The Old City Hall, also known as the Red Castle, located in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

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 southwe ...

was located at the corner of 18th and Farnam Streets. Completed in 1890, the building was demolished 1966 after controversy erupted over landmark preservation in the city. Along with Omaha's Old Post Office, the Old City Hall became a rallying call for more deliberate efforts by the community and city leaders.

About

After an 1889 architectural competition won by Omaha architects Fowler & Beindorff, the City Hall was built by the construction firm of John F. Coots from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The building cost approximately $550,000 to construct, and included several interesting features. A raised

basement A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are completely or partly below the ground floor. It generally is used as a utility space for a building, where such items as the furnace, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, ...

and first floor were built of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, while the second through fifth floors were of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. Solid

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

lined every interior wall, while the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

-style

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

chamber featured a large

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...

. There were murals throughout the building by artist Gustave Fuchs, and "birdcage" elevators brought guests to the sixth floor of the building, which was added in 1916. Marble stairs led from the main entrance to a second-floor

atrium Atrium may refer to: Anatomy * Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart * Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods * Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain * Pulmona ...

court, and at the southwest corner of the building a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

rose nearly 20 stories into the air. A steepled roof crowned the building, with gargoyles abounding. In 1919

Omaha mayor This is a list of mayors of Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska, United States. List of mayors See also * Government of Omaha * History of Omaha References

{{Omaha Lists of mayors of places in Nebraska, Omaha Mayors of Omaha, Nebraska, ...

James C. Dahlman ordered the destruction of the top section of the tower, and in 1950 the building was completely renovated, destroying the original facade. In 1962 the City of Omaha Public Works Director officially classified the building as dangerous, and in 1966 Mayor A.V. Sorensen sold it to the

Woodmen of the World WoodmenLife (officially Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society) is a not-for-profit fraternal benefit society founded in 1890, based in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that operates a large privately held insurance company for its members. ...

."Silly Hall No More"
''Time magazine.'' April 16, 1966. Retrieved 2/6/08. Late that year they demolished it along with the historic

Bee Building The Bee Building, later called the Peters Trust Building and finally the Insurance Building, was located at 17th and Farnam Streets in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. It was an architectural landmark in early Omaha that was built in 1888 by newspaper ed ...

in order to building the

Woodmen Tower WoodmenLife Tower, formerly the Woodmen Tower, is a 478-ft (146-m) high-rise building at 1700 Farnam Street in Downtown Omaha, downtown Omaha, Nebraska, and headquarters of WoodmenLife insurance company. History Construction began in 1966, with ...

References

External links

Historic drawing
of the Old City Hall.
Historic postcard
of the Old City Hall.
Historic postcard
of the Old City Hall and the second Douglas County Courthouse.
Historic postcard
of the downtown area around the City Hall, including the building. {{CityHallsinOmaha History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska Government buildings completed in 1890 Demolished buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska City and town halls in Nebraska Former seats of local government Buildings and structures demolished in 1966