Omaha Landmarks

The interior foyer of Downtown Omaha's Union Station, located at 801 South 10th Street in the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District.

This article covers Landmarks in Omaha, Nebraska designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as National Historic Landmarks, indicating their varying level of importance to the city, state and nation.

The following list includes individual properties, as well as historic districts and National Historic Landmarks in Omaha. Residential, commercial, religious, educational, agricultural and socially significant locations are included.

Landmark preservation in Omaha

Omaha has sought to preserve its historic landmarks for more than 50 years. The first city report on historical sites written in 1959,^[1] and the first buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in the 1960s. The demolition of the Old Post Office in 1966, along with the Old City Hall the next year, were rallying points for preservationists in the city. Omaha developed a comprehensive plan for landmark preservation in 1980.^[2]

Some years, the demands of changing business in Downtown Omaha have overridden the desires of preservationists to maintain historic structures. In 1989, all 24 buildings of the area's "Jobbers Canyon" were demolished, representing the highest number of buildings lost at one time that were listed on the National Register of Historic Places to date.^[3][4] The Christian Specht Building is the only extant building with a cast-iron facade known in Nebraska today, and one of the few built in the state.^[5]

The Burlington Train Station, also a downtown historic landmark, sat empty for more than thirty years and was stripped of much of its historical grandeur. In 2006 a group of developers began renovating the building for mixed-use, which will include residential condos.^[6] Not all of the buildings lost are deemed significant; the Omaha Auditorium, designed by noted and prolific local architect John Latenser, Sr., was almost universally panned for its gaudy and half-completed construction.^[7]

In North Omaha, the historic Strehlow Terrace apartments have been renamed "Chambers Court" in honor of locally renowned Nebraska Legislator Ernie Chambers.^[8] Fort Omaha, an Indian War-era supply depot for the United States Army, has been re-purposed as a local community college.^[9]

In April 2001 the Nebraska Methodist Health System purchased the Indian Hills Theater on West Dodge Road and. In June it announced plans to demolish the theater and replace it with a parking lot. Indian Hills was the last drum-shaped, three-projector Cinerama theater in the United States. Despite grassroots formation of the Indian Hills Preservation Society, letters of support from Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Kirk Douglas, and the unanimous vote of the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission finding that the theater should be declared a Landmark of the City of Omaha, in August 2001 the building was demolished.^[10]

City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission

Demolition of the Old Union Pacific Headquarters in Downtown Omaha in fall 2008.^[11]

Main article: Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission

The first comprehensive preservation ordinance in Nebraska was adopted by the Omaha City Council in 1977.^[12] The commission was created after the demolition of the Old Post Office, when the pro-preservation organization Landmarks, Inc. advocated its creation.^[13]

As of 2007, more than 90 buildings and structures in Omaha have received federal historic preservation tax incentives, and have been listed by the City of Omaha as Certified Historic Rehabs.^[14]

National recognition

Many historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects in Omaha have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three have been designated as National Historic Landmarks by the United States Secretary of the Interior for their historical significance. However, no Omaha Landmarks have been designated National Historic Landmarks, and many have not been listed on the National Historic Register.

Landmarks in Omaha

The Burlington Station, a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District in Downtown Omaha.

The 1878 General Crook House, a contributing property to the Fort Omaha Historical District.

The Nash Block is the last remnant of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District.

The Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens is located in the Field Club Historic District.

The Near North Side is home to several properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Spaghetti Works is a business located in the Old Market Historic District.

St. Cecilia Cathedral is a contributing property to the Gold Coast Historic District.

The Webster Telephone Exchange Building is the current location of the Great Plains Black History Museum.

The Grand Court of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition was located in Kountze Place on the current site of Kountze Park in North Omaha.

The USS Hazard is a National Historic Landmark located in Freedom Park.

Front view of the Livestock Exchange Building at the South Omaha's Union Stockyards.

The Joslyn Castle is in the heart of the Gold Coast Historic District.

Windows broken out and people climbing the Douglas County Courthouse during the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.

The J.E. Smith Building, formerly part of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District.

A 1900 street scene including the Old Post Office.

A 1910 postcard shows the historic columns at the front entrance of Omaha's Burlington Station.

Current entrance to the historic Ford Hospital in Midtown Omaha.

Current photo of the Omaha Public Library (building) built in 1891 in downtown Omaha.

The Omaha National Bank Building in downtown Omaha was Omaha's first skyscraper built in 1888-89'.

Place name	Year built	Location	NRHP?[15]	Omaha Landmark?[16]
Ackerhurst Dairy Barn	1935	15220 Military Road	No	Yes
Ansonia Apartments	1929	2221-23 Jones Street	No	Yes
Anheuser-Busch Beer Depot	1887	1207-1215 Jones Street	Yes	No
Aquila Court Building	1923	1615 Howard Street	Yes	No
Astro Theater	1926	2001 Farnam Street	Yes	No
Bank of Florence	1856	8502 North 30th Street	Yes	Yes[17]
John P. Bay House	1887	2024 Binney Street	No	Yes
Beebe and Runyan Furniture Showroom and Warehouse	1913	105 South 9th Street	Yes	No
Bemis Omaha Bag Company Building	1887	NW Corner of 11th and Jones Streets	Yes	Yes
Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District	1889	Cuming Street on the south to Hawthorne Avenue on the north; Glenwood Avenue on the west to North 33rd Street on the east	No	Yes[18]
Blackstone Hotel	1916	302 South 36th Street	Yes	Yes
Boys Town	1917	14100 Crawford Street	National Historic Landmark[19]	No
Brandeis-Millard House & Carriage House	1904	500 South 38th Street & 3815 Dewey Avenue	Yes	Yes
Breckenridge-Gordon House	1909	3611 Jackson Street	No	Yes
Broatch Building	1880	1209 Harney Street	No	Yes
Broomfield Rowhouse	1913	2502 Lake Street	Yes	No
Harry Buford House	1929	1804 North 30th Street	No	Yes
Burlington Headquarters Building	1879	1004 Farnam Street	Yes	Yes
Burlington Station	1898	925 South 10th Street	Yes	No
Cabanne Archeological Site	1822	Located on the Missouri River between Omaha and Fort Calhoun (undisclosed location)	Yes[20]	No
Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church	1910	3105 North 24th Street	Yes	Yes
Center School (Omaha, Nebraska)	1893	1730 South 11th Street	Yes	Yes
Charles D. McLaughlin House			Yes	No
Christian Specht Building	1888	1110 Douglas Street	Yes	Yes
Charles Storz House	1909	1901 Wirt Street	No	Yes
Clarinda & Page Apartments	1909	3027 Farnam Street, 305-11 Turner Boulevard	No	Yes
Columbian School	1892	3819 Jones Street	Yes	Yes
Joel N. Cornish House	1886	1404 South 10th Street	Yes	No
Country Club Historic District	1925	North 50th Street on the east to North 56th Street on the west; from Corby Street on the north to Seward Street on the south	No	Yes
Dietz Memorial United Methodist Church	1888	1423 South 10th Street	No	Yes
Dr. Samuel D. Mercer House	1885	3920 Cuming Street	Yes	No
Douglas County Courthouse	1912	1700 Farnam Street	Yes	No
Douglas Eggerss-O'Flyng Building	1902	801 South 15th Street	Yes	Yes
Drake Court Apartments and the Dartmore Apartments Historic District	1916	Jones Street on the south to St. Marys Avenue on the north; from South 20th Street on the east to South 23rd Street on the west	Yes	Yes
Eggerss - O'Flyng Building	1902	801 South 15th Street	Yes	Yes
Epeneter House	1905	502 North 40th Street	No	Yes
Farnam Building			Yes	No
Federal Office Building	1934	106 S. 15th St.	Yes	No
Field Club Historic District	1898	Pacific Avenue on the north to Center Street on the south; South 32nd Avenue on east to South 36th Street on the west	Yes	Yes
First National Bank Building			Yes	No
First Unitarian Church of Omaha	1917	3114 Harney Street	Yes	Yes
Flatiron Hotel	1912	1722 St. Mary's Avenue	Yes	No
Florence	1846	Weber Street on the south to I-680 on the north; Pershing Drive on the east to North Ridge Drive on the west	No	Yes
Florentine Apartments	1911	907 South 25th Street	No	Yes
Ford Hospital	1916	121 South 25th Street	Yes	No
Fort Omaha Guardhouse	1883	Intersection of North 30th and Ellison Avenue	No	Yes
Fort Omaha	1868	Fort Street on the South to Laurel Avenue on the North; North 30th Street on the east to North 33rd Street on the west	Yes	Yes
Franklin School			Yes	No
G.C. Moses Block			Yes	No
Gallagher Building	1888	1902-06 South 13th Street	Yes	Yes
Garneau-Kilpatrick House	1890	3100 Chicago Street	Yes	Yes
Gen. George Crook House	1879	5730 North 30th Street	Yes	No
George F. Shepard House	1903	1802 Wirt Street	No	Yes
George H. Kelly House	1904	1924 Binney Street	Yes	Yes
Georgia Row House			Yes	No
Georgia Apartments	1890	1040 South 29th Street	No	Yes
Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens	1913	3202 Woolworth Avenue	No	Yes
Gold Coast Historic District	1880	North 36th Street on the east to North 40th on the west; Jones Street on the north to Cuming Street on the south	Yes	No
Goodrich Building	1900	1415 Farnam Street	No	Yes
Gottlieb Storz House			Yes	Yes
Grossman Apartment	1904	102-108 South 36th Street	No	Yes
Havens-Page House	1900	101 North 39th Street	Yes	No
Hicks House	1892	3017 Pacific Street	No	Yes
Hicks Terrace	1890	3005-3011 Pacific Street, 1102 South 30th Avenue	No	Yes
Hill Hotel	1919	505 South 16th Street	Yes	Yes
Holy Family Church	1883	915 North 18th Street	Yes	Yes
Horbach Building	1894	1205-1207 Harney Street	No	Yes
Hospe Anton Music Warehouse			Yes	No
Howard Street Apartment District		Harney Street on the north to Landon Court on the south; South 22nd Street on the east to South 24th Street on the west	Yes	No
Immaculate Conception Church and School	1926	1024 South 24th Street	Yes	No
J.L. Brandeis and Sons Store Building	1906	210 South 16th Street	Yes	No
Jewell Building	1923	2221 North 24th Street	Yes	Yes
Joslyn Castle	1903	3902 Davenport Street	Yes	Yes
Keeline Building	1911	319 South 17th Street	Yes	No
Keirle House	1905	3017 Mormon Street	No	Yes
Kimball House			No	Yes
Kirschbraun and Sons Creamery, Inc.			Yes	No
Kuncl-Hruska House			No	Yes
Lincoln Highway (Omaha)	1913	North 183 Street and West Dodge Road northwest towards North 192 Street	No	Yes
Livestock Exchange Building	1926	4920 South 30th Street	Yes	Yes
Lizzie Robinson House	1910	2864 Corby Street	Yes	Yes
Malcolm X Housesite	1925	3448 Pinkney Street (house was demolished before listing)	Yes	No
Mary Rogers Kimball House			Yes	Yes
Mason School	1888	1012 South 24th Street	Yes	Yes
Mason Terrace & Van Closter Residence			No	Yes
Medlar Building			No	Yes
Megeath House			No	Yes
Melrose Apartments	1916	602 North 33rd Street	No	Yes
Military Road Segment	1857	Begins at Nebraska Highway 64 as Nebraska Highway 28K, ends at Bennington Road near North 204th Street	Yes	No
Miller Park	1891	Saratoga Street on the south to Redick Avenue on the north; Florence Boulevard on the east to North 30th Street on the west	No	No
Mormon Pioneer Cemetery	1846	3301 State Street	No	Yes
Nash Block	1907	902 Farnam Street	Yes	Yes
Neble House	1894	2752 South 10th Street	No	Yes
Normandie Apartments			Yes	Yes
Notre Dame Academy and Convent			Yes	Yes
Old Market	1880	Harney Street on the north to Jackson Street on the south; South 10th Street on the east to South 13th Street on the west	Yes	Yes
Old People's Home	1917	3325 Fontenelle Boulevard	Yes	No
Omaha High School	1900	124 North 20th Street	Yes	Yes
Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District	1880	Jackson Street on the north to the Union Pacific main line on the south; South 15th Avenue on the west and 8th Street on the east	Yes	No
Omaha Bolt, Nut and Screw Building			Yes	Yes
Omaha National Bank Building	1888	1650 Farnam Street	Yes	No
Omaha Public Library (building)	1891	1823 Harney Street	Yes	Yes
Omaha Quartermaster Depot Historic District	1881	Hickory Street on the south to Woolworth Avenue on the north; South 22nd Street on the south to the Union Pacific Railroad Yards on the west	Yes	No
Orpheum Theater	1927	409 South 16th Street	Yes	No
Packer’s National Bank Building	1907	4939 South 24th Street	Yes	Yes
Park School			Yes	Yes
Parlin, Orendorff and Martin Plow Company Building			Yes	No
Poppleton Block	1890	1001 Farnam Street	Yes	Yes
Porter-Thomsen House			Yes	Yes
Prague Hotel	1898	1402 South 13th Street	Yes	No
Prospect Hill Cemetery	1979	3202 Parker Street	No	Yes
Redick Tower			Yes	No
Mary Reed House	503 South 36th Street	1909	No	Yes
Riviera Theater			No	Yes
Robbins School	1910	4302 South 39th Avenue	No	Yes
Robinson Memorial Church of God in Christ			No	Yes
Rose Realty-Securities Building			Yes	No
Rosewater School	1910	3764 South 13th Street	Yes	Yes
Sacred Heart Catholic Church Complex	1902	2206 Binney Street	Yes	No
Saddle Creek Underpass	1934	Dodge Street (US 6) over Saddle Creek Road	Yes	No
Saint Joseph Parish Complex			Yes	Yes
Site of Saint Mary's Academy			Yes	No
St. Cecilia's Cathedral	1905	701 North 40th Street	Yes	Yes
St. John's A.M.E. Church	1943	2402 North 22nd Street	Yes	yes
St. John's Collegiate Church			No	Yes
St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church	1899	2312 J Street	Yes	Yes
St. Matthias' Episcopal Church			Yes	No
St. Philomena's Cathedral and Rectory			Yes	Yes
St. Regis Apartments			Yes	No
Sanford Hotel			Yes	Yes
Saunders School	1899	415 North 41st Avenue	Yes	No
Simon Brothers Company			Yes	No
Slater House			No	Yes
South Omaha Bridge	1936	Located on Hwys 275/92 over the Missouri River	Yes	No
South Omaha Main Street Historic District	1883	South 24th Street between M Street on the north and O Street on the south	Yes	No
Springwell Danish Cemetery	1889	6326 Hartman Avenue	No	Yes
Standard Oil Company Building of Nebraska			Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 1			Yes	No
Steiner Rowhouse No. 2			Yes	No
Strehlow Terrace	1905	2024 North Sixteenth Street	Yes	No
Swoboda Bakery	1889	1422 William Street	Yes	No
The Berkeley Apartments			Yes	No
The Melrose	1916	602 North 33rd Street	Yes	No
The Sherman	1897	2501 North 16th Street	Yes	No
Thomas Kilpatrick House	1890		No	Yes
Trans-Mississippi Exposition Site	1898	1920 Pinkney Street	No	Yes
Trinity Cathedral	1880	113 N. 18th Street	Yes	No
Union Passenger Terminal	1931	801 South 10th Street	Yes	No
Union State Bank Building			No	Yes
USS Hazard	1944	2497 Freedom Park Road	National Historic Landmark[19]	No
USS Marlin		2497 Freedom Park Road	Yes	No
Vinton School	1907	2120 Deer Park Boulevard	Yes	Yes
Vinton Street Commercial Historic District		Along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east	No	Yes
Wattles House	1895	320 South 37th Street	No	Yes
Weber Mill	1846	9102 North 30th Street	Yes	Yes
Webster Telephone Exchange Building	1906	2213 Lake Street	Yes	No
West Central-Cathedral Landmark District		North 38th Street between Capitol Avenue on the south and Cuming Street on the north	No	Yes
West Farnam Apartments			No	Yes
Zabriskie House	1889	3524 Hawthorne Avenue	Yes	Yes

Former Landmarks

Being listed on the NRHP or as an Omaha Landmark does not permanently protect buildings against destruction. Several landmarks in Omaha have been demolished through a variety of fashions.

Place name	Location	Year built	Year destroyed[21]	Notes[22]
Immaculate Conception Church and School	1024 South 24th Street
Monmouth Park School	4508 North 33rd Street	1903
Guy C. Barton House
Bradford-Pettis House	404 South 39 Street	1910
Jobbers' Canyon Historic District		Various		Removed from the NRHP after buildings were demolished.[23] It was located at Farnum Street on the north to Jackson Street on the south; South Eighth Street on the east to South Tenth Street on the west
Kennedy Building	1517 Jackson Street	1910
Leone, Florentine and Carpathia Apartment Buildings	907-911 South 25 Street	1909
The Berkely Apartments	907-911 South 25 Street	1909
Butternut Building		1909	2004	Destroyed by a fire.[24]

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Douglas County, Nebraska
• Architecture in Omaha, Nebraska
• History of Omaha
• Founding figures of Omaha, Nebraska
• Thomas Rogers Kimball
• John Latenser, Sr.

References

1. ^ (1959) Historical Sites in Douglas County, Nebraska. City of Omaha Planning Department
2. ^ Becker, H.W. (1982) A Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha. Nebraska State Historical Society.
3. ^ Gratz, R.B. (1996) Living City: How America's Cities Are Being Revitalized by Thinking Small in a Big Way, John Wiley and Sons. p. V.
4. ^ National Trust for Historic Preservation and Zagars, J. (1997) Preservation Yellow Pages: The Complete Information Source for Homeowners, Communities, and Professionals;;, John Wiley and Sons. p.80.
5. ^ (nd) Christian Specht Building
6. ^ "The Burlington" (PDF). The Burlington website. 2007. http://www.burlingtonstation.com/burlington_station.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-29. 
7. ^ "Omaha Auditorium", Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 3/26/08.
8. ^ "Chambers Court: Building to receive millions in renovations.". WOWT.com. http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/1923767.html. Retrieved 2007-04-07. 
9. ^ (n.d.) Fort Omaha HistoricOmaha.Com
10. ^ Foster, M. (2001) "Curtain closes on Omaha Theater", National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 8/30/07.
11. ^ Mullin, C. (2007) "Demolition of U.P. Building Chugging Along", Omaha World Herald. August 27, 2007. Retrieved 2/15/08.
12. ^ "Planning," City of Omaha. Retrieved 9/22/07.
13. ^ "About" Landmarks, Inc. Retrieved 9/22/07.
14. ^ "Certified Historic Rehabs in Omaha". City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 8/30/07.
15. ^ (2007) National Register of Historic Places - Nebraska, Douglas County. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/7/07.
16. ^ Omaha Landmarks. Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/7/07.
17. ^ Bank of Florence City of Omaha website.
18. ^ (nd) Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District. City of Omaha Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5/29/07.
19. ^ ^{a b} (nd) National Historic Landmarks Survey. National Parks Service. Retrieved 6/4/07.
20. ^ (nd) National Register of Historic Places - NE, Douglas County. Retrieved 6/7/07.
21. ^ (2007) National Register of Historic Places - Nebraska, Douglas County. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/7/07.
22. ^ Omaha Landmarks. Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/7/07.
23. ^ (2002) National Register of Historic Places Listings. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/7/07.
24. ^ "Butternut Will Be Demolished", KETV. Retrieved March 25, 2011.

Further reading

• Gerber, K. and Spencer, J.S. (2003) Building for the Ages: Omaha's architectural landmarks. Landmarks, Inc.

External links

• Omaha Landmarks City of Omaha website, including listings for every Omaha Landmark.
• Landmarks, Inc. website.
• Omaha By Design website.
• Restore Omaha Conference, Exhibition & Tour website.
• Collection of photos of Omaha's landmarks.
• State of Nebraska Historic Preservation Office.