In the 1940s, there were nearly 50 stores in downtown Payson, which was good because there was nowhere else in town to shop.

Over the years, that number dwindled to around 30. Of course, there are plenty of other places to spend money in Payson these days. Now Gloria Barnett and others are working to bring life back to Main Street.

"We've been trying to save some of our old buildings because we don't want them all torn down. They're just beautiful and they were made to last," she said.

Barnett is the president of the Payson Historical Society and a member of the city's historical preservation board. Those two groups are part of a collective push by Payson city to get state and federal recognition for the downtown area as a historic district.

Any building that is at least 50 years old can be nominated for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, and most of downtown Payson goes back a lot further than that. From 500 North to 400 South along Main Street and from 600 West to 500 East, buildings that went up in the 1880s and 1890s line the road.

Federal designation as a historic site would bring benefits for those who own homes and businesses there. Owners can apply for tax breaks on the cost of rehabilitation and upkeep for the historic buildings.

Five buildings in Payson are already on the National Register, including three houses and a Presbyterian church in the historic district. The other is the Peteetneet Academy, built in 1901.

But Payson isn't satisfied with just four downtown buildings on the list. The city wants recognition for the whole area.

"We want to preserve the beautiful historic structures we have in our town and we want to be able to upgrade our little downtown Main Street. You see, most every building on that Main Street up there is a historic building," said Gordon Taylor, president of the Payson historical preservation board.

On April 25, the Utah board of state history will decide whether to grant Payson's request to nominate the historic district. If the National Register accepts the nomination, downtown Payson will become the 13,594th official historic district on its list.

Payson resident Brent Baymiller, who lives on the historic stretch of Main Street, said parts of the neighborhood look run down. But he would like to see some of the historic houses get fixed up, something that federal historic designation would support.

"If we fixed it up it would be pretty nice," he said.

Taylor is hoping that recognition in the National Register will promote renovation for buildings such as the Huish Theater, which has been vacant for decades.

"There's a lot of advantages," he said.

Advocates are also hoping federal recognition will help bring more businesses back to downtown Payson.

"People come to see historic districts. That's what we're trying to do is to take it back and see if it will help," Barnett said. "When a Wal-Mart comes in they usually just take all the business right out of main street, so you have to get specialty shops to come in, something that Wal-Mart doesn't have."

Others talk about the historic district as a matter of town pride.

"It brings a sense of community," said City Councilman Brent Burdick, also a preservation board member.

If the federal government names downtown Payson as a historic district, Burdick said the city will hold a community forum to help explain what the new designation will do for the city.

"If we become a historic district, we want to be able to educate the public as to what this means," he said.