as the Onteora Theatre.

Davis made additional updates, including a neon sign and new seating configurations. His family lived above the theater during the summers and attempted to keep it open on weekends year-round, but low winter attendance made operations difficult. The Onteora Theatre continued to screen movies and host local events, but as the resort economy of the Catskills declined, so too did the theater’s fortunes.

The Maxbilt theater closed in the early 2000s. Several attempts have been made to reopen it, including a recent proposal for a dinner theater, but none have materialized. Recognizing its cultural and architectural importance, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The building’s exterior has been refreshed, and a new vertical sign displaying “Maxbilt” was installed in 2018.