The winner: Christopher Wilde, Pueblo
The statue is located at the Pueblo Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission and Cultural Center, also known as the Old Lincoln Home, a former black orphanage and old folks home. My wife and I have been through the center and consider it a “must stop” spot for anyone coming to Pueblo. Ruth Steele, the center’s founder and organizer, took us on an unforgettable tour of the entire facility.
I knew it when: Ilene Kasper, Denver
I’ve had an interest in this sculpture since I knew the sculptor, Ed Rose, in the early ’80s. Ed was awarded the commission to develop a memorial of King that would be placed in City Park in Denver. There were lots of obstacles in completing the sculpture, and when it was completed, controversies continued about the memorial. Critics believed the head was disproportionate to the size of the body and that the image did not represent the likeness of MLK.
In the late 1990s, discussions began about replacing the sculpture. Ed Dwight was commissioned to do another King memorial, installed in City Park in 2002, and Rose’s work was moved to Pueblo.
