There’s a mural in Pueblo that tells a story many people drive past without realizing its meaning.
It features the McLaughlin Building, a landmark that has stood through generations of change, but one of the most fascinating parts of the mural is the horse known as Lucky.
Lucky wasn’t a real horse. It was a large papier-mâché figure built around the ribs of a massive beer barrel and displayed by a local saddle shop on Union Avenue. It earned its name after surviving a fire, but its greatest journey came during the Great Flood of 1921.
When the Arkansas River overflowed, Lucky was swept miles downstream before eventually being found in Avondale stuck up in a tree a farmer found it—a remarkable symbol of the power of the flood and the resilience of Pueblo’s history.
Today, the mural preserves that memory, reminding us that history isn’t just found in books. It lives in the stories, landmarks, and legends that continue to shape our community.
Shared by the McLaughlin Building’s Facebook page, June 13, 2026