Union Avenue Historic Commercial District
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Union Avenue Historic Commercial District
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Union Depot, a prominent building in the district
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| Location | Roughly bounded by railroad tracks, Main St., and Grand and Victoria Aves., Pueblo, Colorado |
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| Coordinates | 38°15′51″N 104°36′48″W / 38.26417°N 104.61333°WCoordinates: 38°15′51″N 104°36′48″W / 38.26417°N 104.61333°W |
| Area | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| Architect | G.W. Roe; P.P. Mills |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian |
| NRHP Reference # | 82001021 |
| Added to NRHP | December 28, 1982 |
The Union Avenue Historic Commercial District is a century-old business district in Pueblo, Colorado, United States.The district comprises sixty-nine contributing properties in a total area of 27 acres (11 ha) including the Union Depot, Vail Hotel and Quaker Flour Mill. In 1983, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district was originally located within South Pueblo and Central Pueblo, two small cities until incorporated into Pueblo, Colorado which combined South Pueblo, Central Pueblo, Pueblo and Bessemer into one municipality. While still South Pueblo, Bat Masterson, best known for his association with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday was brought in as sheriff to protect a railroad that was being built.
Little is known about the early history of the area, however on maps as early as 1872 the area was called 5th Street with the first known reference to being Union Avenue in 1880. The Pueblo City Hall, also on the National Historic Register of Places had a key part in the formation of the modern city of Pueblo. In Article VI of The Articles of Consolidation it was agreed that City hall had to be within this district "not further north then 2nd street in the present city of Pueblo and not further south then the Arkansas River."
The area has suffered several floods that have received national coverage due to the scope and the damage it had on both the local and national economies. Before the current levee was constructed, the district and most of the rest of Pueblo was devastated by the single largest flood in Pueblo history in 1921. The damage was described to The Los Angeles Times by Maj. Paul P. Newlon who took command of the state troops sent to help recovery as being "Conditions are beyond description...Virtually every building from the postoffice to the square beyond the Union station on Union avenue was completely wiped out." Waters as deep as 18 feet (5.5 m) almost completely destroyed the city's downtown and killed over 1,500 people. As Pueblo was the leading economic center of southern Colorado before the flood, both the city economy and the regional economy were severely set back.
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