DOWNTOWN OMAHA

'Downtown Omaha' is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and is located in Omaha, Nebraska. The boundaries are 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline of Leavenworth Street on the south to the centerline of Chicago Street on the north, also including the Qwest Center.^[1] Downtown sits on the Missouri River, with commanding views from the tallest skyscrapers.
Dating almost to the city's inception, downtown has been a popular location for the headquarters of a variety of companies. The Union Pacific Railroad has been headquartered in Omaha since its establishment in 1862. Once the location of 24 historical warehouses, Jobbers Canyon Historic District was the site of many import and export businesses necessary for the settlement and development of the American West. Today, downtown boasts national and regional headquarters for dozens of companies.^[2]
The area is home to more than 30 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with two historic districts. Downtown Omaha was also the site of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District, all 24 buildings of which were demolished in 1989, representing the largest single loss of buildings to date from the National Register.^[3]

Contents

History

Neighborhoods

NoDo

Headquarters

Cultural attractions

Architecture

Historical architecture

See also

Image gallery

References

Related publications

External links

History

Downtown Omaha was the location of the settlement of the city. William D. Brown's Lone Tree Ferry landing was the site of Omaha's first development. In 2004 a map expert using GPS and old maps identified a location by the Gallup University as the location of the ferry landing.^[4] Omaha Central High School, located at 124 North 20th Street, is on the site where the city's founders first met on July 4 1854 for a celebration to found the city.
Much of Omaha's grim history happened downtown, as well. The Douglas County Courthouse was twice the location of racially-motivated lynchings. The first occurred when George Smith, a local worker, was accused of raping a white woman and dragged from the jail in the courthouse to his death.^[5] The second was the mass mob murder of Willy Brown in 1919. During that same period city boss Tom Dennison operated a private bank at 1409 Douglas Street, bankrolling a number of illegal operations throughout the city.^[6]
Today the highlight of downtown's social scene, the Old Market was once a warehouse district on par with the Jobbers Canyon. Torn down in 1989, Jobbers Canyon was a large area of warehouses in which much of Omaha's industrial wealth was made. Other historical areas downtown included Chinatown, the Burnt District and the Sporting District. The latter two areas were locations for much of the crime in Omaha in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Neighborhoods

Downtown Omaha is generally thought of as a large neighborhood itself; however, currently and historically within it are several distinct areas. The Old Market Historic District has been rehabilitated into boutique shops, offices and loft residential units. On the south edge of downtown bordering Little Italy, the Burlington Station is one of the buildings in the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District that has been renovated into residential apartments.

NoDo

A new mixed-use development on the northern edge of downtown is called "NoDo", short for "North Downtown". NoDo extends 80 blocks, from the campus of Creighton University to the Qwest Center and new developments along the Missouri River. The boundaries are Seward Street on the north, I-480 on the south, 17th Street to the west and Riverfront Drive on the east.^[7] It includes the new Slowdown venue,^[8] and there are tentative plans to move the Omaha Royals baseball team from Rosenblatt Stadium in South Omaha to a new stadium located in the area, as well.Kotok, C.D. and Shatel, T. (2007) "Stadium being pursued by city for CWS, Royals," ''Omaha World Herald''. 5/6/07. Retrieved 8/22/07.

Headquarters

Downtown Omaha is home to several corporate headquarters for businesses of international, national and regional importance. Among the earliest were the United State Army's Department of the Platte^[9] and the Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific laid its first rails in Omaha in 1862, and its headquarters have been located in Downtown Omaha since then. The company has stated their commitment to maintain their headquarters in Omaha, particularly with the opening of the new Union Pacific Center in 2004.^[10] The Enron corporation began in downtown as North Natural Gas Company."The Greater Omaha Advantage: Utilities" SCEDC. Retrieved 8/17/07. ConAgra Foods relocated their headquarters to downtown in 1991, after a contentious battle with local historians of the destruction of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District to make room for their buildings.
The Gallup Organization built an $81 million operational headquarters that employs 650 people on the edge of downtown in 2001.^[11] RDG Planning & Design followed in 2004, winning awards for moving and contributing to downtown's growth.^[12] The Scoular Company, a grain trading & storing company, is headquartered in downtown Omaha in the Northern Natural Gas Building. The new Carl T. Curtis National Park Service
Midwest Headquarters located downtown on the Missouri Riverfront is the first building in Nebraska to be rated under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system.^[13]
Neighboring Creighton University has been steadily expanding their campus in order to "integrate with Downtown Omaha". New facilities such as Morrison Stadium bring the university closer.^[14] Other locally relevant organizations downtown include all of the city's utilities. The Metropolitan Utilities District, Omaha Public Power District, Omaha Police Department, the Omaha Housing Authority and Metro Area Transit are each located within downtown. The US Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District is headquartered in Downtown Omaha, as well.^[15]

Cultural attractions

Aside from the Old Market, other cultural attractions in Downtown Omaha include the Orpheum Theater, the Magic Theatre, the Rose Theatre, the Omaha Children's Museum, Durham Western Heritage Museum, and the Holland Performing Arts Center. The Qwest Center and the Omaha Civic Auditorium play host to many different events, including concerts, sports and more. Slowdown is a new cultural center that straddles the boundaries of the Qwest Center and the Near North Side neighborhood.
The City of Omaha is also considering developing a light rail system that would extend from NoDo to the Rosenblatt Stadium/Henry Doorly Zoo area in South Omaha.^[16]

Architecture

Omaha's tallest building, the 45-story First National Bank Tower, is in Downtown. There is a proposed , 32-story downtown condominium tower in the works. The WallStreet Tower Omaha would be built as soon as fall 2009 in Downtown as well.^[17]

'Tallest buildings in Downtown Omaha'

Name	Stories	Height
One First National Center	45	634 ft (193 m)
Woodmen Tower	30	478 ft (146 m)
Union Pacific Center	19	317 ft (97 m)
First National Center	22	295 ft (90 m)
AT&T Building	16	265 ft (81 m)
Northern Natural Gas Building	19	260 ft (79 m)
1200 Landmark Center	15	255 ft (78 m)
Omaha World Herald Building	16	250 ft (76 m)

Historical architecture

The location of the William D. Brown's Lone Tree Ferry, downtown has been the pivotal site for Omaha's growth since the city's inception in 1854. Many significant buildings have been recognized as landmarks, including the following, which are all included on the National Register of Historic Places.^[18]

Place name	Year built	Location
Anheuser-Busch Beer Depot	1916	1215 Jones Street Omaha
Astro Theater	1926	2001 Farnam Street
Beebe and Runyan Furniture Showroom and Warehouse	1913	105 South 9th Street
Bemis Omaha Bag Company Building	1887	614-624 South 11th Street
Burlington Headquarters Building	1879	1004 Farnam Street
Burlington Station	1898	925 South 10th Street
Douglas County Courthouse	1908	1819 Farnam Street
Douglas Eggerss-O'Flyng Building	1902	801 South 15th Street
Farnam Building	1929	1613 Farnam Street
First National Bank Building	1917	300-312 South 16th Street
Flatiron Hotel	1914	1722 St. Mary's Avenue
G.C. Moses Block	1887	1234-1244 South 13th Street
Hill Hotel	1919	505 South 16th Street
Hospe Anton Music Warehouse	1919	109-111 South 10th Street
J.L. Brandeis and Sons Store Building	1906	200 South 16 Street
Keeline Building	1911	319 South 17th Street
Nash Block	1905	902-912 Farnam Street
Omaha Bolt, Nut and Screw Building	1889	1316 Jones Street
Omaha High School	1912	124 North 20th Street
Omaha Public Library	1891	1823 Harney Street
Omaha National Bank Building	1889	1650 Farnam Street
Orpheum Theater	1892/1927	409 South 16th Street
Poppleton Block	1890	1001 Farnam Street
Redick Tower	1930	1504 Harney Street
Rose Realty-Securities Building	1916	305 South 16th Street
Sanford Hotel	1913	1913 Farnam Street
Simon Brothers Company	1919	1024 Dodge Street
Christian Specht Building	1884	1110 Douglas Street
Site of Saint Mary's Academy	1864	2236 St Mary's Avenue
Standard Oil Company Building of Nebraska		500 South 18th Street
Union Station (Omaha)	1931	801 South 10th Street

The Old Market Historic District is bordered by Farnam Street on the north to Leavenworth on the south, from South 10th Street on the east to South 14th Street on the west. The Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District is bounded by Jackson, 15th and 8th Streets, as well as the Union Pacific main line. Both are also listed as historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places. Downtown Omaha is also the site of the largest single loss of buildings included on the National Register of Historic Places to date.^[3] In all, 24 buildings were demolished in 1989, to be replaced by the ConAgra headquarters and Heartland of America Park.^[20]

See also

★ List of businesses in Omaha

★ Culture in Omaha

★ Music in Omaha

Image gallery

References

1. Frequently Asked Questions. Downtown Business Improvement District]. Retrieved 8/19/07.
2. Marcec, D. (2007) "Middle market highlight: April 2007: Omaha. ''Heartland Real Estate Business.'' Retrieved 8/22/07.
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. (2004) "Omaha's First Ferry Dock Identified," KETV. Retrieved 8/13/07.
5. Bristow, D. (1997) ''A Dirty, Wicked Town: Tale of 19th Century Omaha.'' Caxton Press.
6. Camp, L.S. (2001) When Clerks Of The District Court Had Real Power: Robert Smith’s Omaha, 1908-1950. ''Nebraska Lawyer.'' April. p. 18. Retrieved 6/21/07.
7. "North Downtown Redevelopment Plan: City of Omaha and Omaha Chamber of Commerce." HDR. Retrieved 8/22/07.
8. "All Nighter: Omaha plans to be open around the clock," ''Omaha City Weekly''. Retrieved 8/22/07.
9. Welcome to Omaha's Orpheum Theatre! Omaha Performing Arts Council. Retrieved 8/21/07.
10. "Let there be light: Union Pacific Center." Retrieved 8/21/07.
11. Beals, J. "All Nighter: Omaha plans to be open around the clock," ''Omaha City Weekly.'' Retrieved 8/21/07.
12. (2004) "RDG Earns Golden Spike Award for Civic Contributions; Commitment to Omaha's Downtown Redevelopment Prompts Move for Firm," ''Business Wire.'' 10/22/04. Retrieved 8/21/07.
13. Kotok, C.D. "New National Parks Service headquarters gets environmental praise," ''Omaha World Herald.'' Retrieved 8/21/07.
14. Schulte, T. (2005)"Downtown moving north", ''The Creightonian Online''. Retrieved 8/21/07.
15. US Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District website. Retrieved 8/21/07.
16. Miller, E.C. and Kopiasz, G. "Light Rail and Omaha: It Takes a Proactive Community to Build Light Rail: the Case for Omaha", ''The New Colonist.'' Retrieved 8/22/07.
17. (n.d.) [1] Yahoo.com
18. (2007) National Register of Historic Places - Nebraska, Douglas County. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/7/07.
19. 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.
20. 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.

Related publications

★ Bednarek, J.R.D. (1992) ''The Changing Image of the City: Planning for Downtown Omaha, 1945-1973.'' University of Nebraska Press.

★ Adrian, J.C. Jr. (2006) ''Downtown Revitalization: Parks in the Sky. Theses from the Architecture Program.'' Architecture Program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln.

★ Beals, J. "Magic Number: Third stage in downtown Omaha development charging ahead", ''Omaha City Weekly.'' Retrieved 8/21/07.

External links

★ Downtown Omaha, Inc. website.

★ Downtown Omaha Business Improvement District website.

★ "Downtown Omaha", ''Early Omaha: Gateway to the West''. Omaha Public Library website.

★ Map of NoDo from the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.