_{By Mike Romero}

The Huish Performing Arts and Cultural Education (PACE) Center, located at 96 West Utah Avenue in Payson, Utah recently completed phase one of a three-part mission to restore the Huish Theater. With a goal to become one of the most state-of-the-art performing arts facilities in Utah, they’ve set their sights high.

The location was originally opened as the Huish Movie Theater in April, 1949 by Huish Enterprises. The theater had a seating capacity of 830 and was fully equipped with the most modern projection and sound equipment for its day. In its nearly 100 years of existence, the building has changed ownership many times. It eventually ceased operations as a movie theater in January of 2002.

The story behind that closure is a unique, small town kind of tragedy with a distinctly Utah twist. Business slowed when the Stadium Cinema Theater opened nearby, and the Huish Theater (which had always refused to show R-rated films or be opened on Sundays) was unable to compete.

The building sat vacant and fell into disrepair until Dr. Gordon Taylor purchased it in 2008 with plans to remake it into a hub of art and culture for the city of Payson. New facilities include the 75-seat Sideshow, which opened this last summer in July, and the roughly 600-seat main theater, set to open in 2024. Plans for additional performing arts spaces are also in the works.

With a population of 21,000, Payson is still very much a small town. But it’s growing, and it’s not without its charms. Payson is where most of the 1984 movie Footloose was filmed (#KevinBacon) and it’s the birthplace of acclaimed singer Jewel and the hometown of Disney animator and film producer Don Bluth (who produced classics like The Land Before Time, Anastasia, The Secret of NIMH, and All Dogs Go to Heaven).

The center encourages all artists who are interested in performing or holding an event at the Huish PACE facility to submit a booking request here. Make sure to follow the Huish PACE Center on Instagram and keep your eyes peeled for their regular open mic nights. In the meantime, check out a new song from the Provo music scene that just dropped today: “Anyway” by CAYSN.