Turns out you can't keep a good theater down. Or dark.

Plans were announced yesterday to raise $3 million to renovate the 71-year-old Denis Theatre in the heart of Mt. Lebanon's business district. It has been closed for nearly four years and sat vacant along Washington Road, where passersby hoped for a rebirth but peered in the doors and saw mounds of trash.

Although architects from Balog Steines Hendricks & Manchester in Youngstown, Ohio, could tweak the design, the building would house three auditoriums (rather than the existing four) and accommodate roughly 500 to 550 patrons.

A dividing wall between the two theaters on the main floor will be removed and the space reconfigured, while two theaters will remain upstairs. The moviehouse would be accessible for the handicapped, feature digital and traditional projection equipment, at least one elevator, listening devices for the hard of hearing, new furnishings, updated restrooms, a small concrete stage now hidden from view, a lounge area and meeting rooms.

The building is being designed to show movies, but also to allow community and other gatherings, lectures, live performances and to take advantage of the 3,500 school children within walking distance.

Raja, a Mt. Lebanon entrepreneur and commissioner who goes by a single name, bought the building for roughly $670,000 late last year. He has signed a 15-year lease with a nonprofit group called the Denis Theatre Foundation overseeing the renovation and fund raising.

Due to his work as commissioner, Raja is not involved in the reopening, but he and his wife, Neeta, made a $5,000 donation. At a press conference yesterday, he quoted Walt Disney: "If you can dream it, you can make it happen."

The Denis, which opened in 1937 with a single screen, closed Sept. 12, 2004.

At that time, it was part of the CineMagic chain that still includes the Manor and Squirrel Hill theaters.

"People in the community love to share their memories about the Denis Theatre," said Joe Ravita, owner of Empire Music and president of the Uptown Business Association. "Like everyone else who's been in this area, I have many memories myself."

He recalled going to see "The Land Before Time" there with his parents, while others remembered when "To Sir, With Love" and "The Graduate" drew lines around the corner and down the street.

Anne Kemerer, the foundation's executive director, led the media on a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater yesterday. Rubble, including the crumbling marquee, was swept off to the side of the lobby, and the structure bore evidence of vandals, water damage and neglect.

But the bones of the building appeared sturdy and ready for a movie makeover.

Kemerer said the foundation plans to hire a booker who would be charged with bringing independent, foreign language and documentary films to the venue. It will be at least 18 months before the theater reopens.

Known for her success in co-chairing the used book sale at Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Kemerer said, "I've lived here 15 years, so a lot of people here think I'm a newcomer. I'm still the new kid on the block. So my thoughts about the Denis Theatre are more about the future than the past."

A hard-hat preview will be held June 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the theater, and fund-raisers are looking for contributions from individuals, foundations and the commonwealth.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to the Denis Theatre Foundation at 685 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228, or by going to www.denistheatre.org, which also has more information about the foundation's board.

Even as the Denis' rebirth was announced, e-mails arrived that Star City Screenworks in Bridgeville closed on Sunday. Operators of that theater could not be reached yesterday for confirmation.

For more photos and information on the Denis, see the PG South on Thursday.