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EspañolNEAR NORTH SIDE (OMAHA, NEBRASKA)
The 'Near North Side' of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area. It is bordered by Cuming Street on the south, 30th on the west, 16th on the east, and Locust Street to the north.
Bordered by several historic neighborhoods, including Bemis Park, East Omaha, Kountze Park and Saratoga, the Near North Side is perhaps the oldest, and most significant, of each of these. The community was originally platted in 1855 as Scriptown and lots were awarded to Nebraska Territory legislators who voted for Nebraska statehood. Consequently, the area was developed quickly, and included a number of prominent homes.[1]
The area grew throughout the last half of the 1800s as Omaha's suburb, with the first streetcars running up and down its main thoroughfares of 24th and 30th Streets. After the Trans-Mississippi Exposition occurred just north of the area in 1898, Kountze Park was developed to serve the area's widely varied racial and ethnic populations. The bustling 24th Street corridor also served these communities, with mixed European immigrant communities mingling with the African American community. Many African Americans moved to Omaha during this time as part of the Great Migration.
Two Jewish synagogues provided social and cultural activities, in which renowned author Tillie Olsen grew up. St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church were among the congregations that served the black community, and Holy Family Catholic Church served successive congregations of German, Irish, Italian and Czech immigrants in the area.[2] Students attended a variety of area schools, including Tech High School, just to the southwest of the community's boundaries.
The Easter Sunday tornado of 1913 destroyed much of the Near North Side's businesses and neighborhoods.[3] The Idlewild Pool Hall at 2307 North 24th Street in the heart of the neighborhood was the scene of the greatest loss of life. The owner, C. W. Dillard, and 13 customers were killed as they tried to take shelter on the south side of the pool hall’s basement. The victims were crushed by falling debris or overcome by smoke from fires begun when wood stoves used for heating overturned. The postcard image shows the slow process of removing the debris to recover the bodies. The victims were then removed to the Webster Telephone Exchange Building at 2213 Lake Street.[4] One report identifies this building as a central headquarters in recovering the community, as the many operators go to work despite the building missing all of its windows.[5]
A mob of Caucasians lynched an African American worker named Will Brown in 1919. He was dragged from his jail cell, beaten, trampled, lynched, dragged through the streets, dismembered and burnt. After the mob was done with Brown's corpse they attempted to turn their hatred on the entire population of African Americans in the Near North Side; however, their efforts were thwarted by soldiers from Fort Omaha.[6] After this riot the city began enforcing race-restrictive covenants. Properties for rent and sale were restricted on the basis of race, with the primary intent of keeping North Omaha "black" and the rest of the city "white". These agreements were held in place with redlining[7], a system of segregated insuring and lending reinforced by the federal government. These restrictions were ruled illegal in 1940.
During this period the Near North Side became home of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects, a federal housing project built in 1938 as no-cost or low-cost housing for Eastern European immigrants. The demographics gradually changed, and by the late 1960s they were inhabited almost entirely by poor and low-income African Americans. By the early 2000s each of these facilities was torn down and replaced with other public housing schemes.
Hose Company #12, and later Hose Company #11, hired the first African American firefighters to serve the Near North Side. One of the two stations was located at 20th and Lake Streets.[8]
During the height of the Jazz Age, the Dreamland Ballroom was the highlight of what is widely regarded as Near North Omaha's golden years. Through that period the neighborhood's cultural scene was vibrant, featuring from the 1920s through the 1960s when it closed. Wallace Thurman, widely considered one of the greatest writers of the Harlem Renaissance, grew up in the Near North Side during this time, along with jazz legend Preston Love, political leader George Wells Parker and military hero Alfonza W. Davis. Malcolm X's father was a pastor in Near North Omaha when Malcolm was born there in 1926.
In July 1966 the National Guard was called in from Fort Omaha to quell two days of rioting in North Omaha after local youth burnt down several area businesses along the 24th Street corridor.[9] That same year ''A Time for Burning'', a documentary featuring North Omaha, was filmed. Later it was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. In 1968 the National Guard again quelled North Omaha riots after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April. In the summer of 1969 riots again erupted after an Omaha police officer fatally shot a teenager named Vivian Strong in the Logan Fontenelle Projects leading to three days of rioting that effectively destroyed the Near North Omaha business area.[10]
Construction of the North Omaha Freeway in the 1970s is widely regarded as leading to the decline of Near North Omaha. Research has shown that the area experienced a 30 percent housing loss and major increase in crime.[11]
In 1976, Omaha Public Schools began court-ordered integrated busing, leading many Near North Omaha students away from their community for the first time.[12]
This period also led to the emergence of modern-day Near North Side leaders such as Ernie Chambers, Brenda Council and Rev. Ken Vavrina. Cultural evolutions led to the formation of the L.A. Carnival, a funk band in the area.
For more than 20 years the community's historic legacy was captured by the Great Plains Black History Museum. Today the community's culture is continuously celebrated in the biennial Native Omaha Days and by the long-running ''Omaha Star'' newspaper.
Recently the Omaha Royals have proposed building a $54 million stadium as part of a $170 million redevelopment the Near North Side Omaha's Qwest Center and Creighton University.[13]
The City of Omaha has recognized many buildings and homes on the Near North Side as landmarks, and several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include:
★ George H. Kelly House
★ Webster Telephone Exchange Building
★ St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church
★ Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church
★ Malcolm X Birth Site
★ Dreamland Ballroom
★ Lizzie Robinson House
★ Sacred Heart Catholic Church
★ Holy Family Catholic Church
★ George F. Shepard House
★ The Sherman
★ Harry Buford House
★ History of North Omaha, Nebraska
1. (n.d.)"Andreas' History of Nebraska: Douglas County".
2. ''Street of Dreams'' Nebraska Public Television
3. Sing, T (2003) ''Omaha's Easter Tornado of 1913''. Arcadia Publishing.
4. (n.d.)1913 Easter Sunday Tornado Omaha Public Library
5. (n.d.)Omaha's Terrible Evening. ''Tragic Story of America's Greatest Disaster''.
6. ''A Street of Dreams'' Nebraska Public Television.
7. (1992) ''A Street of Dreams.'' Nebraska ETV Network (video)
8. (n.d.) History of African American Firefighters: Omaha.
9. (n.d.) National Guard Mobilized in North Omaha. ''Black Facts Online''.
10. (n.d.) Distilled in Black and White ''Omaha Reader''.
11. (2001) State's top community development projects honored. Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
12. ''1954-1979''. Omaha World Herald (Nebraska) June 13, 2004
13. (2006) A tale of two cities. At the Yard website. Retrieved 5/29/07.
| Contents |
| History |
| 1913 Tornado |
| Lynching of Willy Brown |
| Golden years |
| Decline |
| Present |
| Historic landmarks |
| See also |
| References |
History
View of the SE corner of 24th & Lake Streets in North Omaha at the heart of the Near North Side.
Bordered by several historic neighborhoods, including Bemis Park, East Omaha, Kountze Park and Saratoga, the Near North Side is perhaps the oldest, and most significant, of each of these. The community was originally platted in 1855 as Scriptown and lots were awarded to Nebraska Territory legislators who voted for Nebraska statehood. Consequently, the area was developed quickly, and included a number of prominent homes.[1]
The area grew throughout the last half of the 1800s as Omaha's suburb, with the first streetcars running up and down its main thoroughfares of 24th and 30th Streets. After the Trans-Mississippi Exposition occurred just north of the area in 1898, Kountze Park was developed to serve the area's widely varied racial and ethnic populations. The bustling 24th Street corridor also served these communities, with mixed European immigrant communities mingling with the African American community. Many African Americans moved to Omaha during this time as part of the Great Migration.
Two Jewish synagogues provided social and cultural activities, in which renowned author Tillie Olsen grew up. St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church were among the congregations that served the black community, and Holy Family Catholic Church served successive congregations of German, Irish, Italian and Czech immigrants in the area.[2] Students attended a variety of area schools, including Tech High School, just to the southwest of the community's boundaries.
1913 Tornado
The Easter Sunday tornado of 1913 destroyed much of the Near North Side's businesses and neighborhoods.[3] The Idlewild Pool Hall at 2307 North 24th Street in the heart of the neighborhood was the scene of the greatest loss of life. The owner, C. W. Dillard, and 13 customers were killed as they tried to take shelter on the south side of the pool hall’s basement. The victims were crushed by falling debris or overcome by smoke from fires begun when wood stoves used for heating overturned. The postcard image shows the slow process of removing the debris to recover the bodies. The victims were then removed to the Webster Telephone Exchange Building at 2213 Lake Street.[4] One report identifies this building as a central headquarters in recovering the community, as the many operators go to work despite the building missing all of its windows.[5]
Lynching of Willy Brown
A mob of Caucasians lynched an African American worker named Will Brown in 1919. He was dragged from his jail cell, beaten, trampled, lynched, dragged through the streets, dismembered and burnt. After the mob was done with Brown's corpse they attempted to turn their hatred on the entire population of African Americans in the Near North Side; however, their efforts were thwarted by soldiers from Fort Omaha.[6] After this riot the city began enforcing race-restrictive covenants. Properties for rent and sale were restricted on the basis of race, with the primary intent of keeping North Omaha "black" and the rest of the city "white". These agreements were held in place with redlining[7], a system of segregated insuring and lending reinforced by the federal government. These restrictions were ruled illegal in 1940.
During this period the Near North Side became home of the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects, a federal housing project built in 1938 as no-cost or low-cost housing for Eastern European immigrants. The demographics gradually changed, and by the late 1960s they were inhabited almost entirely by poor and low-income African Americans. By the early 2000s each of these facilities was torn down and replaced with other public housing schemes.
Hose Company #12, and later Hose Company #11, hired the first African American firefighters to serve the Near North Side. One of the two stations was located at 20th and Lake Streets.[8]
Golden years
During the height of the Jazz Age, the Dreamland Ballroom was the highlight of what is widely regarded as Near North Omaha's golden years. Through that period the neighborhood's cultural scene was vibrant, featuring from the 1920s through the 1960s when it closed. Wallace Thurman, widely considered one of the greatest writers of the Harlem Renaissance, grew up in the Near North Side during this time, along with jazz legend Preston Love, political leader George Wells Parker and military hero Alfonza W. Davis. Malcolm X's father was a pastor in Near North Omaha when Malcolm was born there in 1926.
Decline
The historic office of the ''Omaha Star''.
In July 1966 the National Guard was called in from Fort Omaha to quell two days of rioting in North Omaha after local youth burnt down several area businesses along the 24th Street corridor.[9] That same year ''A Time for Burning'', a documentary featuring North Omaha, was filmed. Later it was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary. In 1968 the National Guard again quelled North Omaha riots after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April. In the summer of 1969 riots again erupted after an Omaha police officer fatally shot a teenager named Vivian Strong in the Logan Fontenelle Projects leading to three days of rioting that effectively destroyed the Near North Omaha business area.[10]
Construction of the North Omaha Freeway in the 1970s is widely regarded as leading to the decline of Near North Omaha. Research has shown that the area experienced a 30 percent housing loss and major increase in crime.[11]
In 1976, Omaha Public Schools began court-ordered integrated busing, leading many Near North Omaha students away from their community for the first time.[12]
This period also led to the emergence of modern-day Near North Side leaders such as Ernie Chambers, Brenda Council and Rev. Ken Vavrina. Cultural evolutions led to the formation of the L.A. Carnival, a funk band in the area.
Present
For more than 20 years the community's historic legacy was captured by the Great Plains Black History Museum. Today the community's culture is continuously celebrated in the biennial Native Omaha Days and by the long-running ''Omaha Star'' newspaper.
Recently the Omaha Royals have proposed building a $54 million stadium as part of a $170 million redevelopment the Near North Side Omaha's Qwest Center and Creighton University.[13]
Historic landmarks
The City of Omaha has recognized many buildings and homes on the Near North Side as landmarks, and several are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include:
★ George H. Kelly House
★ Webster Telephone Exchange Building
★ St. John's African Methodist Episcopal Church
★ Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church
★ Malcolm X Birth Site
★ Dreamland Ballroom
★ Lizzie Robinson House
★ Sacred Heart Catholic Church
★ Holy Family Catholic Church
★ George F. Shepard House
★ The Sherman
★ Harry Buford House
See also
★ History of North Omaha, Nebraska
References
1. (n.d.)"Andreas' History of Nebraska: Douglas County".
2. ''Street of Dreams'' Nebraska Public Television
3. Sing, T (2003) ''Omaha's Easter Tornado of 1913''. Arcadia Publishing.
4. (n.d.)1913 Easter Sunday Tornado Omaha Public Library
5. (n.d.)Omaha's Terrible Evening. ''Tragic Story of America's Greatest Disaster''.
6. ''A Street of Dreams'' Nebraska Public Television.
7. (1992) ''A Street of Dreams.'' Nebraska ETV Network (video)
8. (n.d.) History of African American Firefighters: Omaha.
9. (n.d.) National Guard Mobilized in North Omaha. ''Black Facts Online''.
10. (n.d.) Distilled in Black and White ''Omaha Reader''.
11. (2001) State's top community development projects honored. Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
12. ''1954-1979''. Omaha World Herald (Nebraska) June 13, 2004
13. (2006) A tale of two cities. At the Yard website. Retrieved 5/29/07.
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