Before the construction of Interstate 10 in the 1950s, one of Riverside County's most vibrant downtowns was in Banning. Businesses were jammed along Ramsey Street from the 1900s through the 1960s.

Today, Banning officials have been fighting a decades-long battle to boost the city's historic downtown, and many believe their investment in two properties could finally be the catalyst to get the city's core back on track.

Using redevelopment dollars, the City Council and Redevelopment Agency targeted two private enterprises in hope that it would lure business back to the downtown. The first was a $1.2 million investment in a major renovation and modernization of the Fox Theater, which opened for business in 1928.

"The way the building has been done will last for 20 to 25 years," said Don Robinson, a member of the City Council and the Redevelopment Agency. "Instead of putting a coat of paint and changing out the seats, we have a theater that's going to look great for 25 years."

The Fox may be the city's most significant historical and cultural asset downtown. It is one of the oldest theaters still in service in the Inland Empire. Michael Frydrch, who has owned the theater since 1995, said the work couldn't have been done without the city's investment.

"This is really our key project downtown that we can build off of," said John Jansons, Banning's redevelopment manager.

The city's money went to improving the seats, sound, structure and appeal of the theater, which is the only one in the San Gorgonio Pass. Robinson said the investment also helps stave off competition from others thinking about building new theaters, including in Beaumont, where a multiplex was once planned.

Jansons is also supervising an aggressive campaign to boost Banning's appeal to businesses. It is advertising on radio and in print, including in The Business Press. It's touting its redevelopment projects, its airport and access to rail and highways.

In recent years, Banning has watched neighbor and rival Beaumont land one significant retailer after another. Banning has managed to secure two major hotel chains.

But it's the downtown where many believe the opportunity lies for the city.

The city also loaned $30,000 to start a coffee house. That opened on Nov. 20. The coffee house, which is next to the Fox, is in the renovated Odd Fellows Hall. A brick building dating to the 1900s, the building is one of the last large two-story buildings in downtown.

Before World War II, Banning was the third largest city in Riverside County, and its downtown was robust with landmarks, hotels and restaurants. The erosion of downtown is still painfully obvious.

But this public-private investment has not come without its critics. A blog, called the Banning Informer, has been started by residents angry with the direction the city has taken. The blog highlights the city's funding of downtown projects and is highly critical of the City Council.

"The U.S. commercial real estate market is the worst it's ever been and is on the verge of a total collapse. Commercial real estate financing is practically unavailable," a blogger writes. "Warnings of ghost malls, too much commercial real estate, rising vacancy rates are all over the place. So why on earth is the City of Banning thinking that we still need MORE retail and/or office space?"

Valid questions, but the city officials believe they have to do something.

Robinson said the city's investment in redevelopment in downtown, including a sprawling new police station, helped attract a new state courthouse complex.

For the past few years, the city has aggressively spent money to prop up fading facades among the many aging downtown buildings. The Hendon, a large two-story building at the corner of First Street and Hays Avenue was once slated for demolition, has a new façade and has been updated. However, it sits vacant.

In downtown Banning there are still plenty of boarded up buildings, including the historic Hotel Banning, which sits at the corner of Ramsey and Third streets. It's now home, apparently, to only a family of feral cats.

Further east, the landmark San Gorgonio Inn, which attracted thousands of travelers per year, sits shuttered, but Robinson and Jansons say there's a plan in place.

"There is a plan for downtown, a redevelopment plan. It all started down here on Eighth Street where we did the intersection," said Robinson, adding that those improvements attracted a slew of businesses including Rite Aid store and a Jack N Box restaurant.