Engineering

STEEL: Energy & the West Opens at Watertower Place through July 30, 2022

Watertower Place is committed to sharing the stories of Pueblo through its unique public tour program. This traveling exhibit explores the history of mining, steel and electricity production. In conjunction with Exploring Steel, visitors can also enjoy the documentary film 'Forging the West' by Jim Havey. Special thanks to the Pueblo City-County Library District for making this educational program possible. Please enter at the Firehouse Entrance. For more information visit www.pueblowatertowerplace.com.

Date/Time
Date(s) - Monday, June 6, 2022 through Friday, July 29, 2022
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
06/03/22 - 07/29/22
Add to your calendar: iCal

Location
Watertower Place
303 S. Santa Fe Ave.
Pueblo, CO 81003

Building for the Future • Key Areas of Focus

The World of Hi Tech, Cyber-security & Privacy

A tech startup is a company whose purpose is to bring technology products or services to market. These companies deliver new technology products or services or deliver existing technology products or services in new ways. At Watertower Place we have extensive resources and partnerships from the traditional industrial sector to cyber security. We foster technological innovation and align our platforms with both private and public sector thought leaders in the field.

Food Entrepreneurship

Small cottage industries, food trucks, and caterers all have a need for low-cost kitchen space. This has led to the development of shared commercial kitchens that can be rented for hourly or daily rates. But finding a place to make specialty food products is only the first step. Entrepreneurs who want to make a profit have to successfully package, market, and sell their products, too. That's where food incubators come in. At Watertower Place we understand the issues surrounding food accessibility and want to make a difference in our community. Whether you want to open a restaurant or create a special line of desserts, we have the capacity to empower food entrepreneurs to achieve their goals.

Small Batch Manufacturing

Whether you’re a ‘maker’ who wants to start producing on a bigger scale, or an emerging designer trying to find a production partner within close proximity and low minimum order requirements, or a small business looking to work with lower units, small batch manufacturing in the United States is a viable option. Pueblo has a rich history of manufacturing and at Watertower Place we have established working relationships with key regional thought leaders who serve our entrepreneurial community by investing time, resources, and professional expertise to emerging makers and designers.

Media Center & Communications • The Launching Pad

Content creation is now a $200+ billion global industry with leaders like Disney and Netflix. At Watertower Place we realize that no matter how large or small the enterprise, authentic and genuine storytelling is necessary to reach targeted audiences and to develop brand loyalty. Our Media Center features green screen technologies for film production, podcasting studios, photography labs and a complete resource library and team of professionals to help tell your story. The Media Center is pleased to have Positive Content and the Pueblo Regional Film Commission as initial core tenants and communication partners.

Nonprofit Alley

Watertower Place is opening a unique co-working space called the Nonprofit Alley. We know that seemingly disparate organizations—an arts group and a entrepreneurial start-up group, for example—collaborate on projects in our building right now. When you’re working just feet away from a variety of people trying to make an impact, collaboration is bound to happen. Many of our members realize that they are ‘better together' and the ability to have inter-organizational interactions within your own office is incredibly advantageous. In our various work spaces advocacy evolves organically and networks are strengthened and expanded. Co-working is an essential and growing trend throughout the world and we find that members are happier and more productive.

Building for the Future • Core Values of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Colorado State University Pueblo Celebrates the Opening of the CSU-P Office at Watertower Place.

Colorado State University Pueblo Celebrates the Opening of the CSU-P Office at Watertower Place.

Our core values support our mission and vision to serve as a community‐based innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem through a commitment to:

  • Being open and welcome to all: any person, any discipline, any field, and any idea

  • Respecting new ideas and new concepts, and the dialogue around these exchanges

  • Promoting the experience gained during the process of creativity, ideation, and problem solving as important as the end goal

  • Being a safe space to fail and allow failure to happen

  • Honoring the individual and their abilities, along with all of his/her/their dreams, ideas, processes, and approaches to problem solving and creativity

  • Experimenting, making, and exploring as a method for solving problems

  • Dreaming big, having fun, and getting work done

The Southern Colorado Innovation Link’s (SCIL) mission is to leverage a robust innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem to encourage the development and commercialization of intellectual property, to support IIECM, to promote the success and growth of commerce, and to foster sustained regional prosperity.

SCIL Redish Glow Logo.jpg

Partner Spotlight • Southern Colorado Innovation Link (SCIL)

A collaboration among more than twenty regional partners, SCIL seeks to make Southern Colorado a preferred destination to incubate and grow innovative ideas, products and business. SCIL aims to fulfill its mission through coordination of resources, hands-on technical assistance, mentorship, experienced leadership, and access to capital, all building on the existing innovation clusters in Advanced Manufacturing (AM) and Infrastructure Engineering (IE). SCIL will measure success by its effectiveness in helping inventors, innovators, entrepreneurs, creatives, and makers (IIECM) develop, protect, and commercialize their intellectual property; assisting startups in creating viable businesses, and helping businesses to thrive and grow.

Building for the Future • Vision of the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

On Friday, February 7, 2020, the Pueblo Regional Film Commission was honored to host a group of Russian film industry professionals in conjunction with the US State Department and the World Affairs Council Colorado Springs. For over 80 years, the highly competitive International Visitor Leadership Program at the State Department has been ranked as the elite professional program for visitors coming to the USA from around the world. Our guests included film festival organizers, professors of film, public relations and marketing experts from Moscow to Vladivostok.

We are breaking down boundaries, encouraging serendipity, and building a community of individuals who ideate, create, make, sell, and scale together.
— Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

For over 100 years, the historic Grove neighborhood has been a center for innovation and creativity from Nuckolls to Alpha Beta. As a result, Watertower Place will retain its reputation as being one of the best community‐based innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in the region and serve as an model for new, innovative practices and behaviors. Practitioners of creativity, invention, and entrepreneurship from all organizations, disciplines, geographies, and walks of life will turn to Watertower Place for solutions and inspiration, turning their ideas into action at any and all levels of the ecosystem.

Welcome to the next level of excellence at Watertower Place, a world where our community is collaborating for the future.

Watertower Place Profiles from Nuckolls Packing Company to Alpha Beta

Emmet Nuckolls: The Visionary & Founder of the Nuckolls Packing Company

Emmet Nuckolls (1844 - 1910)

Today we begin a series of articles featuring the stories of the individuals who brought innovation and creativity to the Grove neighborhood in Pueblo, Colorado USA.

Emmet Nuckolls was born in 1844 and lost both parents at the early age of six. His older brother was given the task of guardianship and throughout his formative years, he drove cattle throughout the Great Plains. His exposure to animals at such a young age would shape his vision for the future. Emmet was on the first cattle drive from Texas to Colorado on the Goodnight Loving Trail and during the ride he repeatedly told others that he would someday build the largest and most sophisticated slaughter and meat packing facility in the West.

Before establishing his butchering business in Leadville, Colorado his first exposure to life in Pueblo was from 1873 to 1878 when he enjoyed the favorable climate of the ‘big city’ atmosphere. Leadville proved to be a good business decision with it booming economy driven by the Guggenheim family and their large silver mines in the region. From 1879 to 1890, cattle became plentiful and provided ample meat to American consumers. In 1891 he decided to follow the Guggenheim’s lead and return to Pueblo to establish the first generation of the Nuckolls Packing Company.

In 1909 Emmet Nuckolls created quite a political stir in the community when he decided to run for Mayor in a rather unorthodox manner. As a registered Democrat he started talking like a Republican and in a surprise move he called a parade and announced his Independent candidacy. While this ruffled the political feathers of many in the community, he also received wide support from others who saw him as a visionary and challenger to the status quo on the frontier.

Unfortunately Emmet never realized his dream of building the largest and most modern meat packing facility. He fell three stories into one of the lower pens at the packing plant and shattered his hip. After a fourteen day vigil in the hospital the Chieftain announced in one of its largest headlines that ‘Death Called’.

The End of World War II & The Opening of the Livestock Hotel in October 1946

The interior of the Livestock Hotel when completed in October 1946 by American Stores of Philadelphia.

Just one tenth of the original Livestock Hotel remains on the south lot of Watertower Place bordered by D Street and the Alley. The structure was built after the purchase of the Nuckolls Packing Co. by American Stores of Philadelphia in 1946 and signaled a major investment and upgrade to the extensive livestock receiving system at the meat packing plant.

Della Nuckolls served as President of the Nuckolls Packing Co during the wartime years and communicated with Jay C. Hormel to secure the future of the Pueblo plant which was closed from 1942 - 1946.

The Nuckolls Packing Company was closed in May 1942 during WWII due to tin rationing, meat market controls, and price ceilings. President Della Nuckolls worked closely with Jay C. Hormel (see private letter from 1946) during the war to prepare the Pueblo plant for a strategic reopening. Unlike Nuckolls, Hormel was able to keep his plant operating because he contributed upwards of 70% of meat production to the war effort. Much of the wartime production at Hormel was SPAM which became a staple both at home and abroad. The Pueblo plant opened again under new ownership in 1946 in the name of American Stores which was based in Philadelphia. American Stores was best known for its extensive ACME Market grocery store chain along the East Coast and its Lincoln Meats brand. With new ownership came significant and necessary capital investments to bring the plant up to date and to meet the capacity goals set forth by American Stores.

The new LIvestock Hotel was the single largest upgrade to the facility and a major enhancement to the overall system in which livestock were brought to the plant in the Grove. The new building was carefully integrated with a series of covered easeways and shutes that enabled animals to travel easily and safely from the Hotel to the kill floor shute entrance on the west side of the main building. According to the Pueblo Star Journal, the cost of design and construction totalled $100,000. American Stores secured the services of Olson Construction Co., a regional specialist in the packing industry and based in Salt Lake City, to complete the project in the Grove neighborhood.

The single story brick and concrete structure measured 320 feet in length and 100 feet in width. Exterior walls climbed to 18 feet in height with a 30 foot balcony overlooking the main floor. The design also included a stamped concrete floor system which allowed for better traction for the animals and is still visible today and serves as an outdoor event space. The interior of the structure showcases the heavy timbers that were used to support the vaulted roof and upper windows that allowed for ample light to penetrate the expansive space. The new facility also included a modern fire suppression system for protection. The Livestock Hotel was designed to accommodate up to 2,000 cattle or 6,000 sheep at one time. According to plant operations, animals were not on the grounds for more than 24 hours.

Most recently in August 2019, the Livestock Hotel was chosen as the venue for the first annual Change Your Mind Art Festival. The exterior shell of the building served as the ideal location for all of the musical groups who performed throughout the day at the festival.

The Livestock Hotel today serves as the ideal venue for visual and performing arts and a variety of public and private gatherings.

Local artist, gallery owner, and designer Jeff Madeen recently completed a series of architectural renderings of the Livestock Hotel for the owner of Watertower Place. The development team is considering several use options for this unique gathering space which totals more than 6,000 square feet. Current buildout considerations include a new corporate headquarters for a major engineering firm, dedicated special events and meetings pavilion with a commercial kitchen, bar and lounge. The adjacent plaza area to the west of the Livestock Hotel is ideal for special events, festivals and faires —- giving Watertower Place all the indoor and outdoor amenities necessary for a successful occasion. In the near future, the main entrance to Watertower Place will move to the south side of the property at the corner of D and Plum Streets. This new entrance will be adjacent to the Livestock Hotel making access and parking more ideal for visitors. This meetings and events destination will be folded into the existing 22,000 sq ft of special event event space atop Watertower Place on the former kill floor. To learn more about how you can host your next event at Watertower Place, visit our dedicated section on our website.

Architectural rendering of the former Livestock Hotel by local artist and designer Jeff Madeen. The current brick facade can be found on the north, east and south sides of the building. This design concept highlights the use of special glass windows facing the west.

Get Your Tickets Now • Watertower Place Tours Resume on Saturday, March 21, 2020

I have lived in Pueblo my whole life and this tour was the most exciting thing I have done in 50 years! Thanks for sharing a uniquely Pueblo story. It has brought back so many memories from years past.
— Bill • Tour Participant • 85 years old

The best way to learn about Watertower Place is to experience it firsthand by taking a guided tour. We offer scheduled programs each month for those interested in a more indepth look at over 100 years of creativity and innovation in the Grove. Space is limited, so we encourage early reservations. Admission is free, but due to the high demand, we ask that if you should not be able to visit as scheduled, let us know immediately so that we can offer your space to those on the waitlist. Welcome to Watertower Place!

Eventbrite - Watertower Place Weekend Tour 2020

Watertower Place Launches the Illumination Project in the Heart of the Grove

Beginning Saturday, August 24, 2019, Watertower Place launched the illumination Project which highlights through illumination an architectural element of the historic meat packing plant. Keep an eye out at sunset and capture and share what you see when we announce a Saturday night illumination date.

On Saturday, August 24, 2019 the chimneys atop the meat smoking alleys were shining bright as part of our new Illumination Project. The north water tower is quietly peeking from the shadows in the distance.

Justin Fahmie captured this magical image of our Illumination Project. Thank you for sharing! Stay tuned for the Second Edition --- coming soon!

Welcome to Watertower Place

Welcome to the official blog for Watertower Place. Here we plan to take you on a journey of the history, culture, arts and business of the former meat packing plant in the historic Grove neighborhood of Pueblo, Colorado.

This platform is dedicated to sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of over 120 years of creativity and innovation in the Grove. When we say ‘ugly’ we are referring to the messiness of life which is where all the humanity lies in our greatest storytelling.

This is Pueblo. We hope you enjoy the ride!

The Watertower Place Team