How many ways is Pueblo my valentine?
February 13, 2005
Roses are red,
violets are blue;
when I pick my town,
Pueblo, it’s you!
Let me count the ways I love you.
- Your people. In two years of living here, we have seldom encountered any rudeness. Friends are easy to make, and strangers always extend a hand of hospitality.
- Your lifestyle. More weekends than not, there’s a celebration in town – Festival Fridays, the Chili Festival, Bessemer Days, Art ‘n Roll weekend on the riverwalk, free outdoor events like the Michael Martin Murphey concert with the Pueblo Symphony. And, of course, the State Fair, itself a grand celebration of life in the West.
- Your restaurants. Before ever moving here we were warned, “Pueblo likes to eat.” Our favorites are the Mill Stop, Jorge’s Sombrero (especially the patio for breakfast on a nice summer morning), Tony’s Chop House, Bellissimo, Steel City Diner, La Renaissance, La Melo di Angelo.
- Your gem in the rough – the developing Historic Arkansas Riverwalk of Pueblo. To stroll along its peaceful banks, to watch children splashing in the fountains, to enjoy the sidewalk artwork, to watch the ducks cruise its shorelines – what a wonderful public expression of the city’s spirit.
- Your culture and history. No town or city in Colorado, and few outside of New York or Chicago or San Francisco, can boast a more diverse population and genuinely homegrown, generational neighborhood atmosphere. It’s preserved and celebrated at El Pueblo Museum, the truly unique Rosemount Museum and smaller exhibits around town, and in programs at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, and in the architecture of the Union Avenue Historic District. All the while, its lore is being meticulously preserved by the dedicated volunteers of the Pueblo County Historical Society.
- Your love of the outdoors. Take your choice on any given weekend – golf, boating, bicycling, softball and, very soon, kayaking. Stroll through the zoo, picnic at the Greenway and Nature Center, admire the magnificent creatures at the Raptor Center, explore the solar system at the observatory.
- Your climate. If you enjoy the seasons, in mild form, this is your place. As I’ve said before, you don’t have to shovel the sunshine.
- Your cost of living. Hands down, Pueblo is the most affordable city – and town – in the state, and it offers the full range of choices in housing, from quaint bungalows to million-dollar showcases. And now there’s even a selection of loft residences being created to bring 24-hour life to downtown. Affordability? There’s no other city its size where you can’t find a single parking meter.
- Pueblo West. For those who want more open space and night skies unobstructed by street lights, there’s this sprawling, growing city that offers a touch of suburban living in a rural setting. Know Hoss your hardware clerk, or Karen your dry-cleaning lady, or Dennis your veterinarian, or Byron your dentist, or Rick your accountant, or David your tow-truck driver, or Pam your waitress, or Rick your convenience-store manager, or Sheldon your marina manager, or Margaret your banker or Don your town manager. It ain’t Mayberry and it’s got no Main Street, but it has that small-town intimacy where you feel at home the first week you’re in town.
- Gagliano’s Bessemer Mercantile, saving the best for last. If Pueblo could be put in a bottle, this neighborhood market would be the main ingredient. Any newcomer who hasn’t discovered this family-owned institution hasn’t discovered the heart of Pueblo. Tony and Josephine are the real deal, helping keep the front door open and the ovens warm for Gag’s 82nd year.
Are there problems in River City? Oh, yes.
But this is Valentine’s weekend, so it’s a time for hugs and kisses.
There’s always room for improvement, and Pueblo has its share of opportunities. Maybe next Sunday we’ll pick a family feud by pointing out some of the blemishes on the municipal face and tugging on a few weeds in the garden.
But for the moment, all is violets and roses. Pueblo, will you be my Valentown?
