Elmwood Park (Omaha)

The Elmwood Park neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant area that was developed in the late 20th and early 21st century. It extends from Leavenworth Street on the north to Center Street on the south; from South 50th Street on the east to South 72nd Street on the west. [ [http://www.unomaha.edu/neighborhoodscan/neighborhoods/aksarbenep.php "aksarben-elmwood park neighborhood association"] Omaha Neighborhood Scan, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Retrieved 8/24/08.] Home to ethnic Swede celebrations through the 1950s, [Federal Writers Project. (1939). "Nebraska: A guide to the Cornhusker State." Nebraska State Historical Society. p 232.] today the neighborhood's park hosts the city's "Shakespeare on the Green" festival. [ [http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2620&u_sid=2385165 "Your guide to summer fun in the Midlands"] , "Omaha World-Herald". May 17, 2007. Retrieved 8/24/08.]

History

Before the neighborhood was created, the area was the focus of the first court trial ever held in the Nebraska Territory. The case took place in 1857 when F.M. Woods brought a case against J. Pentecost for land theft. Defended by Nebraska Territorial politician Edward Morearty, Pentecost won the trial. [Morearty, E.F. (1917) "Omaha Memories: Recollections of Events, Men and Affairs in Omaha, Nebraska, from 1879 to 1917." Swartz Printing Company. p 213.]

In the 1880s C.C. and J.E. George laid out Happy Hollow Boulevard and developed the area south of Dodge and west of 50th to Elmwood Park. They filled in the creek that ran along 50th Street and added sidewalks and streetlights. Homes in the area reflected the Colonial, Georgian and Tudor Revival styles. Omaha annexed Elmwood Park and the surrounding neighborhood on April 24, 1917. [Morton, J.S., Watkins, A., Thomas, A.O., et al. (1918). [http://www.webroots.org/library/usahist/honjsm30.html "Chapter 35"] . "History of Nebraska from the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region". Retrieved 8/24/08.]

Park and boulevard

Infobox park
park=Elmwood Park


image size=
caption=
type=Municipal (Omaha)
location=Midtown Omaha
coordinates=
size=216.4
opened=1889
operator=
annual visitors=
status=Open all yearIn 1889 H.W.S. Cleveland recommended that Omaha acquire a park large enough to shut out city sights and sounds in order to refresh the senses. Elmwood Park, founded in 1889 at 802 South 60th Street, was one of Omaha's largest parks through the 1950s. [Morton, J.S. and Watkins, A. [http://www.rootsweb.com/~neresour/OLLibrary/MWHNE/mwhne830.htm "Chapter XXXV: Greater Omaha,"] "History of Nebraska: From the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region". Lincoln, NE: Western Publishing and Engraving Company. p. 831.] Soon after the city acquired an initial 55 acre donation of land for the park, the "Omaha Bee" described it as a "wild and romantic place... containing a wooded ravine that followed the course of a small stream." They continued, "There are all manner of shady nooks in this dell, and some of the largest forest trees in this section of the country are to be seen in it." [ [http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/parks/parks/elmwoodpark.htm "Elmwood Park"] , City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved 8/24/08.] The park, along with Happy Hollow Boulevard, was part of Cleveland's parks and boulevard plan for Omaha. Today the boulevard runs north from Elmwood Park past the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus and Memorial Park, onward to Benson. A Moorish Castle-style pavilion was built in 1890 for $5,586. Originally an open air structure, it was condemned in 1939 as unsafe and closed, leading to its enclosure sometime later.

In 1912 a local businessman donated a totem pole to the park that stood there through the 1930s, [Federal Writers Project. (1939). "Nebraska: A guide to the Cornhusker State." Nebraska State Historical Society. p 248.] and the park was the site of camping grounds through the 1950s. [Pappas, D.R. (1921) "Automobile Blue Book." The Automobile Blue Book Publishing Company. p. 221.] The Elmwood Park Golf Course was opened in 1916, and featured ravines, grassy fields and roadways throughout. [ [http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/earlyomaha/parks/elmwood.html "Elmwood Park"] , "City of Omaha: Gateway to the West." Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 8/24/08.] By 1917, the park had grown to 208.13 acres, and it was the second largest in the city. From the late 1800s through the 1930s an annual park was held for Omaha's African American community at the park, with as many as 10,000 people attending. [Federal Writers Project. (1939) [http://www.memoriallibrary.com/NE/Ethnic/Negro/sociallife.htm "Social Life"] , "Negroes of Nebraska". Retrieved 8/24/08.] The University of Nebraska at Omaha relocated from its North Omaha campus to a 30 acre parcel next to the park in 1937, sealing the park's size permanently. In the 1940s native Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett set up a golf ball stand at the golf course in the park. [Lowenstein, R. (1995) "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist." Doubleday. p 16.] Renovated again in 1987, the city spent $100,000 from a bond issue to replace windows and repair restrooms at the pavillion. The park received a $1 million renovation in 1993, and in 2000 the Peter Kiewit Foundation made a significant grant to the city that allowed the city to renovate the park’s historic spring area, improve the swimming pool and create new entrance signage.

Today Elmwood Park includes the 18-hole golf course, two baseball fields and a swimming pool. There are also paths and trails for biking and walking; a lagoon, picnic areas, restrooms, the historic pavilion, open spaces and a historic marker. [ [http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/parks/parks/elmwoodpark.htm "Elmwood Park"] , City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Department. Retrieved 8/24/08.]

See also

* History of Omaha
* Neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska

References

Bibliography

* Ducey, J.E., Sutherland, D.M., Johnson, C., et al. (2003) "Chronicles of Wood Creek, Happy Hollow and the Hills of Dundee: History of the Omaha Area Featuring Bird Studies, Elmwood Park and Neighborhood Growth and Development: with Details of Avifauna and Local Flora." J.E. Ducey, Publishers.