Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
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 ...
and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Douglas County.
Omaha is in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
on the
Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the
Platte River
The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...
.
The nation's 39th-largest city, Omaha's
2020 census population was 486,051.
Omaha is the anchor of the eight-county, bi-state
Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. The Omaha Metropolitan Area is the
58th-largest in the United States, with a population of 967,604.
The Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA
Combined Statistical Area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
(CSA) totaled 1,004,771, according to 2020 estimates. Approximately 1.5 million people reside within the Greater Omaha area, within a radius of
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline ...
. It is ranked as a
global city by the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...
, which in 2020 gave it "sufficiency" status.
Omaha's pioneer period began in 1854, when the city was founded by speculators from neighboring
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
. The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called
Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname, the "Gateway to the West". Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it played host to the World's Fair, dubbed the
Trans-Mississippi Exposition
The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coa ...
. During the 19th century, Omaha's central location in the United States spurred the city to become an important national
transportation hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...
. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the transportation and
jobbing sectors were important in the city, along with its
railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
and
breweries. In the 20th century, the
Omaha Stockyards The Union Stockyards of Omaha, Nebraska, were founded in 1883 in South Omaha by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. A fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the Omaha Union Stockyards were third in the United States for production by 1890. ...
, once the world's largest, and its
meatpacking
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
plants gained international prominence.
Today, Omaha is the home to the headquarters of four
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
companies: conglomerate
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...
; one of the world's largest construction companies,
Kiewit Corporation
Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...
; insurance and financial firm
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...
; and the United States' largest railroad operator,
Union Pacific Corporation
The Union Pacific Corporation (Union Pacific) is a publicly traded railroad holding company. It was incorporated in Utah in 1969 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent company of the current, Delaware-registered, form of the ...
. Berkshire Hathaway is headed by local investor
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 w ...
, one of the wealthiest people in the world, according to a decade's worth of ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' rankings, some of which have ranked him as high as No. 1.
Omaha is also the home to five
Fortune 1000
The Fortune 1000 are the 1,000 largest American companies ranked by revenues, as compiled by the American business magazine ''Fortune''. It only includes companies which are incorporated or authorized to do business in the United States, and for ...
headquarters:
Green Plains,
Intrado
Intrado, formerly West Corporation, is an American telecommunications company. It became a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management on October 11, 2017.
Business Operations
Intrado reorganized in five main segments: Cloud Collaboration, Life and ...
,
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a stockbroker that offers an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets including common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, mutual funds, fixed income investmen ...
,
Valmont Industries
Valmont Industries, Inc. () is a large, publicly held American manufacturer of Valley center pivot and linear irrigation equipment, windmill
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails o ...
, and
Werner Enterprises
Werner Enterprises, Inc. is an American transportation and logistics company, serving the United States, Mexico and Canada. Werner Enterprises stated that it had 2021 revenues of $2.7 billion and over 13,500 employees and contractors.
Histo ...
. Also headquartered in Omaha are the following:
First National Bank of Omaha
First National Bank Omaha is a bank headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. The namesake and leading subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, it is the third largest privately held bank subsidiary in the United States with $17 billion in assets and 43 ...
, the third largest privately held bank in the United States; three of the nation's ten largest architecture/engineering firms (
DLR Group
DLR Group is an employee-owned integrated design firm providing architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design. Their brand promise is to elevate the human experience through design. A self-described advocate for sustainable design, th ...
,
HDR, Inc., and
Leo A Daly
LEO A DALY, established by Leo A. Daly, Sr. in 1915, is an American architecture, planning, engineering, interior design and program management firm. The firm's portfolio includes projects in 91 countries, all 50 U.S. states and the District of C ...
);
and the
Gallup Organization
Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its ...
, of
Gallup Poll
Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its ...
fame, and its riverfront Gallup University.
Notable modern Omaha inventions include the following: the "pink hair curler" created at Omaha's
Tip-Top Products;
Butter Brickle
Butter Brickle is a chocolate-coated toffee first sold 20 November 1924 by candy manufacturer John G. Woodward Co. of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and toffee pieces for flavoring ice cream, manufactured by The Fenn Bros. Ice Cream and Candy Co. of Sioux F ...
Ice Cream, and the
Reuben sandwich
The Reuben sandwich is a Cuisine of the United States, North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese (North America), Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, Grilling#Flattop grilling/gri ...
, conceived by a chef at the then–
Blackstone Hotel
The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Nation ...
on 36th and Farnam Streets; cake mix, developed by
Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines (March 26, 1880 – March 15, 1959) was an American pioneer of restaurant ratings for travelers. He is best known today for the brand of food products that bears his name.
Early life
Hines was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the so ...
, then a division of Omaha's Nebraska Consolidated Mills, the forerunner to today's ConAgra Foods; center-pivot irrigation by the Omaha company now known as Valmont Corporation;
Raisin Bran, developed by Omaha's Skinner Macaroni Co.; the first
ski lift
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.
Types
* Aerial l ...
in the
U.S.
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 ...
, in 1936, by Omaha's
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 Paci ...
Corp.; the
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
radio format, pioneered by
Todd Storz
Robert Todd Storz (May 8, 1924 – April 13, 1964) headed a very successful chain of American radio broadcasting stations and is generally credited with being the foremost innovator of the Top 40 radio format in 1951. The selection of records t ...
, scion of Omaha's
Storz Brewing Co. and head of Storz Broadcasting, and first used in the U.S. at Omaha's
KOWH Radio; and the
TV dinner
A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...
, developed by Omaha's
Carl A. Swanson.
History
![Logan fontenelle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Logan_fontenelle.jpg)
Various
Native American tribes had lived in the land that became Omaha, including since the 17th century, the
Omaha and
Ponca
The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
,
Dhegihan-Siouan language people who had originated in the lower Ohio River valley and migrated west by the early 17th century;
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 ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, 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 ...
. The word ''Omaha'' (actually ''Umoⁿhoⁿ'' or ''Umaⁿhaⁿ'') in the Omaha language means "Upstream People" or "Against The Current."
In 1804 the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
passed the riverbanks where the city of Omaha would be built. Between July 30 and August 3, 1804, members of the expedition, including
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
and
William Clark
William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...
, met with Oto and Missouria tribal leaders at the
Council Bluff at a point about north of present-day Omaha. Immediately south of that area, Americans built several fur trading outposts in succeeding years, including
Fort Lisa in 1812;
Fort Atkinson in 1819;
Cabanné's Trading Post
Cabanne's Trading Post was established in 1822 by the American Fur Company as Fort Robidoux near present-day Dodge Park in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was named for the influential fur trapper Joseph Robidoux. Soon after it was open ...
, built in 1822, and
Fontenelle's Post
Fontenelle's Post, first known as Pilcher's Post, and the site of the later city of Bellevue, was built in 1822 in the Nebraska Territory by Joshua Pilcher, then president of the Missouri Fur Company. Located on the west side of the Missouri Ri ...
in 1823, in what became
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canada ...
. There was fierce competition among fur traders until John Jacob Astor created the monopoly of the
American Fur Company. The
Mormons built a town called
Cutler's Park
Cutler's Park was briefly the headquarters camp of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) established by 2,500 members as they were making their way westward to the Rocky Mountains. It was apparently created in August 1846 and ...
in the area in 1846. While it was temporary, the settlement provided the basis for further development.
Through 26 separate treaties with the United States federal government,
Native American tribes in Nebraska
Native American tribes in the U.S. state of Nebraska have been Plains Indians, descendants of succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples who have occupied the area for thousands of years. More than 15 historic tribes have been identified as having ...
gradually ceded the lands that now make up the state. The treaty and cession involving the Omaha area occurred in 1854 when the
Omaha Tribe
The Omaha ( Omaha-Ponca: ''Umoⁿhoⁿ'') are a federally recognized Midwestern Native American tribe who reside on the Omaha Reservation in northeastern Nebraska and western Iowa, United States. There were 5,427 enrolled members as of 2012. The ...
ceded most of east-central Nebraska.
Logan Fontenelle
Logan Fontenelle (May 6, 1825 – July 16, 1855), also known as ''Shon-ga-ska'' (White Horse), was a trader of Omaha and French ancestry, who served for years as an interpreter to the US Indian agent at the Bellevue Agency in Nebraska. He was e ...
, an interpreter for the Omaha and signatory to the 1854 treaty, played an essential role in those proceedings.
Pioneer Omaha
Before it was legal to claim land in
Indian Country,
William D. Brown operated the
Lone Tree Ferry that brought settlers from Council Bluffs, Iowa to the area that became Omaha. Brown is generally credited as having the first vision for a city where Omaha now sits.
Federal Writers Project
The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It wa ...
of the Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
. (1970)
Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State
.'' Nebraska State Historical Society
History Nebraska, formerly the Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information ... and to embrace alike aboriginal and modern history." I ...
. p. 241. The passage of the
Kansas–Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...
in 1854 was presaged by the staking out of claims around the area to become Omaha by residents from neighboring Council Bluffs. On July 4, 1854, the city was informally established at a picnic on Capital Hill, current site of
Omaha Central High School
Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year ...
. Soon after, the
Omaha Claim Club The Omaha Claim Club, also called the Omaha Township Claim Association(1954 ''Omaha's First Century''. Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 7/14/07. and the Omaha Land Company, was organized in 1854 for the purpose of "encouraging the building of a city"Mo ...
was formed to provide
vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
justice for
claim jumpers and others who infringed on the land of many of the city's
founding fathers. Some of this land, which now wraps around Downtown Omaha, was later used to entice
Nebraska Territorial legislators to an area called
Scriptown Scriptown was the name of the first subdivision in the history of Omaha, which at the time was located in Nebraska Territory. It was called "Scriptown" because scrip was used as payment, similar to how a company would pay employees when regular mon ...
. The Territorial capitol was in Omaha, but when Nebraska became a state in 1867, the capital was relocated to
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
, south-west of Omaha. The
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
later ruled against numerous landowners whose violent actions were condemned in ''
Baker v. Morton''.
Many of Omaha's founding figures stayed at the
Douglas House or the
Cozzens House Hotel.
Dodge Street
Dodge Street is the main east–west street in Omaha, Nebraska. Numbered as U.S. Route 6 (US 6), the street starts in Downtown Omaha and connects to West Dodge Road just west of 78th Street. From there, it continues westward through the ...
was important early in the city's early commercial history;
North 24th Street
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames ...
and
South 24th Street also developed independently as business districts. Early pioneers were buried in
Prospect Hill Cemetery and Cedar Hill Cemetery. Cedar Hill closed in the 1860s and its graves were moved to Prospect Hill, where pioneers were later joined by soldiers from
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, ...
,
African Americans
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 ...
and early
European immigrants. There are several other
historical cemeteries in Omaha, historical
Jewish synagogues and historical
Christian churches
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym for ...
dating from the pioneer era, as well. Two sculpture parks, Pioneer Courage and Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness and
The Transcontinental Railroad, celebrate the city's pioneering history.
19th century
![hotelfontenelle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Hotelfontenelle.jpg)
The
economy of Omaha The economy of Omaha, Nebraska is linked to the city's status as a major commercial hub in the Midwestern United States since its founding in 1854. Dubbed the "Motor Mouth City" by ''The New York Times'',Feder, J"Omaha: Talk, Talk, Talk of Telemarke ...
boomed and busted through its early years. In 1858, the ''Omaha Daily Republican'' was founded by the ''Omaha Printing Company (rebranded Aradius Group, 2016)'', it was Nebraska's first regional newspaper–founded before Nebraska claimed statehood. Omaha was a stopping point for settlers and prospectors heading west, either overland or by the Missouri River. The steamboat ''
Bertrand
Bertrand may refer to:
Places
* Bertrand, Missouri, US
* Bertrand, Nebraska, US
* Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada
* Bertrand Township, Michigan, US
* Bertrand, Michigan
* Bertrand, Virginia, US
* Bertrand Creek, state of Washington
* Saint-Bertr ...
'' sank north of Omaha on its way to the goldfields in 1865. Its massive collection of artifacts is on display at the nearby
Desoto National Wildlife Refuge. The
jobbing and wholesaling district brought new jobs, followed by the
railroads
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
and the stockyards. Groundbreaking for the
First transcontinental railroad
North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...
in 1863, provided an essential developmental boom for the city. In 1862, the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
allowed the
Union Pacific Railroad
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 Paci ...
to begin building westward railways;
in January 1866 it commenced construction out of Omaha.
A History of Travel in America
'' by Seymour Dunbar, Bobbs-Merrill Company
The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Company history
The company began in 1850 October 3 when Samuel Merrill bought an Indianapolis bookstore and entered the publishing business. After his death in ...
(1915), pg. 1350; (Retrieved 9/25/08)
The
Union Stockyards
The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...
, another important part of the city's development, were founded in South Omaha in 1883. Within 20 years, Omaha had four of the five major
meatpacking
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
companies in the United States. By the 1950s, half the city's workforce was employed in meatpacking and processing. Meatpacking, jobbing and railroads were responsible for most of the growth in the city from the late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century.
Immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
soon created
ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
s throughout the city, including Irish in
Sheelytown Sheelytown was a historic ethnic neighborhood in South Omaha, Nebraska, USA with populations of Irish, Polish and other first generation immigrants. Located north of the Union Stockyards, it was bounded by Edward Creighton Boulevard on the north, ...
in South Omaha; Germans in the
Near North Side, joined by the European Jews and black migrants from
the South;
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...
and
Little Bohemia in South Omaha. Beginning in the late 19th century, Omaha's upper class lived in posh enclaves throughout the city, including the south and
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
Gold Coast neighborhoods,
Bemis Park
The Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. Situated from Cuming Street to Hawthorne Avenue, Glenwood Avenue to 33rd Street, Bemis Park was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and developed from 1889-1922. The district w ...
,
Kountze Place The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located betw ...
,
Field Club and throughout
Midtown Omaha
Midtown is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska that is a culturally, socially and economically important area of the city. It is home to major research centers, national corporations, several historic districts, and a number of historic residenc ...
. They traveled the city's sprawling
park system
A park system, also known as an open space system, is a network of green spaces that are connected by public walkways, bridleways or cycleways. The concept first emerged with the need to minimize fragmentation of natural environments and was r ...
on
boulevards
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
designed by renowned
landscape architect Horace Cleveland
Horace William Shaler Cleveland (December 16, 1814 – December 5, 1900) was an American landscape architect. His approach to natural landscape design can be seen in projects such as the Grand Rounds in Minneapolis; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Con ...
. The
Omaha Horse Railway first carried passengers throughout the city, as did the later
Omaha Cable Tramway Company The Cable Tramway Company of Omaha, Nebraska started in 1884 and ended in 1895. It was the only cable car line ever built in Omaha, and had only four lines of tracks in operation.
History
The Omaha Cable Tramway Company was originally formed in 18 ...
and several similar companies. In 1888, the
Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company
The Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company, known as O&CB, was incorporated in 1886 in order to connect Omaha, Nebraska with Council Bluffs, Iowa over the Missouri River. With a sanctioned monopoly over streetcar service in the two ...
built the
Douglas Street Bridge
The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through truss bridge that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 girder bridge.
History
O ...
, the first pedestrian and wagon bridge between Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Gambling, drinking and prostitution were widespread in the 19th century, first rampant in the city's
Burnt District
The Burnt District was the original red light district in Omaha, Nebraska in the late 19th century. The area was located east of Creighton University from Douglas Street six blocks north to Cass Street and from the Missouri River west to Sixteenth ...
and later in the
Sporting District. Controlled by Omaha's
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
Tom Dennison by 1890,
criminal elements enjoyed support from Omaha's "perpetual" mayor,
"Cowboy Jim" Dahlman, nicknamed for his eight terms as mayor.
Calamities such as the
Great Flood of 1881 did not slow down the city's violence. In 1882, the
Camp Dump Strike pitted state militia against unionized strikers, drawing national attention to Omaha's labor troubles. The
Governor of Nebraska
The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...
had to call in
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 ...
troops from nearby Fort Omaha to protect
strikebreakers for the
Burlington Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
, bringing along
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon.
The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyc ...
s and a
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
for defense. When the event ended, one man was dead and several were wounded. In 1891, a mob hanged
Joe Coe
Joe Coe, also known as George Smith, was an African-American laborer who was lynched on October 10, 1891, in Omaha, Nebraska. Overwhelmed by a mob of one thousand at the Douglas County Courthouse, the twelve city police officers stood by without ...
, an African-American porter after he was accused of raping a white girl.
There were also several other
riots and civil unrest events in Omaha during this period.
In 1898, Omaha's leaders, under the guidance of
Gurdon Wattles
Gurdon Wallace Wattles (May 12, 1855 - January 31, 1932) was an early businessman, banker, and civic leader in Omaha, Nebraska, who became responsible for bankrolling much of early Hollywood.(2006"Gurdon Wattles", ''Hollywood Heritage''. Septemb ...
, held the
Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition
The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Co ...
, touted as a celebration of agricultural and industrial growth throughout the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
. The
Indian Congress
The Indian Congress occurred from August 4 to October 31, 1898 in Omaha, Nebraska, in conjunction with the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition. Occurring within a decade of the end of the Indian Wars, the Indian Congress was the largest ...
, which drew more than 500
American Indians from across the country, was held simultaneously. More than 2 million visitors attended these events at
Kountze Park
Kountze Park is an urban public park located at 1920 Pinkney Street in the Kountze Place neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. The Park is historically significant as the site of the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898.
...
and the
Omaha Driving Park
The Omaha Driving Park, later called Sunset Driving Park, was located in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was an important recreational and sports venue in the history of Omaha.
History
In 1875, the Omaha Driving Park Association purcha ...
in the
Kountze Place The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located betw ...
neighborhood.
20th century
With dramatically increasing population in the 20th century, competition and fierce labor struggles led to major civil unrest. In 1900, Omaha was the center of a national uproar over the
kidnap
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
ping of
Edward Cudahy, Jr., the son of a local
meatpacking
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
magnate.
The city's labor and management clashed in bitter strikes,
racial tension
An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positi ...
escalated as Blacks were hired as strikebreakers, and ethnic strife broke out. A
major riot by earlier immigrants in South Omaha destroyed the city's
Greek Town
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Istanb ...
in 1909, completely driving out the Greek population.
The
civil rights movement in Omaha has roots that extend back to 1912, when the first chapter of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
was founded in the city.
The
Omaha Easter Sunday Tornado of 1913 destroyed much of the city's
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
community, in addition to much of Midtown Omaha.
Six years later, in 1919, the city was caught up in the
Red Summer
Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which Terrorism in the United States#White nationalism and white supremacy, white supremacist terrorism and Mass racial violence in the United States, racial riots occurred in more than three dozen ...
riots when thousands of whites marched from South Omaha to the courthouse to lynch a Black worker, Willy Brown, a suspect in an alleged rape of a white woman. The mob burned the
Douglas County Courthouse to get the prisoner, causing more than $1 million damage. They hanged and shot Will Brown, then burned his body. Troops were called in from Fort Omaha to quell the riot, prevent more crowds gathering in South Omaha, and to protect the Black community in North Omaha.
The
culture of North Omaha thrived throughout the 1920s through 1950s, with several creative figures, including
Tillie Olsen
Tillie may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places in the United States
* Tillie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community
* Tillie, Pennsylvania, a former populated place
* Tillie Creek, California
People
* Tillie (name), a given name and surname
Animal
* Tilli ...
,
Wallace Thurman
Wallace Henry Thurman (August 16, 1902 – December 22, 1934) was an American novelist active during the Harlem Renaissance. He also wrote essays, worked as an editor, and was a publisher of short-lived newspapers and literary journals. He is be ...
,
Lloyd Hunter, and
Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...
emerging from the vibrant Near North Side.
Musicians created their own world in Omaha, and also joined national bands and groups that toured and appeared in the city.
After the tumultuous
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
of the 1930s, Omaha rebounded with the development of
Offutt Air Force Base just south of the city. The
Glenn L. Martin Company operated a factory there in the 1940s that produced 521
B-29 ''Superfortresses'', including the ''
Enola Gay'' and ''
Bockscar'' used in
the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.
The construction of
Interstates
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
80,
480 and
680, along with the
North Omaha Freeway
U.S. Highway 75 (US 75) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs for from Dallas, Texas to Kittson County, Minnesota where it ends just short of the Canada–United States border. Within the State of Nebraska it is a sta ...
, spurred development. There was also controversy, particularly in North Omaha, where new routes bisected several neighborhoods.
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
hosted the
DePorres Club
The DePorres Club was an early pioneer organization in the Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska, whose "goals and tactics foreshadowed the efforts of civil rights activists throughout the nation in the 1960s." The club was an affiliate of CORE ...
, an early civil rights group whose use of sit-in strategies for integration of public facilities predated the national movement.
Following the development of the Glenn L. Martin Company bomber manufacturing plant in
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canada ...
at the beginning of World War II, the relocation of the
Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
to the Omaha suburb in 1948 provided a major economic boost to the area.
From the 1950s through the 1960s, more than 40 insurance companies were headquartered in Omaha, including
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.
...
and
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...
. By the late 1960s, the city rivaled, but never surpassed, the United States insurance centers of
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, New York City and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
After surpassing Chicago in
meat processing
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...
by the late 1950s, Omaha suffered the loss of 10,000 jobs as both the railroad and meatpacking industries restructured. The city struggled for decades to shift its economy as workers suffered. Poverty became more entrenched among families who remained in North Omaha.
In the 1960s, three major race riots along
North 24th Street
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames ...
destroyed the Near North Side's economic base, with recovery slow for decades. In 1969,
Woodmen Tower
WoodmenLife Tower, formerly the Woodmen Tower, is a 478-ft (146-m) high-rise building at 1700 Farnam Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, and headquarters of WoodmenLife insurance company.
History
Construction began in 1966, with the tower being ...
was completed and became Omaha's tallest building and first major skyscraper at , a sign of renewal.
![OmahaKiewitPlaza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/OmahaKiewitPlaza.jpg)
Since the 1970s, Omaha has continued expanding and growing, mostly to available land to the west.
West Omaha West Omaha is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska, that comprises all points within the Omaha metropolitan area
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern Un ...
has become home to the majority of the city's population. North and South Omaha's populations continue to be centers of new immigrants, with economic and racial diversity. In 1975 a
major tornado, along with a
major blizzard, caused more than
$100 million in damages in 1975 dollars.
Downtown Omaha has since been rejuvenated in numerous ways, starting with the development of
Gene Leahy Mall
Gene Leahy Mall, also known locally as Central Park or The Mall, is a park located at 1302 Farnam on the Mall in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., and bordered by South 10th Street. There are also two huge slides, a sculpture garden, a remote-cont ...
and
W. Dale Clark Library The Omaha Public Library in Omaha Nebraska currently has 12 locations.
W. Dale Clark Main Library
W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha, Nebraska is the Downtown Omaha, downtown location of the Omaha Public Library. Located at the intersection of 15th a ...
in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, Omaha's fruit warehouses were converted into a shopping area called the
Old Market.
The demolition of
Jobber's Canyon in 1989 led to the creation of the
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, ...
campus. Several nearby buildings, including the
Nash Block, have been converted into condominiums. The stockyards were taken down; the only surviving building is the
Livestock Exchange Building, which was converted to multi-use and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A
historic preservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
movement in Omaha has led to a number of historic structures and districts being designated
Omaha Landmark
This article covers Omaha Landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Nation ...
s or listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. Much of the push toward preservation came after Omaha gained the notorious designation of having, in 1989, demolished the largest-ever
National Register
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
historic district in the United States, a record that still stands as of 2013. The
Jobbers Canyon Historic District
Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, US. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the ...
, along the Missouri River, was felled for a new headquarters campus for ConAgra Foods, a company which threatened to relocate if Omaha did not allow them to raze the city's historic district. The Jobber's Canyon warehouses had before then been allowed to deteriorate and were the scene of several fires set by the homeless population that had come to live in the abandoned buildings. At the time, there were no plans in place for revitalizing the buildings.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Omaha also saw major company headquarters leave the city, including
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...
, founded in the city in 1930 and taken to Houston in 1987 by the now-notorious
Kenneth Lay
Kenneth Lee Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006) was an American businessman who was the founder, chief executive officer and chairman of Enron. He was heavily involved in the eponymous accounting scandal that unraveled in 2001 into the large ...
.
First Data
First Data Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company's STAR Network provided nationwide domestic debit acceptance at more than 2 million retail POS, ATM, and Online outlets for nea ...
Corporation, a large credit-card processor, also was founded in Omaha in 1969; as of 2009, its headquarters are in Atlanta.
Inacom
Inacom Corporation (ICO:NYSE) was a large national seller of PC's and services based in Omaha, Nebraska, at one point being the third-largest and most profitable computer distributor in the United States.
Origins
The company created in 1991 from ...
, founded in Omaha in 1991, was a technology company that customized computer systems for large businesses, and was on the Fortune 500 list from 1997 until 2000, when it filed for bankruptcy.
Northwestern Bell
Northwestern Bell Telephone Company served the states of the upper Midwest opposite the Southwestern Bell area, including Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.
History
Early beginnings
It has never been definitively estab ...
, the
Bell System
The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over one hundr ...
affiliate for Northwestern states, had its headquarters in Omaha from its founding in 1896 until it moved to Denver in 1991 as
US West
US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...
.
Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications was an American multinational telecommunications and Internet service provider company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. It ultimately became a part of CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies), where Level 3 President ...
, a large
Tier 1 network
A Tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol (IP) network that can reach every other network on the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection (also known as settlement-free peering). Tier 1 networks can exchange traffic with other Tier 1 ne ...
provider, was founded in Omaha in 1985 as Kiewit Diversified Group, a division of
Kiewit Corporation
Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...
, a Fortune 500 construction and mining company still headquartered in Omaha; Level 3 moved to Denver in 1998.
World Com
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
was founded by a merger with Omaha's MFS Communications, started as
Metropolitan Fiber Systems
MFS Communications Company, Inc. (Metropolitan Fiber Systems) was a competitive local exchange carrier that owned and operated local network access facilities installed in and around major U.S. cities and several major European cities. MFS also po ...
in 1993. MFS, backed by
Kiewit Corporation
Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...
CEO Walter Scott and
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 w ...
, purchased
UUNET
UUNET, founded in 1987, was one of the largest Internet service providers and one of the early Tier 1 networks. It was based in Northern Virginia and was one of the first commercial Internet service providers. Today, UUNET is an internal brand ...
, one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, for $2 billion in 1996. The now-infamous
Bernie Ebbers
Bernard John Ebbers (August 27, 1941 – February 2, 2020) was a Canadian businessman, the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom and a convicted fraudster. Under his management, WorldCom grew rapidly but collapsed in 2002 amid revelations of accounting ...
purchased the much larger MFS for $14.3 billion in 1997 under his
World Com
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. He moved headquarters of the merged company from Omaha to Mississippi.
21st century
![Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge (2010)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Bob_Kerrey_Pedestrian_Bridge_%282010%29.jpg)
Around the start of the 21st century, several new downtown skyscrapers and cultural institutions were built.
One First National Center
The First National Bank Tower is a 45-story office skyscraper located at 1601 Dodge Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States, and the official headquarters of First National Bank of Omaha. At it is the tallest building in Omaha and ...
was completed in 2002, surpassing 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, Nebraska, and headquarters of WoodmenLife insurance company.
History
Construction began in 1966, with the tower being ...
as the tallest building in Omaha as well as in the state at . The creation of the city's new
North Downtown included the construction of the
CenturyLink Center and the
Slowdown
A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...
/
Film Streams
Film Streams is a nonprofit arts organization in Omaha, Nebraska which oversees two cinemas: the Ruth Sokolof Theater, in North Downtown Omaha, and the historic Dundee Theater, Omaha's longest surviving neighborhood cinema. It receives funding f ...
development at North 14th and Webster Streets. Construction of the new
TD Ameritrade Park
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 24,0 ...
began in 2009 and was completed in 2011, also in the North Downtown area, near the
CenturyLink Center. TD Ameritrade Park is now the home of the College World Series, an event tourists flock to each year.
New construction has occurred throughout the city since the start of the 21st century. Important retail and office developments have occurred in West Omaha such as the Village Pointe shopping center and several business parks including
First National Business Park
First National Business Park is located at 144th & Dodge Streets, just north of Boys Town in West Omaha. CB Richard Ellis regards the park as Omaha's "most prestigious location". It was a significant part of the largest annexation in Omaha's his ...
and parks for
Bank of the West and C&A Industries, Inc and
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is an American multinational financial services corporation specializing in retail brokerage. It is the wealth & asset management division of Morgan Stanley.
On January 13, 2009, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup an ...
and several others. Downtown and Midtown Omaha have both seen the development of a significant number of
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
s in recent years. In
Midtown Omaha
Midtown is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska that is a culturally, socially and economically important area of the city. It is home to major research centers, national corporations, several historic districts, and a number of historic residenc ...
significant mixed-use projects are underway. The site of the former
Ak-Sar-Ben arena has been redeveloped into a
mixed-use development
Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
Aksarben Village. In January 2009
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska announced plans to build a new 10 story, $98 million headquarters, in the
Aksarben Village, completed in Spring 2011.
Gordmans
Gordmans (stylized as gordmans) was a retailer founded in Omaha, Nebraska. The chain is owned by BrandX as of May 2022. In 2019, Stage Stores began converting other retail chains it owned into Gordmans stores, with the goal of having 700 Gordmans ...
is also building their new corporate headquarters in Aksarben. The other major mixed-use development is
Midtown Crossing at Turner Park
Midtown Crossing at Turner Park is a seven building, 16-acre mixed-use development in midtown Omaha, encompassing 297 condominiums, 196 apartment units, and fine and casual dining, entertainment and shopping. A majority of Midtown Crossing's resta ...
. Developed by
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...
, the development includes several condominium towers and retail businesses built around Omaha's Turner Park.
[(200]
Urban Design Element Implementation Measures
OmahaByDesign. p. 6. Retrieved 9/26/08.
The
Holland Performing Arts Center
The Holland Performing Arts Center is a performing arts facility located on 13th and Douglas Streets in downtown Downtown Omaha, Nebraska in the United States; it opened in October 2005. Designed by Omaha architectural firm HDR, Inc. in collabora ...
opened in 2005 near the
Gene Leahy Mall
Gene Leahy Mall, also known locally as Central Park or The Mall, is a park located at 1302 Farnam on the Mall in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A., and bordered by South 10th Street. There are also two huge slides, a sculpture garden, a remote-cont ...
and the
Union Pacific Center
The Union Pacific Center at 1400 Douglas Street is one of downtown Omaha, Nebraska's newest high-rise buildings. It houses the headquarters of the Union Pacific Railroad and its parent company, the Union Pacific Corporation. It officially opened ...
opened in 2004.
There have also been several developments along the Missouri River waterfront in downtown. The
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge was opened to foot and bicycle traffic on September 28, 2008. Started in 2003,
RiverFront Place Condos first phase was completed in 2006 and is fully occupied and the second phase was opened in 2011. The development along Omaha's riverfront is attributed with prompting the City of Council Bluffs to move their own riverfront development time line forward.
In the summers of 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2021 the
United States Olympic Team swimming trials were held in Omaha, at the Qwest/Century Link Center.
[2008 United States Olympic Swim Team]
USASwimming.org. Retrieved August 10, 2012. These events were highlights in
the city's sports community, as well as a showcase for redevelopment in the downtown area.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Situated in the Midwestern United States on the bank of the Missouri River in eastern Nebraska, much of Omaha is built in the
Missouri River Valley
The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long th ...
. Other significant bodies of water in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area include Lake Manawa,
Papillion Creek,
Carter Lake, Platte River and the
Glenn Cunningham Lake. The city's land has been altered considerably with substantial
land grading
Grading in civil engineering and landscape architectural construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and g ...
throughout Downtown Omaha and scattered across the city.
East Omaha
East Omaha is a geographically designated community located in Omaha, Nebraska. Located three miles (5 km) from downtown Omaha, East Omaha is the site of Eppley Omaha International Airport, Omaha's main airport, and Carter Lake. This area was ...
sits on a
flood plain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
west of the Missouri River. The area is the location of Carter Lake, an
oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...
. The lake was once the site of East Omaha Island and Florence Lake, which dried up in the 1920s.
The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area consists of eight counties; five in Nebraska and three in Iowa. The metropolitan area now includes
Harrison
Harrison may refer to:
People
* Harrison (name)
* Harrison family of Virginia, United States
Places
In Australia:
* Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin
In Canada:
* Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
,
Pottawattamie, and
Mills
Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to:
As a name
* Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin
* Mills (given name)
*Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine
Places Uni ...
Counties in Iowa and
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, Douglas,
Sarpy,
Cass
Cass may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Cass (surname), a list of people
* Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey
* Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie
* Ca ...
, and
Saunders
Saunders is a surname of English and Scottish patronymic origin derived from Sander, a mediaeval form of Alexander.See also: Sander (name)
People
* Ab Saunders (1851–1883), American cowboy and gunman
* Al Saunders (born 1947), American footb ...
Counties in Nebraska. This area was formerly referred to only as the Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area and consisted of only five counties: Pottawattamie in Iowa, and Washington, Douglas, Cass, and Sarpy in Nebraska. The Omaha-Council Bluffs
combined statistical area
Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...
comprises the Omaha-Council Bluffs
metropolitan statistical area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
and the
Fremont Micropolitan statistical area; the CSA has a population of 858,720 (2005 Census Bureau estimate). Omaha ranks as the 42nd-largest city in the United States, and is the core city of its 60th-largest metropolitan area. There are no
consolidated city-counties
In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county ( parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it has the governmental powers ...
in the area; the
City of 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 ...
studied the possibility extensively through 2003 and concluded, "The City of Omaha and Douglas County should merge into a municipal county, work to commence immediately, and that functional consolidations begin immediately in as many departments as possible, including but not limited to parks,
fleet
Fleet may refer to:
Vehicles
*Fishing fleet
*Naval fleet
*Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles
*Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company
Places
Canada
* Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet
England
* The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
management, facilities management,
local planning, purchasing and personnel."
Geographically, Omaha is considered as being in the "Heartland" of the United States. Important environmental impacts on the natural habitat in the area include the spread of
invasive plant
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...
species, restoring
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
s and
bur oak
''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub o ...
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
habitats, and managing the
whitetail deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
population.
Omaha is home to several hospitals, mostly along Dodge Street (US6). Being the county seat, it is also the location of the county courthouse.
Neighborhoods
![Above West Omaha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Above_West_Omaha.jpg)
Omaha is generally divided into six geographic areas: Downtown, Midtown, North Omaha, South Omaha, West Omaha, and East Omaha. West Omaha includes the Miracle Hills,
Boys Town, Regency, and Gateway areas.
The city has a wide range of historical and new neighborhoods and suburbs that reflect its
socioeconomic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their l ...
diversity. Early neighborhood development happened in ethnic enclaves, including
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...
,
Little Bohemia, Little Mexico and
Greek Town
Greektown is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Greeks or people of Greek ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.
History
The oldest Greek dominated neighborhood outside of Greece were probably the Fener in Istanb ...
. According to U.S. Census data, five European ethnic enclaves existed in Omaha in 1880, expanding to nine in 1900.
Around the start of the 20th century. the City of Omaha annexed several surrounding communities, including
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
and
Benson Benson may refer to:
Animals
*Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain
Places Geography
Canada
*Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality
*Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet
United Kingdom
* Benson, Oxfordshire ...
. At the same time, the city annexed all of South Omaha, including the
Dahlman and
Burlington Road neighborhoods. From its first annexation in 1857 (of East Omaha) to its controversial annexation of
Elkhorn in 2007, Omaha has continually had an eye towards growth.
Starting in the 1950s, development of highways and new housing led to the movement of the middle class to
suburbs
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
in West Omaha. Some of the movement was designated as
white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
from racial unrest in the 1960s. Newer and poorer migrants lived in older housing close to downtown; those residents who were more established moved west into newer housing. Some suburbs are
gated communities
A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...
or have become
edge cities
''Edge city'' is a term that originated in the United States for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban residential or ru ...
. Recently, Omahans have made strides to revitalize the downtown and Midtown areas with the redevelopment of the Old Market, Turner Park, Gifford Park, and the designation of the
Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District
The Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, roughly bounded by Jackson, 15th, and 8th Streets, as well as the Union Pacific main line, is located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Today this historic district includes several buildings listed i ...
.
Climate
Omaha, due to its latitude of 41.26˚ N and location far from moderating bodies of water or mountain ranges, displays a hot-summer
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Dfa''). July averages , with average relative humidity around 70% which then leads to relatively frequent thunderstorms. Temperatures reach on 29 days and on 1.7 days annually. The January daily average is , with lows reaching on 11 days annually. The lowest temperature recorded in the city was on January 5, 1884,
and the highest on
July 25, 1936.
Average yearly precipitation is , falling mostly in the warmer months. Snow is the most common precipitation in winter, with average seasonal snowfall being .
Based on 30-year averages obtained from
NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
's
National Climatic Data Center
The United States National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), previously known as the National Weather Records Center (NWRC), in Asheville, North Carolina, was the world's largest active archive of weather data. Starting as a tabulation unit in New Orl ...
for the months of December, January and February,
Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecast ...
ranked Omaha the 5th coldest major U.S. city as of 2014.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2020, there were 486,051 people and 186,883 households. The population density was 3,361 inhabitants per square mile (1,297/km
2). The city's racial makeup was 77.5%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 12.3%
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 ...
, 0.6%
Native American, 3.8%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 13.9% of the population.
Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...
were 66.6% of the population.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 408,958 people, 162,627 households, and 96,477 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 177,518 housing units at an average density of . The city's racial makeup was 73.1%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 13.7%
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 ...
, 0.8%
Native American, 2.4%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 6.9% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
people of any race were 13.1% of the population.
Non-Hispanic Whites
Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Ame ...
were 68.0% of the population.
There were 162,627 households, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.7% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was at least 65 years old. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.14.
The median age in the city was 33.5 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 11.4% were 65 years of age or older. The city's gender makeup was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.
The median household income (in 2017 dollars) from 2013 to 2017 was $53,789.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 390,007 people, 156,738 households, and 94,983 families residing within city limits. The population density was 3,370.7 people per square mile (1,301.5/km
2). There were 165,731 housing units at an average density of 1,432.4 per square mile (553.1/km
2). The city's racial makeup was 78.4%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 13.3%
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 ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 1.7%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.9% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.9% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 7.5% of the population.
The city's median household income was $40,006, and the median family income was $50,821. Males had a median income of $34,301 versus $26,652 for females. The city's
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
was $21,756. About 11.3% of the population and 7.8% of families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 15.6% of those under the age of 18 and 7.4% of those 65 and older.
Crime
Omaha's
rate of violent crimes per 100,000 residents has been lower than the average rates of three dozen United States cities of similar size. Unlike Omaha, those cities have experienced an increase in violent crime overall since 2003. Rates for property crime have decreased for both Omaha and its peer cities during the same time period. In 2006, Omaha was ranked for homicides as 46th out of the 72 cities in the United States of more than 250,000 in population.
As a major industrial city into the mid-20th century, Omaha shared in social tensions that came with rapid growth and the arrival of large numbers of immigrants and migrants. Persistent poverty resulting from racial discrimination and job losses generated different crimes in the late 20th century, with the drug trade and drug abuse becoming associated with violent crime rates, which climbed after 1986 as Los Angeles gangs made affiliates in the city.
Gambling in Omaha has been an important part of the city's history. From its founding in the 1850s through the 1930s, the city was known as a "wide-open" town where gambling of all sorts was openly accepted. By the 1950s, at the same time large-scale restructuring of the railroads, the meatpacking industry and other sectors caused widespread job losses and unemployment, Omaha reportedly had more illicit gambling than any other city in the nation. From the 1930s through the 1970s, a Mafia-based criminal element controlled gambling in the city.
As most forms of gambling are currently restricted in Nebraska, gambling in Omaha is limited to
keno
Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries.
Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...
,
lotteries
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
, and
parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...
. This leaves Omahans to drive across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Iowa, where casinos are legal and many businesses operate. Recently, the
National Indian Gaming Commission
The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC; ) is a United States federal regulatory agency within the Department of the Interior. Congress established the agency pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988.
The commission is the only ...
approved a controversial proposal made by the
Ponca
The Ponca ( Páⁿka iyé: Páⁿka or Ppáⁿkka pronounced ) are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca ...
tribe of Nebraska. It will allow the tribe to build a casino in
Carter Lake, Iowa, which sits on the west side of the Missouri River, adjacent to Omaha, where casinos are illegal.
People
Native Americans were the first residents of the Omaha area. The city of Omaha was established by white settlers from neighboring Council Bluffs who arrived from the
Northeast United States
The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the South ...
a few years earlier. While much of the early population was of
Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
stock, over the next 100 years numerous
ethnic groups
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
moved to the city. In 1910, the Census Bureau reported Omaha's population as 96.4% White and 3.6% Black.
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 ...
immigrants in Omaha originally moved to an area in present-day North Omaha called
Gophertown, as they lived in dug-out
sod houses.
That population was followed by
Polish immigrants in the
Sheelytown Sheelytown was a historic ethnic neighborhood in South Omaha, Nebraska, USA with populations of Irish, Polish and other first generation immigrants. Located north of the Union Stockyards, it was bounded by Edward Creighton Boulevard on the north, ...
neighborhood, and many immigrants were recruited for jobs in South Omaha's
stockyards and meatpacking industry. The
German community in Omaha was largely responsible for founding its once-thriving beer industry, including the
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
,
Krug,
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...
and the
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 ...
breweries.
Since its founding,
ethnic groups in the city have clustered in
enclaves
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in
north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
,
south
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline ...
. In its early days, the
sometimes lawless nature of a new frontier city included
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
, such as
illicit gambling and
riots.
In the early 20th century,
Jewish
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 ...
immigrants set up many businesses along the
North 24th Street
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames ...
commercial area. It suffered with the loss of industrial jobs in the 1960s and later, the shifting of population west of the city. The commercial area is now the center of the
African-American community, concentrated in North Omaha. The African American community has maintained its social and religious base, while it is experiencing an economic revitalization.
The
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...
neighborhood grew south of downtown, as many Italian immigrants came to the city to work in the
Union Pacific shops. Scandinavians first came to Omaha as
Mormon
Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...
settlers in the
Florence neighborhood.
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, c ...
had a strong political and cultural voice in Omaha, and were involved in a variety of trades and businesses, including banks, wholesale houses, and funeral homes. The
Notre Dame Academy and Convent
The Notre Dame Academy and Convent is located at 3501 State Street in the Florence neighborhood on the north end of Omaha, Nebraska. It is significant for its ethnic association with the Czech population in Nebraska as the only school and conve ...
and
Czechoslovak Museum
The Czechoslovak Museum is located at 2021 U Street in South Omaha, Nebraska.
History
The original Sokol Hall was established in 1911. It did not contain a Czech museum at that time, but was specifically a social hall for the Sokol organizatio ...
are legacies of their residence. Today the legacy of the city's early European immigrant populations is evident in many social and cultural institutions in Downtown and South Omaha.
Mexicans
Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States.
The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish language, Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Languages of Mexico, Indigenous linguistic groups ...
originally immigrated to Omaha to work in the rail yards. Today they account for most of South Omaha's Hispanic population and many have taken jobs in
meat processing
The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally no ...
. Other large early ethnic populations in Omaha included
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
,
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 Ce ...
, and
Swedes
Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
.
A growing number of African immigrants have made their homes in Omaha in the last twenty years. There are approximately 8,500
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
ese living in Omaha, including the largest population of
Sudanese refugees
Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the country of Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental change ...
in the United States. Most have immigrated since 1995 because of
warfare in Sudan. They represent ten ethnic groups, including the
Nuer Nuer may refer to:
* Nuer people
* Nuer language
The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gamb ...
,
Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out ...
,
Equatoria
Equatoria is a region of southern South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It ...
ns,
Mauban
Mauban, officially the Municipality of Mauban ( tgl, Bayan ng Mauban), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,081 people.
It lies southeast of Manila and some ...
s and
Nubians
Nubians () ( Nobiin: ''Nobī,'' ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the region which is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt. They originate from the early inhabitants of the central Nile valley, believed to be one of the earliest cradles of ...
. Most Sudanese people in Omaha speak the
Nuer language
The Nuer language (Thok Naath) ("people's language") is a Nilotic language of the Western Nilotic group. It is spoken by the Nuer people of South Sudan and in western Ethiopia (region of Gambela). The language is very similar to Dinka and A ...
. Other Africans have immigrated to Omaha as well, with one-third from
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, and large populations from
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
,
Togo
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
.
With the expansion of railroad and industrial jobs in meatpacking, Omaha attracted many immigrants and migrants. As the major city in Nebraska, it has historically been more racially and ethnically diverse than the rest of the state. At times rapid population change, overcrowded housing and job competition have aroused
racial and ethnic tensions. Around the start of the 20th century, violence towards new immigrants in Omaha often erupted out of suspicion and fear.
In 1909, anti-Greek sentiment flared after increased Greek immigration, and worsened their tendency to become
strikebreakers. The killing of a policeman of Irish descent enraged the Irish community; an angry mob violently stormed the Greek neighborhood in Omaha in what would become known as the
Greek Town Riot
The Greek Town riot was a race riot that took place in South Omaha, Nebraska, on February 21, 1909, during which several Greeks were wounded or injured. A mob of 3,000 men displaced some of the population of Greek Town, wrecked 30 buildings there ...
. That mob violence forced the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
immigrant population to flee from the city. By 1910, 53.7% of Omaha's residents and 64.2% of South Omaha's residents were foreign born or had at least one parent born outside of America.
Six years after the Greek Town Riot, in 1915, a mob killed Juan Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant, near
Scribner, a town in the Greater Omaha metropolitan area. The event occurred after an
Omaha Police Department
The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of 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 o ...
officer investigated a criminal operation that sold goods stolen from the nearby railroad yards.
Racial profiling
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...
targeted Gonzalez as the culprit. After escaping the city, he was trapped along the
Elkhorn River
The Elkhorn River is a river in northeastern Nebraska, United States, that originates in the eastern Sandhills and is one of the largest tributaries of the Platte River, flowing and joining the Platte just southwest of Omaha, approximately s ...
, where the mob, including several policemen from Omaha, shot him more than twenty times. It was discovered Gonzalez was unarmed, and he had a reliable alibi for the time of the murder. No one was ever indicted for his killing.
In the fall of 1919, following
Red Summer
Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which Terrorism in the United States#White nationalism and white supremacy, white supremacist terrorism and Mass racial violence in the United States, racial riots occurred in more than three dozen ...
, postwar social and economic tensions, the earlier hiring of African Americans as strikebreakers, and job uncertainty contributed to a mob from South Omaha lynching
Willy Brown
The Omaha Race Riot occurred in Omaha, Nebraska, September 28–29, 1919. The race riot resulted in the lynching of Will Brown, a black civilian; the death of two white rioters; the injuries of many Omaha Police Department officers and civ ...
and the ensuing
Omaha Race Riot. Trying to defend Brown, the city's mayor,
Edward Parsons Smith
Edward Parsons Smith (September 30, 1860 – May 21, 1930) was the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, from 1918 to 1921.
Biography
Smith was born in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on September 30, 1860, and was a son of Edward Smith and Celia (Schockley) Smith. ...
, was lynched also, surviving only after a quick rescue.
Like other industrial cities in the U.S., Omaha suffered severe job losses in the 1950s, more than 10,000 in all, as the railroad and meatpacking industries restructured. Stockyards and packing plants were located closer to ranches, and union achievements were lost as wages declined in surviving jobs. Many workers left the area if they could get to other jobs. Poverty deepened in areas of the city whose residents depended on those jobs, specifically North and South Omaha. At the same time, with reduced revenues, the city had less financial ability to respond to longstanding problems.
Despair after the April 1968
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. contributed to
riots in North Omaha, including one at the
Logan Fontenelle Housing Project The Logan Fontenelle Housing Project was a historic public housing site located from 20th to 24th Streets, and from Paul to Seward Streets in the historic Near North Side neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was built in 1938 by the ...
. For some, the
civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska evolved towards
black nationalism
Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves ar ...
, as the
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
was involved in tensions in the late 1960s. Organizations such as the
Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity
The Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity, or BANTU, was a youth activism group focused on black power and nationalism in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1960s. Its name is a reference to the Bantu peoples of Southern Africa.
It was reportedl ...
became popular among the city's African-American youth. This tension culminated in the ''
cause célèbre
A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
'' trial of the
Rice/Poindexter Case, in which an
Omaha Police Department
The Omaha Police Department (OPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of 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 o ...
officer was killed by a bomb while answering an emergency call.
Whites in Omaha have followed the
white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
pattern,
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
izing to West Omaha. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, gang violence and incidents between the
Omaha Police and Black residents undermined relations between groups in North and South Omaha.
Economy
![Omaha, NE Old Market 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Omaha%2C_NE_Old_Market_2010.jpg)
With diversification in several industries, including banking, insurance, telecommunications, architecture/construction, and transportation, Omaha's economy has grown since the early 1990s, and six national fiber optic networks converge in Omaha.
Omaha's most prominent businessman is Warren Buffett, nicknamed the "Oracle of Omaha", who is regularly ranked one of the
richest people in the world. Four Omaha-based companies:
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...
,
Union Pacific Railroad
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 Paci ...
,
Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha is a Fortune 500 mutual insurance and financial services company based in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1909 as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha is a financial organization offering a variety of insuranc ...
, and
Kiewit Corporation
Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...
, are among the
''Fortune'' 500.
Omaha is the headquarters of several other major corporations, including
the Gallup Organization
Gallup, Inc. is an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C. Founded by George Gallup in 1935, the company became known for its public opinion polls conducted worldwide. Starting in the 1980s, Gallup transitioned its b ...
,
TD Ameritrade
TD Ameritrade is a stockbroker that offers an electronic trading platform for the trade of financial assets including common stocks, preferred stocks, futures contracts, exchange-traded funds, forex, options, mutual funds, fixed income investmen ...
,
Werner Enterprises
Werner Enterprises, Inc. is an American transportation and logistics company, serving the United States, Mexico and Canada. Werner Enterprises stated that it had 2021 revenues of $2.7 billion and over 13,500 employees and contractors.
Histo ...
,
First National Bank,
Gavilon
Gavilon is a commodity management firm based in Omaha, Nebraska. The company is organized into two operating segments:
Operating segments
Grain & Ingredients – Gavilon originates, stores, and distributes grains and oilseeds, as well as fee ...
,
Scoular
Scoular (), formally The Scoular Company, is a corporation based in Omaha, Nebraska dedicated to the buying, selling, storage, handling, and processing of grain, feed and food ingredients. The company was founded in 1892 by George Scoular and wa ...
and First Comp Insurance. Many other large national firms have major operations or operational headquarters in Omaha, including
Bank of the West,
First Data
First Data Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company's STAR Network provided nationwide domestic debit acceptance at more than 2 million retail POS, ATM, and Online outlets for nea ...
,
Sojern
Sojern provides a digital marketing platform for the travel industry that utilizes programmatic buying and machine learning technology. Sojern partners with travel companies including airlines, OTAs, hotels, and rental car companies to collect ...
,
PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support online money transfers, and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper ...
,
LinkedIn
LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
,
Pacific Life
Pacific Life Insurance Company is an American insurance company providing life insurance products, annuities, and mutual funds, and offers a variety of investment products and services to individuals, businesses, and pension plans.
History
Paci ...
,
MetLife and
Conagra Brands
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, ...
. The city is also home to three of the 30 largest architecture firms in the United States, including
HDR, Inc.,
DLR Group, Inc., and
Leo A Daly
LEO A DALY, established by Leo A. Daly, Sr. in 1915, is an American architecture, planning, engineering, interior design and program management firm. The firm's portfolio includes projects in 91 countries, all 50 U.S. states and the District of C ...
.
Top employers
According to the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership, the largest regional employers are:
Tourism
![Office buildings in downtown Omaha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Office_buildings_in_downtown_Omaha.jpg)
Tourist attractions in Omaha include history, sports, outdoors and cultural experiences. Its principal tourist attractions are the
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 ...
and the
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 ...
.
The
Old Market in
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline ...
is another major attraction and is important to the city's retail economy. The city has been a tourist destination for many years. Famous early visitors included British author
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
and General
George Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...
. In 1883 Omaha hosted the first official performance of the
Buffalo Bill's
Wild West Show
Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of ...
for 8,000 attendees. In 1898 the city hosted more than 1 million visitors from across the United States at the
Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition
The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Co ...
, a
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
that lasted for more than half the year.
Research on
leisure
Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...
and
hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...
situates Omaha in the same tier for tourists as the neighboring cities of
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
;
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
;
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
;
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
;
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
; and
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
. A recent study found investment of $1 million in cultural tourism generated approximately $83,000 in state and local taxes, and provided support for hundreds of jobs for the metropolitan area, which in turn led to additional tax revenue for government.
[Thompson, J. (2007]
"Skeptics of stadium look for return on funding"
''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 ...
''. October 15. Retrieved 5/2/08.
Arts and culture
![Joslyn Art Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Joslyn_Art_Museum.jpg)
Several national newspapers, including the ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and The ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' have lauded Omaha's
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and cultural attractions.
The city is home to 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 ...
, the largest
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 ...
in the United States. The
Omaha Symphony Orchestra
The Omaha Symphony is a professional orchestra performing more than 200 concerts and presentations annually in Omaha, Nebraska and throughout the orchestra's home region. The orchestra was established in 1921. It is considered a major American orc ...
and its modern
Holland Performing Arts Center
The Holland Performing Arts Center is a performing arts facility located on 13th and Douglas Streets in downtown Downtown Omaha, Nebraska in the United States; it opened in October 2005. Designed by Omaha architectural firm HDR, Inc. in collabora ...
, the
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 ...
at the
Orpheum theater, the
Blue Barn Theatre,
American Midwest Ballet, and
The Rose Theater form the backbone of Omaha's
performing arts community. Opened in 1931, 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 ...
has large art collections. Since its inception in 1976,
Omaha Children's Museum The Omaha Children's Museum is a nonprofit learning and exploration space for young people located at 500 South 20th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum has received a national award from the Association of Science and Technology Muse ...
has been a place where children can challenge themselves, discover how the world works and learn through play. The
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts is located in the Old Market Historic District of downtown Omaha, Nebraska, at the corner of 12th Street and Leavenworth Street. In addition to an international artist-in-residence program, Bemis Center hosts te ...
, one of the nation's premier urban artist colonies, was founded in Omaha in 1981, and the
Durham Museum
The Durham Museum (formerly known as the Durham Western Heritage Museum) is located at 801 South 10th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region. The m ...
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. The city is also home to the largest singly funded mural in the nation, "Fertile Ground", by
Meg Saligman. The annual
Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival celebrates local music along with the
Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or the OBMHoF, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to celebrate, document and honour the legacy of the many top vocalists and musicians whose musical careers began in the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebr ...
.
In 1955, Omaha's
Union Stockyards
The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...
overtook Chicago's stockyards as the United States' meat packing center. This legacy is reflected in the
cuisine of Omaha, with renowned steakhouses such as
Gorat's and the recently closed
Mister C's
Mister C's Steak House was a landmark Italian restaurant located at 5319 North 30th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. After operating for almost 55 years, the restaurant closed September 30, 2007. The mayor of Omaha and Omaha City Council declared ...
, as well as the retail chain
Omaha Steaks.
Henry Doorly Zoo
![Desert Dome Omaha Zoo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Desert_Dome_Omaha_Zoo.jpg)
The
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. The zoo is home to the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the world's largest indoor rainforest, the world's largest indoor desert, and the largest
geodesic dome
A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic dom ...
in the world (13 stories tall). The zoo is Nebraska's number-one paid attendance attraction and has welcomed more than 25 million visitors over the past 40 years.
Old Market
The
Old Market is a major
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
in Downtown Omaha listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Today, its warehouses and other buildings house shops, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and art galleries. Downtown is also the location of the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, which has several art galleries and restaurants.
Lauritzen Gardens
Lauritzen Gardens are a botanical gardens and arboretum located at 100 Bancroft Street in the South Omaha neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. The gardens are open daily during business hours; an admission fee is charged.
History
The gardens began ...
features with a variety of landscaping, and 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 ...
recognizes Union Pacific Railroad's long history in Omaha. North Omaha has several historical
cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
attractions including the
Dreamland Historical Project, Love's Jazz and Art Center, and the John Beasley Theater. The annual River City Roundup is celebrated at Fort Omaha, and the neighborhood of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
celebrates its history during "Florence Days".
Native Omaha Days Native Omahan Days is a bi-ennial event in North Omaha, Nebraska celebrating the community's historical and cultural legacies. Held since 1976, the Native Omaha Days include picnics, family reunions, class reunions and a large parade. The event is l ...
is a biennial event celebrating Near North Side heritage.
Religious institutions reflect the city's heritage. The
city's Christian community has several historical churches dating from the founding of the city. There are also all sizes of congregations, including small, medium and
megachurch
A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...
es. Omaha hosts the only Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
temple in Nebraska along with a large
Jewish community
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 ...
. There are 152 parishes in the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
The Archdiocese of Omaha ( la, Archidioecesis Omahensis) is Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current archbishop, George Joseph Lucas, was installed in Omaha on July 22, 2009. The ar ...
, and several
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
congregations throughout the city.
Music
Omaha's rich history in rhythm and blues, and jazz gave rise to a number of influential bands, including
Anna Mae Winburn
Anna Mae Winburn ''(née'' Darden; August 13, 1913 – September 30, 1999) was an influential American vocalist and jazz bandleader who flourished beginning in the mid-1930s. An African American, she is best known for having directed the Interna ...
's
Cotton Club Boys and
Lloyd Hunter's Seranaders.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
pioneer
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 ...
, jazz great
Preston Love
Preston Haynes Love (April 26, 1921 – February 12, 2004) was an American saxophonist, bandleader, and songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska, United States, best known as a sideman for jazz and rhythm and blues artists like Count Basie and Ray Char ...
, drummer
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
Luigi Waites (born Lewis Waites; July 10, 1927 – April 6, 2010) was a jazz drummer and vibraphonist from Omaha, Nebraska. He performed weekly gigs in the Omaha area both solo and with ensembles such as Luigi, Inc. He served the Omaha music co ...
are among the city's homegrown talent.
Doug Ingle
Douglas Lloyd Ingle (born September 9, 1945) is an American musician, best known as the founder and former organist, primary composer, and lead vocalist for the band Iron Butterfly. Ingle wrote the band's iconic song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", which ...
from the late 1960s band
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal musi ...
was born in Omaha, as was
indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
singer-songwriter
Elliott Smith, though both were raised elsewhere.
Today, the diverse
culture of Omaha includes a variety of performance venues, museums, and musical heritage, including the historically significant jazz scene in North Omaha and the modern and influential "
Omaha Sound
Music in Omaha, Nebraska, has been a diverse and important influence in the culture of the city. Long a home to jazz, blues, funk and rock, today Omaha has dozens of subgenres represented, including Latin, alternative rock and hip hop. Omaha's his ...
".
Contemporary music groups either 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Cursive
Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...
,
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
311 311 may refer to:
* 311 (number), a natural number
* AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD
* 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 311 (band), an American band
** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album
...
. During the late 1990s, Omaha became nationally known as the birthplace of
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 ...
, and the subsequent "Omaha Sound" was born from their bands' collective style.
Omaha also has a fledgling
hip hop scene. Long-time bastion
Houston Alexander
Houston Alexander (born March 22, 1972) is an American professional mixed martial artist who last competed in 2017. A professional competitor since 2001, he has fought for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, the RFA, and KSW. He currently comp ...
, a one-time graffiti artist and professional
Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...
competitor, is a local hip-hop radio show host. Cerone Thompson, known as "Scrybe", has had a number one single on college radio stations across the United States. He has also had several number one hits on the local hip hop station respectively titled, "Lose Control" and "Do What U Do".
[Pugsley, T. (2009)]
"UNO rapper, student hits No. 1 on local radio station with current single."
''The Gateway.'' 10/21/05. Retrieved 6/17/07. Other notable artists include Stylo of Mastered Trax Latino who holds a strong following in South Omaha and Mexico / Latin America.
Many ethnic and cultural bands have come from Omaha. The
Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, or the OBMHoF, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to celebrate, document and honour the legacy of the many top vocalists and musicians whose musical careers began in the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebr ...
celebrates the city's long history of African-American music and the Strathdon Caledonia Pipe Band carries on a
Scottish legacy. Internationally renowned composer
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
wrote his
Ninth ("New World") Symphony in 1893 based on his impressions of the region after visiting Omaha's robust
Czech community. In the period surrounding World War I
Valentin J. Peter encouraged
Germans in Omaha
Germans in Omaha immigrated to the city in Nebraska from its earliest days of founding in 1854, in the years after the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states. They continued to immigrate to Omaha in large numbers later in the 19th century, when ...
to celebrate their rich musical heritage, too.
Frederick Metz,
Gottlieb Storz
Gottlieb Storz (1852–1939) was a pioneer entrepreneur in Omaha, Nebraska. Born in Benningen, Wurttemberg, Storz was the founder of the Storz Brewery. He was an important member of Omaha's German immigrant community, and an important businessma ...
and
Frederick Krug were influential brewers whose
beer garden
A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees.
Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...
s kept many German bands active.
Landmark preservation
![091407-JoslynCastle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/091407-JoslynCastle.jpg)
Omaha is home to dozens of nationally, regionally and locally significant landmarks. The city has more than a dozen
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
s, including
Fort Omaha Historic District
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an American Indian Wars, Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in mo ...
,
Gold Coast Historic District,
Omaha Quartermaster Depot Historic District
The Omaha Quartermaster Depot Historic District, including several brick structures built in Italianate and other styles, was built for the U.S. Army between 1881 and 1894. Located in South Omaha between Hickory and 22nd Streets, Woolworth Avenu ...
, Field Club Historic District, Bemis Park Historic District, and the South Omaha Main Street Historic District. Omaha is notorious for its 1989 demolition of 24 buildings in the Jobbers Canyon Historic District, which represents to date the largest loss of buildings on the National Register. The only original building surviving of that complex is the
Nash Block.
Omaha has almost
one hundred individual properties listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
, including the
Bank of Florence
The Bank of Florence was a wildcat bank located in Florence, Nebraska Territory. It originally operated for three years in the 1850s, and another bank adopted the name and location in 1904. Today the building that housed the bank is the Bank o ...
,
Holy Family Church, the
Christian Specht Building and the
Joslyn Castle
The George and Sarah Joslyn Home (officially named "Lynhurst," and known locally as Joslyn Castle), is a mansion located at 3902 Davenport Street in the Gold Coast Historic District of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in the Scottish Baron ...
. There are also three properties designated as
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
s.
Locally designated landmarks, including residential, commercial, religious, educational, agricultural and socially significant locations across the city, honor Omaha's cultural legacy and important history. The
City of 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 ...
Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission The City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, established in 1977, is the Omaha city government's a nine-member board responsible for recommending official Omaha Landmarks to the Omaha City Council. The Landmarks Heritage Preservat ...
is the government body that works with the
mayor of Omaha
This is a list of mayors of Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
List of mayors
See also
* Government of Omaha
* History of Omaha
References
{{Omaha
Omaha
*
Mayors
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municip ...
and the
Omaha City Council
The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts ...
to protect historic places. Important history organizations in the community include the
Douglas County Historical Society The Douglas County Historical Society, or DCHS, is located at 5730 North 30th Street in the General Crook House at Fort Omaha in north Omaha, Nebraska. The mission of the DCHS is to collect, preserve and present to the public the history of Douglas ...
.
Sports
![Inside TD Ameritrade Park Omaha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Inside_TD_Ameritrade_Park_Omaha.jpg)
Sports have been important in Omaha for more than a century, and the city plays host to three minor-league professional sports teams.
Omaha has hosted the annual June NCAA
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 since 1950. It has been played at the downtown
Charles Schwab Field since 2011.
The Omaha Sports Commission is a quasi-governmental nonprofit organization that coordinates much of the professional and amateur athletic activity in the city, including the 2008, 2012 and 2016 US Olympic Swimming Team Trials and the building of a
new stadium in North Downtown. The
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
and the Commission co-hosted the 2008
National Collegiate Athletic Association
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 ...
(NCAA)
Division One Women's Volleyball Championship in December of that year. The 2016 Big 10 Baseball Championship was also played at the College World Series Stadium. Another quasi-governmental board, the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA), was created by city voters in 2000, and is responsible for maintaining the
CHI Health Center Omaha
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 ...
(formerly CenturyLink Center Omaha).
![CenturyLink Center Omaha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/CenturyLink_Center_Omaha.jpg)
The Omaha Storm Chasers 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 ...
. They won seven championships (in 1969, 1970, 1978, 1990, 2011, 2013, and 2014).
Omaha is also home to the Omaha Diamond Spirit, a collegiate summer baseball team that plays in the MINK league.
The
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
Bluejays compete in a number of
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
sports as members of the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...
. The Bluejays play
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 tea ...
at
Charles Schwab Field,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
at
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 ...
, and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
at the 18,000 seat
CHI Health Center Omaha
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 ...
. The Jays annually rank in the top 15 in attendance each year, averaging more than 16,000 people per game.
The
Omaha Mavericks
The Omaha Mavericks are the sports teams of the University of Nebraska Omaha. They participate in the NCAA's Division I and in The Summit League, except in ice hockey, where they compete in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
Hist ...
, representing 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 ...
(UNO), also play basketball, baseball and soccer in NCAA Division I as members of
The Summit League
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
. The UNO
men's ice hockey team plays in the
National Collegiate Hockey Conference
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) is an NCAA men's Division I hockey conference formed on July 9, 2011. The league began playing for the 2013–14 season, the same season that the Big Ten Conference began competition, as a combina ...
.
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 hock ...
is a popular spectator sport in Omaha. 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 strictly ...
team, play at the Ralston Arena. The Omaha Mavericks play in the on-campus
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 ...
.
Omaha was home to an
expansion team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
, the Nighthawks, in the
United Football League from 2010 to 2011. 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 played 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 ...
until 2012 when they moved to the new
Ralston Arena
The Liberty First Credit Union Arena, formerly known as Ralston Arena and sometimes as Ralston Sports and Event Center, is an arena located in Ralston, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. It serves as the home of the Omaha Lancers of the United States ...
.
Omaha was the legendary catchword of
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, coach ...
Quarterback
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
. In 2021 he launched
Omaha Productions
Omaha Productions is an American entertainment company founded by former football quarterback Peyton Manning. It is known for producing '' Manningcast'', an alternate live television broadcast of ESPN's ''Monday Night Football'' hosted by Peyton a ...
.
The
Kansas City-Omaha Kings
The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
, an
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
franchise, played in both cities from 1972 to 1978, before decamping solely to Kansas City until 1985, when the team moved to its current home of
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.
The
Cox Classic
The Cox Classic presented by Lexus of Omaha was a professional golf tournament in the central United States on the Web.com Tour. It was played annually for eighteen years at Champions Run in Omaha, Nebraska.
It debuted as the "Nike Omaha Classic ...
golf tournament was part of the
Web.com Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...
from 1996 to 2013. The circuit returned to Omaha in 2017 with the
Pinnacle Bank Championship
The Pinnacle Bank Championship is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was first played in July 2017 at The Club at Indian Creek in Omaha, Nebraska.
Winners
Bolded golfers graduated to the PGA Tour via the Korn Ferry Tour regular-season m ...
.
Parks and recreation
Omaha has a thriving running community and many miles of paved running and biking trails throughout the city and surrounding communities. The Omaha Marathon involves a half-marathon and a race that takes place annually in September. Omaha also has a history of
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
, including multiple junior national champions.
The city's historic
boulevards
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
were originally designed by
Horace Cleveland
Horace William Shaler Cleveland (December 16, 1814 – December 5, 1900) was an American landscape architect. His approach to natural landscape design can be seen in projects such as the Grand Rounds in Minneapolis; Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Con ...
in 1889 to work with the parks to create a seamless flow of trees, grass and flowers throughout the city.
Florence Boulevard
Florence Boulevard, originally known as the Prettiest Mile in Omaha Boulevard, is a boulevard-type north-south street in the north Omaha, Nebraska. With the start of construction in 1892, Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in Omaha's boulev ...
and Fontenelle Boulevard are among the remnants of this system. Omaha boasts more than of
trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
for
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s,
bicyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
s and
hikers. They include the
American Discovery Trail
The American Discovery Trail is a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast hiking and biking trail across the mid-tier of the United States. Horses can also be ridden on most of this trail. The coastal tra ...
, which traverses the entire United States, and the
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is a route across the United States commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806. It is part of the National Trails System of the United States. It extends for some from Pittsburgh, Pe ...
passes through Omaha as it travels westward from Illinois to Oregon. Trails throughout the area are included in comprehensive plans for the city of Omaha, the Omaha metropolitan area, Douglas County, and long-distance coordinated plans between the municipalities of southeast Nebraska. The city also has a park dedicated to pollinating bees and insects called ‘Pacific Preserve’
Government
![Omaha NE city building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Omaha_NE_city_building.jpg)
Omaha has a
strong mayor
Strong may refer to:
Education
* The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States
* Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas
* Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United St ...
form of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
, along with a city council elected from seven districts across the city. The
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
is
Jean Stothert
Jean Louise Stothert (née Wolf; born February 7, 1954) is an American politician and former nurse serving as the 51st mayor of Omaha, Nebraska. She is the first woman to hold the office and was sworn in as Mayor on June 10, 2013. She was re-elec ...
, who was elected in May 2013, re-elected May 10, 2017, and re-elected again May 11, 2021. The longest-serving mayor in Omaha's history was
"Cowboy" Jim Dahlman, who served 20 years over eight terms. He was regarded as the "wettest mayor in America" because of the flourishing number of bars in Omaha during his tenure. Dahlman was a close associate of
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
Tom Dennison. During Dahlman's tenure, the city switched from its original strong-mayor form of government to a
city commission government. In 1956, the city switched back.
The
city clerk is Elizabeth Butler. The City of Omaha administers twelve departments, including finance,
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
, human rights,
libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and planning. The Omaha City Council is the legislative branch and has seven members elected from districts across the city. The council enacts
local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law issued by a local government. such as a municipality, county, parish, prefecture, or the like.
China
In Hong Kong, all laws enacted by the territory's Legislative Council remain to be known as ''Ordinances'' () af ...
s and approves the city
budget. Government priorities and activities are established in a budget ordinance approved annually. The council takes official action through the passage of ordinances and resolutions. Nebraska's constitution grants the option of
home rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
to cities with more than 5,000 residents, meaning they may operate under their own charters. Omaha is one of only three cities in Nebraska to use this option, out of 17 eligible. The City of Omaha is considering
consolidating with Douglas County government.
Although registered
Republicans outnumbered
Democrats in the
2nd congressional district, which includes Omaha, Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
opened three campaign offices in the city with 15 staff members to cover the state in fall 2008. Mike Fahey, the former Democratic mayor of Omaha, said he would do whatever it took to deliver the district's electoral vote to Obama; and the
Obama campaign considered the district "in play". Former Nebraska
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...
and then-U.S. Senator
Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the De ...
campaigned in the city for Obama, and in November 2008 Obama won the district's electoral vote. This was an historical win, as Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win an electoral vote in Nebraska since 1964, only made possible by
Nebraska's split electoral vote system.
In 2011, Nebraska lawmakers moved Offutt Air Force Base and the town of Bellevue — an area with a large minority population — out of the Omaha-based 2nd District and shifted in the Republican-heavy Omaha suburbs in Sarpy County. The move is expected to dilute the city's urban Democratic vote.
Omaha's 2nd District sent its single electoral vote for Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Biden's victory, by more than 20,000 votes, shows Omaha's and the 2nd Districts’ continuing trend toward Democratic politics in recent years.
Education
Omaha has many public and private educational institutions, including
Omaha Public Schools
Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its district ...
, the largest
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
in Nebraska, which serves more than 47,750 students in more than 75 schools. After a contentious period of uncertainty, in 2007 the
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the sm ...
approved a plan to create a
learning community
A learning community is a group of people who share common academic goals and attitudes and meet semi-regularly to collaborate on classwork. Such communities have become the template for a cohort-based, interdisciplinary approach to higher educat ...
for Omaha-area school districts with a central administrative board.
The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
The Archdiocese of Omaha ( la, Archidioecesis Omahensis) is Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current archbishop, George Joseph Lucas, was installed in Omaha on July 22, 2009. The ar ...
operates
numerous private Catholic schools with 21,500 students in 32 elementary schools and nine high schools. They includ
St. Cecilia Grade Schoolat in Midtown Omaha, Holy Cross at in Morton Meadows, St. Robert Bellarmine School at 120th and Pacific Street, St. Stephen the Martyr School in Millard, and Creighton Preparatory School, all of which have received the
U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
Blue Ribbon School award.
The
Westside Community Schools
Westside Community Schools, also known locally as District 66, is the third largest school district in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The district has one high school, one middle school, ten elementary schools, and one alternative high school. Th ...
, also known as District 66, is a district in the heart of Omaha. It serves students in pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade and recorded a district enrollment of 6,123 students K-12 for the 2015–16 school year.
Through annexations Omaha also has the
Millard Public Schools
The Millard Public Schools is a school district in the southwest part of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The first school in Millard was established in the fall of 1870. The school district is named for Ezra Millard (1833-1886), who platted Milla ...
and
Elkhorn Public Schools
Elkhorn Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Elkhorn, Omaha, Nebraska.
History
In 2006 a $96 million bond referendum was given to the voters.
In 2014 a $63.1 million bond was approved by voters.
Steve Baker served as the super ...
. Omaha is also home to
Brownell-Talbot School
Brownell Talbot College Preparatory School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory day school located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It serves students from preschool through grade 12.
History
In the mid-19th century, Omaha ...
, Nebraska's only preschool through grade 12, independent college preparatory school.
There are eleven
colleges and universities among Omaha's
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
institutions, including 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 ...
. The
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...
in midtown Omaha is home to the
Eppley Cancer Center
The Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases is a research institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Dedicated in 1963, the mission of the Eppley Institute is to "Develop superior ...
, one of 66 designated Cancer Centers by the National Cancer Institute in the United States. The University of Nebraska College of Medicine, also on the UNMC campus, is ranked 7th in the country by ''U.S. News & World Report'' for primary care medical education.
Omaha's
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...
is ranked the top non-doctoral regional university in the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
by ''
U.S. News & World Report''. The
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
institution's campus just outside Downtown Omaha in the new North Downtown district has a combined 6,700 students in its undergraduate, graduate, medical, and law schools.
There are more than 10 other
colleges and universities in the Omaha metro area.
Media
![NE Corner view of Omaha Star Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/NE_Corner_view_of_Omaha_Star_Building.jpg)
The city is the focus of the Omaha
designated market area
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
, and is the 76th largest in the United States.
Magazines
''Omaha Magazine''
Newspapers
The major daily newspaper in Nebraska is 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 ...
'', which is the largest employee-owned newspaper in the United States. Weeklies in the city include the Midlands Business Journal (weekly business publication); ''American Classifieds'' (formerly ''Thrifty Nickel''), a weekly classified newspaper; ''
The Reader
''The Reader'' (german: Der Vorleser) is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations ...
'', as well as ''
The Omaha Star''. Founded in 1938 in North Omaha, the ''Star'' is Nebraska's only African-American newspaper.
Television networks and cable TV
Omaha's four television news stations include:
KETV
KETV (channel 7) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Hearst Television, and has studios on 10th Street in the historic Burlington Station, which carries the address of 7 Burlin ...
7 (ABC- branded NewsWatch 7),
KMTV-TV
KMTV-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with CBS. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, the station has studios on Mockingbird Drive in southwest Omaha, and its transmitter is located on a "tower ...
3 (CBS- branded 3 News Now),
WOWT
WOWT (channel 6) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located on Farnam Street near downtown Omaha, and its transmitter is located on a "tower farm" ...
6 (NBC Omaha), and
KPTM
KPTM (channel 42) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, affiliated with Fox and The CW. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which provides certain services to TBD outlet KXVO (channel 15) under a local marketing agreeme ...
42 (FOX 42). There is a fifth station,
KXVO
KXVO (channel 15) is a television station in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, airing programming from the digital multicast network TBD. It is owned by Mitts Telecasting Company LLC, which maintains a local marketing agreement (LMA) with the Sinc ...
15 (branded CW 15), though it does not air any news content.
Cox Communications
Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
provides cable television services throughout the metropolitan area.
Prism TV
Prism usually refers to:
* Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light
* Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron
Prism may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...
offered through
CenturyLink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
is a broadband TV option also available throughout the Omaha area. Satellite providers such as
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
and
Dish Network
DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
and the local programming they offer are also available throughout the metropolitan area.
Infrastructure
In 2008 ''
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
''Kiplinger's Personal Finance'' ( ) is an American personal finance magazine published by Kiplinger since 1947. It claims to be the first American personal finance magazine and to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language". It ...
'' magazine ranked Omaha the No. 3 best city in the United States to "live, work and play". Omaha's growth has required the constant development of new urban
infrastructure
Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...
that influence, allow and encourage the constant expansion of the city.
Utilities
Retail
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
public utilities
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
in Omaha are provided by the
Metropolitan Utilities District
The Metropolitan Utilities District, or M.U.D., is the political subdivision and public corporation of the U.S. State of Nebraska that operates the drinking water and natural gas systems for Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding areas. M.U.D. is the only ...
. Nebraska is the only public power state in the nation. All electric utilities are non-profit and customer-owned.
Electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
in the city is provided by the
Omaha Public Power District
Omaha Public Power District, or OPPD, is a public electric utility in the state of Nebraska. It is a publicly owned electric utility in the United States, serving more than 855,000 people in Omaha and 13 surrounding counties in southeast Nebrask ...
.
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
is governed by the
Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority, or OHA, is the government agency responsible for providing public housing in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the parent organization of Housing in Omaha, Inc., a nonprofit housing developer for low-income housing.
About
OHA contr ...
governs
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
and
Metro Area Transit
Metro Transit, previously known as Metro Area Transit, is Omaha, Nebraska's local mass transportation provider. Metro currently operates around 135 buses throughout the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, including Bellevue, Ralston, La V ...
provides
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
.
CenturyLink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink) is an American
telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, that offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services. The company is ...
and
Cox
Cox may refer to:
* Cox (surname), including people with the name
Companies
* Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company
** Cox Communications, cable provider
** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations
** ...
provide local telephone and internet services. The City of Omaha maintains two modern
sewage treatment plant
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding en ...
s.
Portions of the
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. ...
corporation began as
Northern Natural Gas Company in Omaha. Northern provides three natural gas lines to Omaha. Enron formerly owned UtiliCorp United, Inc., which became
Aquila, Inc.
Aquila, Inc. was an electricity and natural gas distribution network headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri in the United States. The company also owned and operated power generation assets. It previously operated under the name UtiliCorp Uni ...
Peoples Natural Gas, a division of Aquila, Inc., serves several surrounding communities around the Omaha metropolitan area, including
Plattsmouth
Plattsmouth is a city and county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,502 at the 2010 census.
History
The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street Pla ...
.
Health care
There are
several hospitals in Omaha. Research hospitals include the Boys Town National Research Hospital, the
University of Nebraska Medical Center
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...
and the
Creighton University Medical Center
Creighton University Medical Center - Bergan Mercy (formerly known as Creighton University Medical Center-Saint Joseph Hospital) is a hospital located in Central Omaha, Nebraska in the United States. On April 24, 2012, CUMC signed an agreement to ...
. The Boys Town facility is well known for hearing-related research and treatment. The University of Nebraska Medical Center hosts the
Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases
The Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases is a research institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Dedicated in 1963, the mission of the Eppley Institute is to "Develop superior ...
, a world-renowned
cancer treatment
Cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted therapy (including immunotherapy such as monoclonal antibody therapy) and synthetic lethality, most commonly as a series of separate treatments (e.g. ...
facility named in honor of Omahan
Eugene Eppley
Eugene C. Eppley (April 8, 1884 – October 14, 1958) also known as Gene, was a hotel magnate in Omaha, Nebraska. Eppley is credited with single-handedly building one of the most successful hotel empires, by the 1950s the largest privately owned h ...
.
Transportation
![Omaha-eppley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Omaha-eppley.jpg)
Omaha's central role in the history of transportation across America earned it the nickname "Gate City of the West."
Despite
President Lincoln's decree that
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
, be the starting point for the Union Pacific Railroad, construction began from Omaha on the eastern portion of the first transcontinental railroad. By the middle of the 20th century, nearly every major railroad served Omaha.
Today, the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District celebrates this connection, along with the listing of the
Burlington Train Station and the
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
on the National Register of Historic Places. First housed in the former
Herndon House, the Union Pacific Railroad's corporate headquarters have been in Omaha since the company began. Their new headquarters, the
Union Pacific Center
The Union Pacific Center at 1400 Douglas Street is one of downtown Omaha, Nebraska's newest high-rise buildings. It houses the headquarters of the Union Pacific Railroad and its parent company, the Union Pacific Corporation. It officially opened ...
, opened in Downtown Omaha in 2004.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service through Omaha. The
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
terminal is at 1601 Jackson St. in downtown Omaha. The terminal also provides service to
Jefferson Lines
Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in the United States. Their current operations expands over 14 states throughout the Midwest.
Background
The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Mi ...
,
Burlington Trailways
Burlington Trailways is an inter-city bus company based in West Burlington, Iowa.
History
Burlington Trailways was founded in 1929 as the Burlington Transportation Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It started ...
, and
Express Arrow
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
.
Megabus Megabus may refer to:
*Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro.
*Megabus (North America)
Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...
has a stop at
Crossroads Mall – N 72nd St. between Dodge St. and Cass St. – and provides service to Des Moines, Iowa City, and Chicago.
Metro Transit, previously known as Metro Area Transit, is the
local bus system.
Omaha's position as a transportation center was finalized with the 1872 opening of the
Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge
The Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge is a rail truss bridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.
History
When the first railroad bridge on the site opened on March 27, 1872, it connected the First tr ...
that linked the transcontinental railroad to the railroads terminating in Council Bluffs. In 1888, the first road bridge, the
Douglas Street Bridge
The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through truss bridge that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 girder bridge.
History
O ...
, opened. In the 1890s, the
Illinois Central drawbridge opened as the largest bridge of its type in the world. Omaha's Missouri River road bridges are now entering their second generation, including the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
-financed
South Omaha Bridge, now called Veteran's Memorial Bridge, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2006, Omaha and Council Bluffs announced joint plans to build the
Missouri River Pedestrian Bridge, which opened in 2008.
Today, the primary mode of transportation in Omaha is by automobile, with
I-80
Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...
,
I-480 Interstate 480 may refer to:
*Interstate 480 (Nebraska–Iowa), a loop through Omaha, Nebraska into Council Bluffs, Iowa
* Interstate 480 (Ohio), a loop through Cleveland, Ohio
*Interstate 480 (California), the former Embarcadero Freeway in San Fran ...
,
I-680,
I-29
Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...
, and
U.S. Route 75
U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side ...
(JFK Freeway and North Freeway) providing
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
service across the metropolitan area. The expressway along West Dodge Road (
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
and
Nebraska Link 28B
Nebraska Link 28B (L-28B) is a connecting link (Nebraska), connecting link highway which connects U.S. Route 275 west of Omaha to U.S. Route 6 (Nebraska), U.S. Route 6 in Omaha. The highway is a long part of a freeway which stretches to Fremont, ...
) and
U.S. Route 275
U.S. Route 275 (US 275) is a north–south United States highway that is a branch of US 75. It originally terminated at US 75 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The highway's northern terminus is in O'Neill, Nebraska, at an intersection with U.S. Hig ...
has been upgraded to freeway standards from I-680 to
Fremont. City owned
Metro Transit, formerly as MAT Metro Area Transit, provides public bus service to hundreds of locations throughout the Metro.
A 2017 study by
Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
ranked Omaha 26th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities. Of the top 50 most walkable cities only one, Omaha, Nebraska, saw its
Walk Score
Walk Score, a subsidiary of Redfin, provides walkability analysis and apartment search tools. Its flagship product is a large-scale, public access walkability index that assigns a numerical walkability score to any address in the United States, U ...
decline, and it only decreased 0.3 points from last year. There is an extensive
trail system throughout the city for walkers, runners, bicyclists, and other pedestrian modes of transportation.
Omaha is laid out on a
grid plan
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
, with 12 blocks to the mile with a north-to-south
house numbering
House numbering is the system of giving a unique number to each building in a street or area, with the intention of making it easier to locate a particular building. The house number is often part of a postal address. The term describes the num ...
system. Omaha is the location of a
historic boulevard system designed by
H.W.S. Cleveland
Horace William Shaler Cleveland (December 16, 1814 – December 5, 1900) was an American landscape architect. His approach to natural landscape design can be seen in projects such as the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, Grand Rounds in Minneapolis; Slee ...
who sought to combine the beauty of parks with the pleasure of driving cars. The historic
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and Fontenelle Boulevards, as well as the modern
Sorenson Parkway Sorenson may refer to:
* Sorensen Sorensen, or Sorenson, is a surname that can be of Danish or Scandinavian origin. The basic derivation is "son of Søren", the Danish variety of the name Severin. The name almost exclusively comes from Danish or ...
, are important elements in this system. The City of Omaha has proposed the
Omaha Streetcar
The Omaha Streetcar is a proposed streetcar in Omaha, Nebraska.
History
Background
The Omaha-Council Bluffs streetcar era began operations in 1868. By 1890, the metropolitan area had of tracks — more than any city except Boston. The Omaha ...
through the city's urban core, with proposed extensions to
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
,
Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, wi ...
,
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 ...
,
West Omaha West Omaha is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska, that comprises all points within the Omaha metropolitan area
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern Un ...
, and
Bellevue, Nebraska.
Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, wi ...
, Omaha's airport, serves the region with over 5 million passengers in 2018.
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. ,
Southwest Airlines,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
,
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
,
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...
,
Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America.
Allegiant was founded in 1 ...
, and
Frontier Airlines, serve the airport with direct and connecting service. As of 2018, the airport has non-stop service to 34 destinations.
General aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
airports that serve the area include the Millard Municipal Airport,
North Omaha Airport
North Omaha Airport is a privately owned, public-use airport eight miles northwest of Omaha, in Douglas County, Nebraska.
Facilities
North Omaha Airport covers 100 acres (40 ha) at an elevation of 1,324 feet (404 m). Its one runway, 17/35 ...
and the
Council Bluffs Airport
Council Bluffs Municipal Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) east of the central business district of Council Bluffs, a city in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. It is owned by Counci ...
. Offutt Air Force Base continues to serve as a military airbase; it is at the southern edge of Bellevue, which in turn lies immediately south of Omaha.
Notable people
In popular culture
In 1939, Omaha hosted 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 Paci ...
'' and the accompanying three-day celebration drew 250,000 people. A special train from
Hollywood 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
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
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 ...
. Omaha's
Boys Town was made famous by the
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...
and
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...
movie ''
Boys Town''. Omaha has been featured in recent years 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 ...
. 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 who 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 M ...
'' 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 and suburbs of Papillion and La Vista.
The
Looney Tunes
''Looney Tunes'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series ''Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. short ''Boobs in the Woods'' featured
Porky Pig revealing that he had a license to sell hair tonic to bald eagles in Omaha, Nebraska.
Built in 1962, Omaha's
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 ...
was called
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 ...
. Its demolition in 2001 by the
Nebraska Methodist Health System
The Nebraska Methodist Health System, also known as Bestcare, is a nonprofit Nebraskan healthcare organization that was founded in 1982. Its headquarters are located at 825 S. 169th Street in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in ...
was unpopular, with objections from local historical and cultural groups and luminaries from around the world. 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 Omaha and still shows films. A recent development to the Omaha film scene was the addition of
Film Streams
Film Streams is a nonprofit arts organization in Omaha, Nebraska which oversees two cinemas: the Ruth Sokolof Theater, in North Downtown Omaha, and the historic Dundee Theater, Omaha's longest surviving neighborhood cinema. It receives funding f ...
's Ruth Sokolof Theater in North Downtown. The two-screen theater is part of the
Slowdown
A slowdown ( UK: go-slow) is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. A slowdown may be used as either a prelude or an alternative to a stri ...
facility. It features new American independents, foreign films, documentaries, classics, themed series, and director retrospectives. There are many new theaters opening in Omaha. In addition to the five
Douglas Theatres venues in Omaha, two more are opening, including
Midtown Crossing Theatres, on 32nd and Farnam Streets by the
Mutual of Omaha Building
The Mutual of Omaha Building is a 285-ft (87 m), 14-story skyscraper in midtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in 1970, it is currently the sixth tallest building in Omaha. The building houses the headquarters of Mutual of Omaha Insurance ...
.
Westroads Mall
Westroads Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets ( U.S. Route 6). It is the largest mall in Nebraska. The mall's anchor stores are The Container Store, Von Maur, JCPenney, Dick's Sport ...
has opened a new multiplex
movie theater
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
with 14 screens, operated by
Rave Motion Pictures
Rave Cinemas, formerly known as "Rave Motion Pictures", is a movie theater brand founded in 1999 and owned by Cinemark Theatres. It previously was headed by Thomas W. Stephenson, Jr., former CEO of Hollywood Theaters, and Rolando B. Rodriguez, f ...
.
[Barbe, A]
"Metro movie theaters to multiply in next two years"
, ''UNO Gateway''. November 30, 2007. Retrieved 9/26/08.
Songs about Omaha include "Omaha" by
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...
, "Omaha", by the indie rock band
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
History
Formed in the winter of 2003 at Carleton College, the band has released four albums. First came the self-released ''Tapes 'n Tapes EP'' in 2004, followed by the full-length ...
, "Omaha" by
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist M ...
, "Omaha Celebration" by
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.
He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...
, "Omaha" sung by
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
, "Greater Omaha" by
Desaparecidos
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...
, "Omaha Stylee" by
311 311 may refer to:
* 311 (number), a natural number
* AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD
* 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 311 (band), an American band
** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album
...
, "(Ready Or Not) Omaha Nebraska" by
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing vo ...
, and "Omaha" by
Toro y Moi
Chaz Bear (born Chazwick Bradley Bundick; November 7, 1986), known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s ...
Popular young adult novel ''Eleanor & Park'' by
Rainbow Rowell
Rainbow Rowell (born February 24, 1973) is an American author known for young adult and adult contemporary novels. Her young adult novels ''Eleanor & Park'' (2012), ''Fangirl'' (2013) and '' Carry On'' (2015) have been subjects of critical acclaim ...
(St. Martin's Press, 2013) takes place in Omaha.
The 1935 winner of the
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...
was named
Omaha, and after traveling the world the horse eventually retired to a farm south of the city. The horse made promotional appearances at Ak-Sar-Ben during the 1950s and following his death in 1959 was buried at the racetrack's Circle of Champions.
In the television show ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...
'', one of the show's main characters,
Penny
A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
, is from Omaha.
Omaha is also the hometown of the
Wizard in L. Frank Baum's children's novel ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...
''.
In
Breaking Bad,
Saul Goodman
James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character i ...
says in the penultimate episode that "If I'm lucky, a month from now, best case scenario, I'm managing a
Cinnabon in Omaha," and in the prequel, spin-off, and sequel,
Better Call Saul
''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
, he is manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha under the alias Gene Takavic.
Sister cities
Omaha has six
sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
:
[The History of Omaha Sister Cities Association]
." Omaha Sister Cities Association. Retrieved 12/8/08.
*
Braunschweig
Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, Germany
*
Shizuoka
Shizuoka can refer to:
* Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture
* Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture
* Shizuoka Airport
* Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture
...
, Japan
*
Šiauliai
Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Names
Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...
, Lithuania
*
Xalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
,
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, Mexico
*
Naas
Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge.
History
The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
, Ireland
*
Yantai
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
, China
*
Carlentini,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, Italy
See also
*
Benson neighborhood (Omaha, Nebraska)
Benson is a historic neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska. Now a pocket within North Omaha, Benson Place was originally platted in 1887 and was annexed into the City of Omaha in 1917. Actor Nick Nolte lived in the Benson area before moving to the Wests ...
*
Dundee-Happy Hollow Historic District
*
Florence, Nebraska
Florence is a neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, United States on the city's north end and originally one of the oldest cities in Nebraska. It was incorporated by the Nebraska Territorial Legislature on March 10, 1857. The site of Winter Quarters ...
*
Gold Coast Historic District (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Gold Coast Historic District is located in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of district ...
*
History of Omaha
The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Co ...
*
Midtown Omaha
Midtown is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska that is a culturally, socially and economically important area of the city. It is home to major research centers, national corporations, several historic districts, and a number of historic residenc ...
*
Millard, Omaha, Nebraska
Millard is a former town and current neighborhood in southwest Omaha, Nebraska; the original downtown area (often referred to as 'Old Millard') is near Millard Avenue and L Street.
History
Millard was laid out in 1870 by Ezra Millard, and named f ...
*
North Omaha, Nebraska
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 ea ...
*
Old Market (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Old Market is a neighborhood located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States, and is bordered by South 10th Street to the east, 13th Street to the west, Farnam Street to the north and Jackson Street to the South. The neighborhood has many ...
*
Omaha Coalition of Citizen Patrols Omaha Coalition of Citizen Patrols (OCCP) is a group of volunteer unarmed patrollers in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.
It was founded in 2005 and comprises 36 neighborhood patrol and watch groups such aHome Park Citizen Patrol Last year alone ther ...
*
South Omaha, Nebraska South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth, due to the rapid development of the Union S ...
Notes
References
External links
City of Omaha official websiteOmaha Convention & Visitors Bureau
{{good article
Cities in Nebraska
County seats in Nebraska
Metropolitan areas of Nebraska
Nebraska populated places on the Missouri River
Populated places established in 1854
Cities in Douglas County, Nebraska
Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States
1854 establishments in Nebraska Territory