![Garden of the Senses fountain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Garden_of_the_Senses_fountain.jpg)
The culture of Omaha, Nebraska, has been partially defined by
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
and college sports, and by local cuisine and community theatre. The city has a long history of improving and expanding on its cultural offerings. In the 1920s, the ''
Omaha Bee
The ''Omaha Daily Bee'' was a leading Republican newspaper that was active in the late 19th and early 20th century. The paper's editorial slant frequently pitted it against the ''Omaha Herald'', the '' Omaha Republican'' and other local papers. A ...
'' newspaper wrote, "The cultural future of Omaha seems as certain of greatness as the commercial future... The symphony orchestra, the Art institute, the Community Playhouse and other organizations are on firm foundations and Omaha is destined to be not only a bigger, but a better city, both financially and culturally." Reviewing
Omaha's contemporary arts scene in 2007, the ''New York Times'' hailed the city as having "a kind of cultural awakening".
The nationally recognized "Omaha Sound" describes the unique
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
scene in the city, and
Big Joe Williams' 1953 minor hit "Omaha Blues" is about a woman in the city. The baseball
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
has been held continuously in Omaha since 1950, and a disputed
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
title was called the
World Heavyweight Championship (Omaha version)
The World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship sanctioned by a group of National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) promoters led by the NWA affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. These promoters chose ...
during the 1950s and 1960s because promoters in the city hosted their own matches without sanctioning.
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history.
Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...
and his sister
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
,
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
,
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...
and
Marlon Brando were all born in Omaha, and
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winner
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and ra ...
grew up in the city and was encouraged to pursue acting by
Marlon Brando's mother at the
Omaha Community Playhouse
The Omaha Community Playhouse, located at 6915 Cass Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a nationally recognized community theater.
Founded in 1924, the Playhouse's first president was Alan McDonald, architect of the Joslyn Art Museum, and ...
, which she helped found.
Museums
![Joslyn Fountain Court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Joslyn_Fountain_Court.jpg)
Omaha has one major museum and several regionally important museums. The
Joslyn Art Museum
The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...
is nationally renowned for its collections of
Native American art and art works relating to the early
European exploration of western
North America. The
Durham Museum is located on 10th Street in the art deco Union Station. The museum has numerous permanent exhibits and is accredited with the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
for traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian. Since its inception in 1976,
Omaha Children's Museum has been a place where children can challenge themselves, discover how the world works and learn through play.
The
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, just east of Omaha's
Old Market Historic District, was founded in the early 1980s and hosts artists from all over the world. It is one of the nation's premier artists' colonies, founded by
Ree Schonlau (Kaneko), wife of Japanese artist
Jun Kaneko
is a Japanese-born American ceramic artist known for creating large scale ceramic sculpture. Based out of a studio warehouse in Omaha, Nebraska, Kaneko primarily works in clay to explore the effects of repeated abstract surface motifs by using ...
, who lives in Omaha and opened Museum Kaneko in 2007.
Other museums in Omaha include the
Great Plains Black History Museum, celebrating the legacy of African Americans in Omaha and throughout the
Midwest; and; the
General Crook House Museum at
Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, ...
, exploring the role of the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
during the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
of the 1900s.
General Crook was renowned for speaking on behalf of
Chief Standing Bear of the
Omahas during the landmark trial of ''
Standing Bear v. Crook
Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...
'' in 1879.
El Museo Latino
El Museo Latino is a museum featuring Latino and Hispanic art and history that is located at 4701 South 25th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. Established in 1993, by Magdalena García, it is the first Latino art and history museum and cultural ce ...
celebrates the legacy, art and culture of Latin America, and is the first Latino art and history museum in Omaha.
Performing arts
The
Omaha Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1921, and
Opera Omaha
Opera Omaha is a major regional opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1958, the professional company is widely known for the International Fall Festival events it held in the 1980s and 1990s, which garnered international attention and served ...
, opened in 1958, are longtime bastions of the Omaha cultural scene.
American Midwest Ballet is Nebraska's only resident professional ballet company, which performs at
Witherspoon Hall at Joslyn Art Museum and
Orpheum Theaters. The
Omaha Community Playhouse
The Omaha Community Playhouse, located at 6915 Cass Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a nationally recognized community theater.
Founded in 1924, the Playhouse's first president was Alan McDonald, architect of the Joslyn Art Museum, and ...
is the largest, and one of the most famous and best-endowed
community theater Community theatre refers to any theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a community with no outside hel ...
s in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The
Blue Barn Theatre and the
Holland Performing Arts Center are venues located within Omaha.
The
Shelterbelt Theatre focuses on the development of original theatrical works and provides practical theater education to playwrights, performers, creative and technical staff. The
Omaha Area Youth Orchestra, the
Magic Theatre
The Magic Theatre is a theatre company founded in 1967, presently based at the historic Fort Mason Center on San Francisco's northern waterfront. The Magic Theatre is well known and respected for its singular focus on the development and product ...
, and the
Omaha Modern Dance Collective are among other notable performing arts organizations in the area.
Music
Omaha has a rich history in rhythm & blues and jazz as a regular stop for many
Kansas City jazz
Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy tra ...
bands and such homegrown talent as
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...
,
Preston Love,
Buddy Miles
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...
, and
Luigi Waites. The city was also the subject of the
Big Joe Williams song "Omaha Blues". During the 1960s several
surf music
Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is instrumental su ...
bands came out of Omaha, of which The Rumbles has become the longest lasting.
According to one reviewer, "Tritely tagged '
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
' by writers everywhere, the Omaha Sound is as varied and complex as the '
Athens Sound'." Omaha is regarded by some as the "Indie Rock Capital" of the world. During the late 1990s, Omaha became nationally known as the birthplace of the successful rock band
311 and
Saddle Creek Records
Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over hi ...
, a record label featuring artists such as
Bright Eyes,
The Faint
The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, with whom T ...
, and
Cursive. Other major music groups either located in or originally from Omaha include
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music ensemble founded and directed by percussionist/composer Chip Davis in 1974. The group is known primarily for its '' Fresh Aire'' series of albums, which blend classical music with ...
,
Azure Ray,
Tilly and the Wall
Tilly and the Wall was an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children's book called ''Tillie and the Wall'', written by Leo Lionni. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, provide pe ...
and the late indie-folk singer/songwriter
Elliott Smith.
''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'', a popular
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
show and talent competition broadcast on
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
, chose Omaha as one of its auditioning cities for their seventh season in 2007 at the
Qwest Center
CHI Health Center Omaha is an arena and convention center in the central United States, located in the North Downtown neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Operated by the Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority (MECA), the facility has a ...
.
David Cook David Cook may refer to:
Entertainment
* David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR
* David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol''
* David Cook (writer) (1940–2015), Briti ...
, from
Blue Springs, Missouri
Blue Springs is a city located in the U.S. state of Missouri within Jackson County. Blue Springs is located east of downtown Kansas City and is the 9th largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population wa ...
, was one of many to audition in the city, and he later went on to win that season in 2008.
Cuisine
![Ruben sandwich](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Ruben_sandwich.jpg)
Omaha has several major
stockyards and renowned steakhouses, including
Gorat's, the now defunct
Mister C's,
Omaha Steaks, and the Original Johnny's Cafe. This cultural legacy is also apparent in the name of the city's
indoor football team, the
Omaha Beef
The Omaha Beef is an indoor football team and a charter member of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF) league. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Beef play their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston.
History First 13 se ...
. Omaha also has a long history as a regional beer center, with the
Krug,
Storz
Storz is a type of hose coupling invented by Carl August Guido Storz in 1882 and patented in Switzerland in 1890, and patented in the U.S. in 1893 that connects using interlocking hooks and flanges. It was first specified in standard FEN 301-31 ...
,
Metz Brewery
The Metz Brothers Brewing Company was among the first brewers in the U.S. state of Nebraska, having been established in the city of Omaha in 1859. It was among the earliest manufacturers in the city. After originally opening as the McCumbe Brewery ...
and
Willow Springs Brewery forming the city's "Big 4" breweries.
The
Old Market in downtown Omaha includes more than 30 restaurants in this six-block
historic district.
ConAgra Foods
Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restaurants, ...
, based in Omaha, supplies foods and ingredients to all types of restaurants, while
Godfather's Pizza
Godfather's Pizza is an American privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that operates fast casual Italian franchises and Pizza Express locations.
History
Godfather's Pizza was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1973. Wil ...
is a national chain that was founded in Omaha. The
Reuben sandwich
The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens ...
may have been invented in Omaha, and the collection of
single malt Scotch whisky
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, ...
at
Dundee Dell may be one of the largest in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
Sports
![P6150385](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/P6150385.JPG)
Omaha's
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium was a baseball stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, the former home to the annual NCAA Division I College World Series and the minor league Omaha Royals, now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers. Rosenblatt Stadium was the largest m ...
was home to the Omaha Royals minor-league baseball team, now known as the
Omaha Storm Chasers
The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at We ...
(the AAA affiliate of the
Kansas City Royals). From 1950 until 2011, it hosted the annual
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...
men's baseball tournament in mid-June. The College World Series is now held at
TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
Charles Schwab Field Omaha (formerly TD Ameritrade Park Omaha) is a baseball park in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the stadium serves as a replacement for historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.
Charles Schwab Field has a seating capacity of 24, ...
, and the Omaha Storm Chasers now play at
Werner Park
Werner Park is a minor league ballpark located just west of Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb in Sarpy County southwest of Omaha. Opened in 2011, it is owned by Sarpy County. It is the home of the Omaha Storm Chasers (the Triple A affiliate of ...
in
Sarpy County. The
Omaha Beef
The Omaha Beef is an indoor football team and a charter member of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF) league. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, the Beef play their home games at Liberty First Credit Union Arena in nearby Ralston.
History First 13 se ...
indoor football team plays at the
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center ...
. Other sports facilities in Omaha include
Morrison Stadium
Morrison Stadium is a 6,000-seat soccer-specific stadium located between 17th and 19th Streets to the north of Cass Street, on the east side of the Creighton University campus in the NoDo neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The main entrance and t ...
, home of the
Creighton Bluejays
The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference.
Sports sponsored
Baseba ...
men's and women's soccer teams.
The
Creighton Bluejays compete in a number of NCAA Division I sports. In addition to soccer, they play
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
is a popular spectator sport in Omaha. The two current Omaha-area teams include the
Omaha Lancers
The Omaha Lancers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team and are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Founded in 1986, the Lancers play at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena in Ralston, Nebraska. Previou ...
, a
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...
team that plays at the
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center ...
. The
University of Nebraska Omaha
The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...
Mavericks are an
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I team playing at
Baxter Arena
Baxter Arena (previously known under the working name UNO Community Arena) is the sports arena owned and operated by the University of Nebraska Omaha located in Omaha, Nebraska. Completed in 2015, Baxter Arena serves as the home of several of the ...
.
The
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights
The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Omaha, Nebraska, United States at the Omaha Civic Auditorium from 2005–07. Following the 2006–07 season, the Calgary Flames annou ...
were the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
affiliate of the
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
. The Knights played their home games at the
Omaha Civic Auditorium
Omaha Civic Auditorium was a multi-purpose convention center located in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1954, it surpassed the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum as the largest convention/entertainment complex in the city, until the completion of CHI Health Center ...
. Following the 2006–07 season the Knights were relocated to the
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of cities (originally four, see History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, and Rock Island, Moline and East Moline in northwestern Illinois. These cities are t ...
due to mounting losses taken on by the Calgary organization; they were renamed the
Quad City Flames
The Quad City Flames were an American professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 2007 to 2009. They were owned by QC Sports Ventures Inc., an ownership group based out of the Quad Cities. The Flames played at the ...
and replaced the
Quad City Mallards
The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named after the Mallards team ...
of the
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...
.
Omaha is home to numerous important historical and modern sports figures, including
Baseball Hall of Famer
Bob Gibson
Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...
;
Gregg Olson, 1989
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
Rookie of the Year;
Ron Prince, former head football coach at
Kansas State University;
Heisman Trophy winners
Nile Kinnick
Nile Clarke Kinnick Jr. (July 9, 1918 – June 2, 1943) was an American naval aviator, law student, and college football player at the University of Iowa. He won the 1939 Heisman Trophy and was a consensus All-American. He died during a trainin ...
,
Johnny Rodgers
Johnny Steven Rodgers (born July 5, 1951) is an American former football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and won the Heisman Trophy in 1972. Rodgers played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) ...
, and
Eric Crouch
Eric Eugene Crouch (born November 16, 1978) is a former American football quarterback. He also is a TV sports analyst and recreational equipment vendor.
Crouch played college football for the University of Nebraska. In 2001 Crouch won the Heisma ...
; and
Gale Sayers
Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...
, a
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
r.
Festivals and parades
Native Omaha Days is a long-time tradition of
North Omaha
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the ...
's
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
community. A bi-annual celebration includes dozens of events throughout the
Near North Side, including dances, family reunions, and other events. A large parade features notable North Omahans, as well as marching bands and floats.
The
Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival and
Florence Days are two other important local events.
Film
In 1939, the world premiere of the film ''
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...
'' was held in Omaha. The accompanying three-day celebration drew 250,000 people, doubling the population of the city and requiring the National Guard to help keep order. A special train from
Hollywood to Omaha carried director
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...
and stars
Barbara Stanwyck and
Joel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...
.
The 1977 ''
Elvis in Concert
''
''Elvis In Concert'' is a posthumous 1977 television special starring Elvis Presley. It was Elvis' third and final TV special, following ''Elvis'' (a.k.a. ''The '68 Comeback Special'') and ''Aloha From Hawaii''. It was filmed during Presley's ...
'' television special in Omaha is considered by many experts to be the worst concert Elvis ever performed. The show was filmed, though, and some of the performances made it into the special, including the great performance of "How Great Thou Art", probably the only good performance of the concert.
Omaha has been showcased by a handful of relatively big budget
motion pictures
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and by productions with a lesser budget, including the adventure ''Omaha (The Movie)''.
![Alexander Payne 8692](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Alexander_Payne_8692.jpg)
The city's most extensive exposure can be accredited to Omaha native
Alexander Payne, the
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
-nominated director shot parts of ''
About Schmidt
''About Schmidt'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Alexander Payne and starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. The film also stars Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, and Kathy Bates. It is loosely based on the 1996 nov ...
'', ''
Citizen Ruth
''Citizen Ruth'' is a 1996 American satirical black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne, in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place, Kenneth ...
'' and ''
Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
'' in the city; his handling of the scenes suggests a deep-rooted love for his hometown, exemplified by his decision to eventually make a feature film called ''
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
''. Portions of ''
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
''The Assassination of Richard Nixon'' is a 2004 American drama film directed by Niels Mueller and starring Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson and Naomi Watts. It is based on the story of would-be assassin Samuel Byck, who plotted to kill Ric ...
'' and ''
The Indian Runner
''The Indian Runner'' is a 1991 crime drama film written and directed by Sean Penn in his directorial debut. Based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", the film depicts the relationship between two brothers who find themselves on oppos ...
'' were also shot in Omaha, including scenes of the now demolished Delmar Hotel. In 2005, Payne joined the board of directors of
Film Streams, a nonprofit arts organization opening a two-screen cinema in downtown Omaha.
The demolition of Omaha's
Indian Hills Theater
The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was a movie theater built in 1962 showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. Its location was at 8601 West Dodge Rd. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the Unite ...
, at one time the largest
Cinerama
Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...
in the nation, remains a source of contention between the local artistic community and Methodist Hospital. At present, the
Dundee Theatre
The Dundee Theater is an historic movie theater located at 4952 Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Now operated by the nonprofit Film Streams, the Dundee is the longest-surviving neighborhood cinema in Omaha.
History
The Dundee Theater opened t ...
is the lone surviving single-screen movie theater in the city.
Media
The Omaha metropolitan area is served by the ''
Omaha World-Herald
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...
'', the city's major newspaper, as well as suburban newspapers and independent newspapers and magazines including ''
The Reader'' and ''
Omaha Magazine''. ''
The Omaha Star'', founded in 1938 in North Omaha, is Nebraska's only African-American newspaper.
The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is the largest employee-owned newspaper in the United States, and also has one of the highest penetration rates, meaning the percentage of the population in the country that subscribes to the newspaper. The ''Omaha World-Herald''
Freedom Center is a $200 million printing press facility on the north end of downtown.
People
![Vcvg16](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Vcvg16.jpg)
Omaha is the historic and modern birthplace and home of many notable politicians, actors, musicians, business leaders and cultural leaders.
Malcolm X
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...
was born here in 1925. A variety of actors, including
Fred
Fred may refer to:
People
* Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Mononym
* Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French
* Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rod ...
and
Adele Astaire
Adele Astaire Douglass (born Adele Marie Austerlitz, later known as Lady Charles Cavendish; September 10, 1896 – January 25, 1981), was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville perfor ...
,
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
,
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...
,
Marlon Brando and
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films ''She's All That' ...
, were born in Omaha.
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winner
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and ra ...
grew up in Omaha and was encouraged to pursue acting by Marlon Brando's mother at the
Omaha Community Playhouse
The Omaha Community Playhouse, located at 6915 Cass Street in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is a nationally recognized community theater.
Founded in 1924, the Playhouse's first president was Alan McDonald, architect of the Joslyn Art Museum, and ...
, which she helped found.
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift (; October 17, 1920 – July 23, 1966) was an American actor. A four-time Academy Award nominee, he was known for his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men", according to ''The New York Times''.
He is best remembered ...
came from Omaha, and his family's home still stands on South 33rd Street, a few blocks from the
Gerald Ford birthplace site, which memorializes the 38th President. Omaha's rich musical heritage includes legends such as
Wynonie Harris
Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter and rhythm-and-blues singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...
,
Preston Love,
Buddy Miles
George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...
,
Calvin Keys, and
Eugene McDaniels. The modern music scene includes the members of
311. The third wealthiest person in the world,
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
, also lives in Omaha.
Ethnic and racial groups
Native Americans, including
Omaha,
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language:
* Pawnee people
* Pawnee language
Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States:
* Pawnee, Illinois
* Pawnee, Kansas
* Pawnee, Missouri
* Pawnee City, Nebraska ...
,
Otoe
The Otoe (Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.
Historically, t ...
,
Sioux,
Missouria
The Missouria or Missouri (in their own language, Niúachi, also spelled Niutachi) are a Native American tribe that originated in the Great Lakes region of what is now the United States before European contact.May, John D"Otoe-Missouria"''Oklaho ...
and
Ioway
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...
, have occupied the area for thousands of years. As the city of Omaha has grown, it has thrived from the contributions of people from nations around the world. Early populations to settle in the city included
Czechs
The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...
,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
,
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
,
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
, and
Norwegians
Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...
,
African Americans,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
,
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...
,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Slovaks. Today there are growing populations of
Sudanese,
Mexicans, and
Latinos
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...
from throughout Central and South America.
Other cultural highlights
A portion of Omaha's renovated downtown area is known as the
Old Market. Part of the former "Jobbers Canyon" that included fruit markets, warehouses and other agricultural and industrial buildings, it is home to a number of shops, restaurants, bars, and art galleries. The area also has uneven brick roads, horse-drawn carriages, and street performers.
Between the zoo and the Old Market lies the
Omaha Botanical Gardens (also known as Lauritzen Gardens). This botanical garden features 13 outdoor areas, including a rose garden, herb garden, children’s garden and an arboretum. Recognizing Union Pacific's long history in Omaha, situated on the grounds of Lauritzen Gardens is the new
Kenefick Park
Kenefick Park is located at 100 Bancroft Street in South Omaha, Nebraska, next to the Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha's botanical gardens. Kenefick Park features "two of the greatest locomotives ever to power Union Pacific Railroad": EMD DDA40X #6900,th ...
, featuring two of the largest locomotives ever used in the United States - Big Boy #4023, a steam engine, and Centennial #6900. These locomotives overlook Interstate 80 for motorists entering from Iowa.
There are numerous
community garden
A community garden is a piece of land gardened or cultivated by a group of people individually or collectively. Normally in community gardens, the land is divided into individual plots. Each individual gardener is responsible for their own plo ...
s across the neighborhoods of Omaha, including Big Garden, Big Muddy Urban Farm, Benson Community Garden,
City Sprouts,
Dundee Community Garden, Farnam Farm Garden, Gifford Park Community Garden, Hands to Harvest Community Garden, and New Omaha Garden Park.
Omaha is home to a number of
nonprofit and
charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* C ...
organizations, including Father Flanagan's famous
Girls and Boys Town. Omaha's
Henry Doorly Zoo
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is a zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. It is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Its mission is conservation, research, recreation, and educ ...
is widely considered one of the premier zoos in the world.
[(2003) "36 hours in Omaha." ''New York Times.'' 10/24/03. Retrieved 6/7/07.] The ''River City Star'' provides cruises on the
Missouri River from the historic Miller's Landing in downtown Omaha.
There are a number of visual and performance artists from Omaha, including
Edward Ruscha
Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography and film. He is also noted for creating severa ...
.
Omaha has five sister cities:
Shizuoka, Japan
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northeast ...
(1965);
Braunschweig, Germany
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the riv ...
(1992); Siauliai, Lithuania (1996); Naas, Ireland (2002); and
Xalapa, Mexico (2005).
The annual Midwest Humanist and Freethought Conference, since 2013 known as
Apostacon, was held in Omaha in 2011–2014.
See also
*
Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska
*
Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska
*
Theatres in Omaha (category)
References
Further reading
* Chudacoff, H. (1973) "A New Look At Ethnic Neighborhoods: Residential Dispersion and the Concept of Visibility in a Medium-Sized City". ''The Journal of American History'', 60 (1) (June 1973):76-93.
External links
Omaha Heritage and Culture FestivalAll About OmahaFilm Streams
Shelterbelt TheatreOmaha slideshow Studio 360's Kurt Andersen takes you to his hometown, Omaha, Nebraska, and finds a surprisingly vibrant arts and music scene.
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Nebraska culture