ow it's the toast of South Carolina and fodder for the national press, which has covered it for its audacity to revive itself through the arts.

Flashback: Several years ago, a big night in Newberry is a 45-minute drive to Columbia or Greenville.

Today: Dine elegantly downtown before walking to the Newberry Opera House for comic opera, a Broadway play, modern dance or big band orchestra. You don't hear any complaints from the locals.

t's wonderful to be here," says Deborah Smith, executive director of the Newberry Opera House. "Everybody is so positive." Indeed, 20 businesses, four restaurants and more than $100 million in investment are reasons to rejoice. A second industrial park is needed because the first, still new, is full. What's the magnet? The arts, through the restoration of the opera house, an 1882 French Gothic structure where Tallulah Bankhead and the Barrymores once played. Even before its first season is over, Ms. Smith and Dr. Jim Wiseman, chairman of the opera house foundation board of directors, are looking ahead.

"I don't think Newberry realizes how much effort it took to birth this baby," Wiseman says, " but they're certainly reaping the benefits." In the works are a train between Newberry and Columbia, for commuters and those interested in attending performances, and upscale inns. Newberry already boasts several bed and breakfasts in a handful of historic homes.

Once famous for its cotton farms and mills, the town's grand homes give proof to its former wealth. Now, Newberry is becoming high-tech. Jobs are plentiful, and the European and Asian companies that have built here are sending their new American employees overseas for training. Likewise, Newberry is growing accustomed to the Irish, British, Italian and Korean accents heard downtown and in meetings.