Saturday, August 26, 2017

Walsenburg, Colorado

Walsenburg sits at an elevation of 6,171' and is 48 miles south of Pueblo.  It is 36 miles north of its southern neighbor, Trinidad.  Walsenburg is surrounded by wide open green plains and mountain views.  It is the Huerfano (WAR fuh no) County seat and has a population of 3,068.
Although it is always hard to capture a community, these Internet pictures give a pretty good look around town.  This view is downtown looking north on Main Street.  You can see the tall courthouse on the left.
Here is a closer look at the courthouse.
Train tracks cross Main Street  next to the courthouse.  Here is one of the original stations.
This is looking south on Main Street through the downtown.  There are lots of wonderful antique shops!
The historic downtown has seen better economic times, but is on an upward swing and undergoing wonderful renovations.  The old Fox Theater will be a venue for the performing arts.
On Tenth Street in the vicinity of the Fox Theater is the community center and baseball fields.  Behind the ball fields is this beautiful swath of land.  It would make a beautiful dog park!  It is almost completely fenced in and would take very little to make the conversion.  It's my plan to approach the city council with the idea!
This is Sixth Street with the building on the right being on Main Street.  I love the idea of the upstairs apartment in the turquoise building!  
This is a continuation of Sixth Street.  The apricot building sits next to the turquoise building in the previous picture.  The La Plaza is a historic hotel.  It has a restaurant that we'll have to give a try sometime.
I love murals on buildings.  This is on the side of Star Drugstore, located on the corner of Seventh and Main Street.  Walsenburg has a wonderfully old fashioned community feel in that one's shopping is done through several local businesses.  There isn't a modern business strip with Walmart or other chain stores.  To access Walmart requires a drive to Pueblo or Trinidad!
This is the post office.  I'm not sure why I'm including it, other than it seems to be a polished and stately representation of the community.
Walsenburg is quite forward thinking for a quaint community!  They have a wonderful water park with a lazy river in it.  Walsenburg, along with Salida, are the first communities in Colorado to approve tiny homes set on foundations.  There is a tiny home suburb coming to town!
Four miles outside of town is Lathrop State Park.  It has a 9 hole golf course.....
campgrounds and two lakes.  One lake is a wakeless lake established for fishing and the other has a beach and is designated for water sports.  What more could anyone ask for!