Holden Block

Holden Block. 231-233 South Union Avenue. , Contractor W. H. Whitney and Mr. Waltz, Delos Holden was a representative businessman who made important contributions to Pueblo's growth and development. He was the first mayor of the newly consolidated town of Pueblo in 1886. He fought the cutting down of the "Old Monarch Hanging Tree in 1883, and was a prominent banker for many years. , Delos Holden was President and Andrew Royal, Vice President when the South Pueblo Bank was established in 1881 on the comer of South Union Avenue and C Street. In 1889, the South Pueblo National Bank name changed to the Central National Bank when the district known as South Pueblo was absorbed by the city. D. L. Holden was President, Andrew Royal, Vice President, C. A. Hammond, Cashier and H. L. Holden, the president's son, Assistant Cashier In 1895, Josephine Moore had the distinction of being the first woman to become Vice President of the Central Bank in Pueblo. Across the street, in 1892, was the Western National Bank with W. L. Graham, President and Chas. E. Saxton, Cashier. , In 1893, a financial panic swept across the United States. A bank run on the morning of July 6, 1893, caused three Pueblo banks to close, one of which was the Central National Bank. The bank never reopened and Delos Holden was to bold a variety of other jobs over the years. In 1900, he conducted the United States Census for the portion of Pueblo that contained the Red Light District. A gentleman, Holden, identified the women's occupations as "courtesans." , Joseph and James Koncilja purchased this building in 1990 and restored it. Retail shops occupy the first floor and the second floor converted into apartments., This project funded by a grant from the Colorado Historical Society State Historical Fund, Historic Pueblo Business Center Association, Security Title Guaranty Co., Kathie White, Mary Orf, John Demas, Friends and The Farley Foundation