OWASCO - A downtown movie house and performance arts center can rejuvenate the business center of a struggling small town, many economic development experts concur.

At the Owasco Country Club Thursday, the Cayuga County Arts Council held its second annual ARTini fundraiser to help the cultural side of Auburn reach its full potential. And its top-priority project is the restoration of the Schine Theater in downtown Auburn.

For an example of the restoration of a once-seedy movie house leading to a recovery for a downtown area, one needs look only two lakes over to Geneva. There, the renovated Smith Opera House has been the catalyst for a business boom. Twenty years ago, the Seneca Lake city was plagued with street-level crime and violence, and many of the storefronts were boarded up. The Smith, as its called by locals, helped greatly in changing that.

Arts council President Dia Carabajal succeeded Nancy Hussey in running the organization five years ago. She's confident the Schine will one day be renovated to its former glory, and it, too, will help downtown Auburn return to the success it enjoyed before Urban Renewal changed the landscape.

“This is the second year of the ARTini. And this year it is a dark and stormy night,” said Carabajal, noting attendance was better on a Thursday night in June 2006 when the event was held in downtown Auburn at the Auburn Public Theater.

About 50 tickets were sold for this year's ARTini, but donations from local businesses for the silent auction were very strong.

Carabajal estimated the cost of fully renovating the Schine at $3 million. Carabajal said Gov. Eliot Spitzer's administration has increased state interest in projects such as the Schine renovation. While stressing the work of the arts council is completely non-partisan, Carabajal welcomes the more favorable attitude from Albany. �

“There's definitely an understanding of what arts and culture can do to become an economic driver,” she said.

The arts council has applied for a $500,000 from New York State's Environmental Protection Fund, which give money for historic preservation sites. And since the Schine Theater has been designated as a state historic site, it's crucial to note that the theater can never be torn down for other economic development because of its historic status.

In 1994, the Wegmans supermarket chain approached the city about tearing the building down to expand their Loop Road grocery, and they made a purchase offer on the site, but the bid was never followed through. �

Word on whether the arts council will receive the EPF grant, or an even more substantial Restore New York grant, is expected before the end of the year.

Susan Harris started in April as the council's executive director, and Carabajal said she has strong roots in the “non-profit world” of Central New York, which will serve the theater and council well as the renovation project moves forward.

“The overall condition of the building is good, it's solid,' said Carabajal, who said it can be restored to mint condition in less than three years.

Bob Piorun, Julie Howard, and Bernie McNabb were part of the entertainment for the evening, along with other musicians and singers. Balloon's restaurant owner Bernie Simmons, who is now managing the food-and-beverage operation at Owasco CC, put out a pleasing spread.

For folks over 35 who grew up in Auburn - the Schine stopped showing movies in 1978 - there are many memories. Carabajal said she especially remembers seeing “Carrie” at the Schine in the late-1970s.

“Remember, her hand came out at the end. Aargh!” she said with a laugh. “I saw 'Star Wars' there. I saw ”Rocky“ there.”

Carabajal is determined a future generation of teenagers and their families will also one day enjoy movies at the Schine.

�“We have to feel confident about ourselves. I think that Auburnians, for a very long time, have been pessimistic. We need more of an identity. And the Schine gives us that identity,” she said.