Library branch coming to Pueblo's East Side
Updated: Oct 26, 2021
By Chris Clark The Pueblo Chieftain
Posted June 18, 2013; Last modified Jan 19, 2013 at 12:01 PM
The Pueblo Zoning and Planning Commission approved a development plan last week for a new library on the East Side at the intersection of East Seventh Street and Monument Avenue.
The exterior of the library and floor plan was designed by Pueblo native Justin Martinez, who grew up on the East Side and is employed by a Colorado-based firm.
He attended (old) Risley Middle School, which is just across the street from where the new library will be built.
“To be honest, it was a gut reaction,” Martinez said of his inspiration for the design. “I walked from Third and Ogden to all of my schools for almost 20 years, so I knew what was going on in the neighborhood.”
Martinez has worked at several firms since graduating from the NewSchool of Architecture and Design in San Diego in 2005. Just before starting on the East Side library project, he worked on a massive, 120,000 square foot building in Philadelphia for Anthropologie (Urban Outfitters).