Omaha's grow from a small Missouri River town to one of the Great Plains' largest and most sophisticated cities. To help you learn more about the development of the city's civic, arts, entertainment, and recreational development, this page is divided into a historical overview, followed by a listing of historic properties that represent the city's cultural growth.
Overview
Farnham Street Omaha from hill west of city. , None. [Between 1862 and 1868] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018649838/.
Long before Omaha developed into the regional urban hub it is today, the land west of the Missouri River was occupied by numerous American Indian tribes. In Nebraska, one of these tribes is the U-Mo’n-Ho’n (Omaha), from which the city takes its name. In 1854, the U-Mo’n- Ho’n signed a treaty with the United States government relinquishing the rights to their land. In 1879, Omaha served as the backdrop for the MaNchu NaNzhiN (Chief Standing Bear) landmark legal case at the Fort Omaha Historic District.
A changing cast of diverse peoples have altered the site west of the Missouri River. Early settlers of southeastern Nebraska included fur traders, such as Lucien Fontenelle and Peter Sarpy. These settlers established trade with the American Indian tribes and gradually turned the Bellevue- Omaha area into a large trading post. Mormon pioneers traveling from Nauvoo, Illinois, to Salt Lake City in the Utah Territory spent the winter of 1846 and 1847 in what is now the Florence neighborhood of North Omaha. Although little of their winter quarters survive, they constructed a flour mill on the site of what later became Weber Mill, a facility that was in production well into the twentieth century and still stands today.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the Nebraska Territory, and thousands flocked to the newly opened land. The founding of Omaha can be traced back to July 4, 1854. On this day, residents of Council Bluffs, Iowa, eager to create a commercial and transportation hub across the river from their town, celebrated with a picnic on what was later known as Capitol Hill, now the location of Omaha Central High School. Among those people was William D. Brown, founder of the Lone Tree Ferry Company in Council Bluffs, and the first person to imagine building a city on the land where Omaha sits today.
When the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad lines started in Omaha, ferries carried both travelers and freight across the Missouri. Council Bluffs boosters platted the frontier town across the river in 320 blocks. There were few permanent residents at first, but soon people put down roots and began to call Omaha home. Often people traveling to California and other western destinations decided to settle instead of moving onward, slowly populating the town. Several elements of these early days of Omaha can still be seen in the city. One of the first plots purchased in the town was bought by the Barker family in 1856 and is home to the Barker Building, constructed in 1929 by Peter Kiewit Construction, now a nationally recognized construction firm. Religion also was planted in the growing city; Nebraska’s Episcopal parish was founded in 1856, which was followed by the Trinity Cathedral which was constructed in 1883. St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, which began construction 1905, is a unique twin tower building that speaks to the pride of the Roman Catholics in Omaha and the Middle West.
Inspired by Chicago’s World Columbian Exposition of 1893, Omaha introduced itself to a national and international audience through the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in 1898. Omaha’s exposition celebrated both the city’s and the nation’s settlement of the western frontier. Although none of the grand buildings constructed for the Exposition survive, the event is commemorated by a historical marker in Kountze Park, which is situated on the former site of Omaha’s exposition, at 1920 Pinkney Street.
For any city to thrive, it needs to provide civic and urban improvements for its citizens. Omaha did just that with sewage system and road improvement projects well underway by 1885. Between 1885 and 1887, streetcar service was established and would see massive expansion in the coming years, leading to the annexation of several communities, including Benson and Florence. The Douglas County Courthouse continues to symbolize the growth of local government and includes the 1970s Omaha-Douglas Civic Center. The current library system which includes twelve locations was first established with the construction of the Omaha Public Library in 1894. Today, the original building has been re-purposed for use as office space. Finally, the Omaha Park and Boulevard System represents the city at its finest – through scenic parks and curving parkways, city officials sought to cure their citizens of perceived urban ills and to elevate the status of Omaha as compared to other major American cities at the time, including New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis.
All forms of art appreciated within the city, with plays and concerts performed at the Astro Theater. The Creighton (Orpheum) Theatre continues to serve as the center of Omaha’s performing arts scene and splits Omaha Performing Arts Broadway Season, with the modern Holland Arts Center, which is also home to the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra. All these institutions have created a strong sense of culture and appreciation for all forms of art in Omaha.
Omaha grew from a small, impermanent settlement to a regional urban hub in a matter of a few decades. Today, nearly 470,000 people call Omaha proper their home, with a metro area of over one million.
You can find the historic properties under this Story – along with others throughout Omaha – by visiting the Travel Omaha, NE Map.
Historic Properties Related to Omaha's Growth
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Throughout its history the Astro Theater has been used for stage shows, movies, and even a miniature golf course. Constructed and opened in 1926 by Chicago architect John Eberson, the theater possesses a unique combination of Moorish and Classical styles and is recognized by being listed in the National Register of Historic Places and being designated as an Omaha Local Landmark.
The Barker family purchased the now-downtown plot for the Barker Building in 1856, when Omaha was just a frontier town. The seven-story building was constructed in the Neo-Gothic style. This style in office buildings in Omaha constructed prior to 1940 is rare, making the Barker Building a distinct example.
The Christian Specht Building is the only known extant cast iron front building in Nebraska and is one of the very few that were ever built in the state. Records suggest that only three cast iron front buildings were constructed in Omaha.Commercial buildings from this period often have a cast iron columns or metal window frames. A cast iron store front is highly unusual, making the building a unique example of cast iron construction.
The Creighton Orpheum Theater was constructed in 1892, with the City National Bank Building joining it in 1910. The Orpheum Theater is significant as an example of the grand, ornate theaters or “opera houses” prevalent in the early twentieth century. The City National Bank Building, designed by the highly respected Chicago architectural firm of Holabird and Roche, was considered Omaha’s first skyscraper. They are listed together in the National Register of Historic Places and
Douglas County Courthouse in downtown Omaha, is a significant example of the French Renaissance Revival style, and marked a professional milestone in the career trajectory of its architect, John Latenser, Sr. The courthouse was also the site of the 1919 Will Brown Riot, where a White mob stormed the courthouse jail, seized Brown, and lynched him. Bullet holes from the riot are still visible on the courthouse’s interior.
United States Army troops first arrived in Omaha in 1862 to carry out the duties of the newly created Military District of Nebraska. In 1868, the prospect for a company-sized unit in Omaha led to the construction of Sherman Barracks, later called Omaha Barracks, in 1868. The eighty-one-and-a-half-acre site was renamed Fort Omaha in 1878. The area included a post headquarters, guardhouse, bakery, storehouses, and store as well as ten company sized barracks.
The J.L. Brandeis & Sons Store Building was designed by architect John Latenser Sr. and erected in 1906. Standing eight stories high, the Second Renaissance Revival style building was one of the largest buildings in Omaha at the time of its construction. In 1921 a two-story addition was added making it ten stories. The building’s façade is organized into horizontal divisions of stone, brick, and terra cotta.
Omaha Central High School is the oldest and largest active high school building in the city. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places as being architecturally significant “as an outstanding product of the French Renaissance Revival.” It is situated on the site of the original Nebraska Territory Capitol, a highly prominent location overlooking Omaha, the Missouri River, and Council Bluffs.
Originally known as the New York Life Insurance Company Building, the Omaha National Bank Building was the first ten-story building in Omaha. Designed by the New York-based firm of McKim, Mead, and White for the New York Life Insurance Company in 1889, an identical office tower in Kansas City, Missouri was completed in 1890, in addition to company offices in New York City.
The Omaha Park and Boulevard System includes approximately 26.5 miles of roads and 1,650 acres of park land throughout the city of Omaha. Developed between 1889 and 1918, the design for the system was conceived by noted landscape architect H.W.S. Cleveland. The System was viewed by advocates as a way to counter the industrial image of the city perpetuated by stockyards, meatpacking, and railroading.
Last updated: April 5, 2023