Florence Boulevard, originally known as the Prettiest Mile in Omaha Boulevard, is a
boulevard
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 ...
-type north-south street in the
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 ...
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
,
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. With the start of construction in 1892, Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in
Omaha's boulevard system 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 ...
. Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in Omaha to be fully lit with
electric lamp
An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...
s.
Today the boulevard navigates the neighborhoods of the
Near North Side including
Conestoga Place, and goes north through
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 ...
,
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
, and the southern end 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 ...
, where it merges with J.J. Pershing Drive.
About
Originally called "The Prettiest Mile in Omaha Boulevard,", it was renamed after the construction of other boulevards throughout the city. Sharing its name with the town 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 ...
located north of Omaha, both were named after Florence Kilbourn, a niece of a settler who helped organize the Florence Land Company in 1854.
Florence Boulevard was originally designed to connect the city's new
Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
with the rest of Omaha, and was designed to capture the best views of the
Missouri River valley. Florence Boulevard was popular for recreational drives, first by
carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
and
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
and later by car. Tall sycamores, attractive homes and elaborately flowered medians lined the length nearest to Miller Park, and the boulevard became known as "The Prettiest Mile". Because of its level construction and absence of
street car rail tracks intersecting it, Florence Boulevard was also called "the only suitable driveway in Omaha."
History
On October 10, 1892, the City of Omaha started building Florence Boulevard. The initial stretch of the Boulevard was constructed north from Ames Avenue to just north of Kansas Street, near the future location of Miller Park. In 1897 an existing linear road configuration along 19th and 20th Streets between Chicago and Ames was improved with landscaping and the addition of land. The
Omaha Park Commission
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 ...
took authority of the boulevard in 1897, and the strip became the south part of Florence Boulevard.
In 1912 the city spent almost $6,000 on expenses related to the maintenance of Florence Boulevard, which then commenced at North 19th and Chicago Streets, went west to 20th Street, north to Ames Avenue, and north to Miller Park. It was reported that year that Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in Omaha to be fully lit with
electric lamp
An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...
s.
Present
The boulevard remains today, although minus the park-like setting for the majority of its length. The last remainder of the landscaping remains from Fort Street north to Read Street. The City of Omaha has recently been the target of criticism over a poorly redesigned intersection along the northern section of Florence Boulevard.
"Neighbors Object to New Intersection"
WOWT. Retrieved 9/15/07. Notable sites along Florence Boulevard include King Science and Technology Magnet Center King Science and Technology Magnet Center is a district-wide magnet school middle school of the Omaha Public Schools system in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The school was constructed in 1969 and opened in 1973 in predominantly black North Omaha ...
and 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 ti ...
.
See also
* Boulevards in Omaha
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 ...
* 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 C ...
References
External links
"A History of the Florence Boulevard in North Omaha"
by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com.
"1900 photograph"
"Nebraska Memories" website, State of Nebraska. Retrieved 9/15/07.
"The prettiest mile in Omaha Boulevard, Omaha, Neb."
Postcard from Nebraska Memories website. Retrieved 4/28/15.
{{OmahaBlvd
Streets in Omaha, Nebraska