"Pueblo, Colorado" Pueblo by leafmcgowan

"Home of the Heroes", "Steel City", and "P-Town" are all well known names for this industrial center of the high Colorado desert and grasslands. In 2000 - Pueblo boasted of over 102,000 in population, and it has steadily grown from there. Just an hour to the south of the bustling Conservative and Military center known as "Colorado Springs" and 3 hours south of the metropolitan big city culture of Denver - Pueblo has an interesting western and southern appeal under the panorama of its northern neighbours. To many Coloradoans - its a blip on the Interstate as one runs from New Mexico to Denver. Some don't stop - but those that do - a pleasant hidden culture exists within. Pueblo sits at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek - with a nestled town in a semi-arid climate with not much more than 14 inches of precipitation annually. Pueblo also gets less snow than most cities in Colorado. It is also an important part of the Front Range Urban Corridor as it is one of the largest steel-producing cities in the United States - making it an industrial center, and thereby knicknamed "The Steel City". It held the title of being the 2nd largest city in Colorado until 1960 and at that time was nicknamed "Second City" until Colorado Springs by-passed it with its military, arts, and metropolitan scrawl. Pueblo also hosts quite a unique alternative arts appeal and has a beautiful river walk along the Union Avenue Historic Commercial District. The City was plagued in the 20's by the Great Floods that destroyed 1/3 of Pueblo's downtown businesses - which still to this day they struggle from the catastrophic loss. With the decline of American Steel in the 70's and 80's, Pueblo was further hit with major economic losses. Pueblo has seen four Medal of Honor recipients, giving it the nickname of "Home of Heroes" - as Drew D. Dix, Raymond G. Murphy, William J. Crawford, and Carl L. Sitter made their homes here. Pueblo is also home to Colorado's largest single event - the Colorado State Fair and Parade which is held in late summer. They also boast of a pretty spectacular annual Chili Festival as well.