It has been described in so many ways, each time a characterization peppered with superlatives. But in no description, has anyone ever suggested even a hint of hyperbole. The Pueblo Union Depot is everything it has been ascribed as, a marvelous, timeless example of classic architecture.
Located at the foot of Pueblo’s historic Union Avenue bridge, the building stands out for its eye-catching color that appears reddish in early morning light then morphing into a mid-day deep rose and finally fading into light reddish rose in early evening golden light.
Built in the last decade of the 19th century, the structure is modeled on 11th century Romanesque architecture, a style that incorporates French, Roman and Spanish characteristics.
“I think for the city of Pueblo and southern Colorado,” said architect and professor Phil Gallegos, “it’s enormous and beautiful.” The now-retired Colorado University professor said the depot has to be “one of the top 20 buildings in the state,” and one that could not be replicated today.
“It’s out of reach,” Gallegos said. With cost-savings paramount, materials, including transporting the Manitou red sandstone would be prohibitive. Finding enough craftspeople would also be a challenge. A replacement building, Gallegos said, “would be steel and light skin,” thin layers of material instead of the eight-inch walls of the original.
The native Pueblo educator who has traveled the world consulting on architectural projects or leading groups of students studying various schools of architecture, says Pueblo’s train station can only be described as a treasure.
The building, which was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1975, is today also home to the Pueblo Railway Museum. Visitors can view historic photographs and artifacts of the earliest days of the depot. And,those early days were among rail’s most robust.
The train depot’s halcyon days occurred during the period between 1915-1920 when, according to historic-structures.com, more than 160,000 passengers annually caught or connected to trains in Pueblo.
It has been written the depot had one of the finest restaurants in the entire state and had more than 450 wait staff to serve its patrons, which included three U.S. Presidents along withscores of iconic businessmen and luminaries of stage and movie screen.
Today, activity is limited to special events, including weddings and receptions. But there are within the cavernous spaces, a small number of businesses, including the Little Bite of Heaven Bakery.
“The building is amazing,” said bakery owner and Pueblo educator, Janae Passalaqua. “It’s amazing that it survived a flood,” referring to the 1921 Pueblo flood.
As many as 200 people died in the flood with waters causing heavy damage to the depot, as well. The damage was repaired but also resulted in the building’s clock tower, once rising to 150 feet, to be downsized significantly. Architects built the tower so that it could be seen from anywhere in the city.
Passalaqua, who teaches culinary arts at Pueblo East High School, said she continues to marvel at the building’s workmanship evident in the abundant and meticulous detail that can been seen from floor to ceiling. To share the building’s history, Passalaqua’s bakery has hanging in her boutique shop many of the building’s historic images.
On most days, Puebloans walking along Union Avenue or on ‘B’ Street which intersects the historic avenue, scarcely notice the ‘big red’ building that once buzzed with activity, including thousands of World War I and World War II soldiers and sailors passing from east to west. But there was a time long ago when if you knew old Pueblo, you also knew ‘the big red depot.’
