The City of Pueblo wants to sell the historic brick building that has housed the Pueblo Heritage Center for decades, drawing opposition from the historical and cultural groups that call it home.
A Depot Turned Museum Faces an Uncertain Future
The building in question is the former Denver and Rio Grande Western Freight Station, a brick depot that has served as the Heritage Center's home since 1995, according to Colorado Public Radio. The station itself dates to 1924, and Pueblo's own cultural resources inventory calls it the city's only surviving freight station, built as a reminder of the railroads that once drove the city's growth, according to a Pueblo cultural resources inventory.
According to the same CPR report, the city and the nonprofit Pueblo County Historical Society originally partnered to buy the century-old station for $150,000. Mostly grant-funded renovations afterward cost about $1.3 million, Historical Society board member Peggy Wilcox said. Peggy Willcox is listed as the society's secretary.
Advocates Speak Out at City Council
Museum advocates spoke against the proposed sale at a regular city council meeting on Monday, per the same account. Volunteers told the outlet they saw a for-sale sign appear on the property the week before that meeting. Daniel Romero is a board member.
Dianne Danti said the council had considered the building's value but not the museum's future. The council considered a possible property sale in an executive session.
A Pattern of Consolidating City Properties
The possible sale was part of a city facilities plan. The city council voted to move forward with a $7 million purchase of the former Professional Bull Riders office building, with plans to move city employees there.
The possible sale of the building at 201 W. B St. is not an entirely new idea. It was mentioned as part of a city facilities plan during a March 2025 work session, according to the Pueblo Chieftain, after the city's public works director said the property was proposed for sale once city offices had moved out. At that same session, Historical Society representatives Jacobsen and Wendt warned that their organization's removal from the building would halt its digitization, publication and research services, as reported by the Pueblo Star Journal.
The Pueblo County Historical Society still manages a research library on the building's second floor, according to the group's own Pueblo Heritage Museum page. For now, whether the depot stays in the hands of the institutions that restored it or moves toward a private sale remains an open question, one that will likely hinge on whatever Pueblo's council decides in the weeks ahead.
