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Little Bohemia, or Bohemian Town, is a historic
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
. Starting in the 1880s, Czech immigrants settled in this highly concentrated area, also called "Praha" (Prague) or "Bohemian Town", bounded by South 10th Street on the east, South 16th Street on the west, Pierce Street on the north, and Martha Street on the south, with a commercial area went along South 13th and South 14th Streets, centered on William Street. It was located south of downtown, and directly west of
Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
. A portion of the neighborhood along South 13th Street was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2020.


History

Early Czech immigrants from Austria-Hungary found work in Omaha's
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 n ...
industry, at the American Smelting and Refining Company lead smelter north of downtown, or at the
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
shops. Institutions in the community included the Prague Hotel, built by
Gottlieb Storz Gottlieb Storz (1852–1939) was a pioneer entrepreneur in Omaha, Nebraska. Born in Benningen am Neckar, Benningen, Wurttemberg, Storz was the founder of the Storz Brewery. He was an important member of Germans in Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha's German i ...
in 1898; Sokol Auditorium, built in 1926 by one of Omaha's four Czech Sokol movements, and St. Wenceslaus Church, a Czech Catholic Church. By 1919 the community also had a general store, grocery, dry goods store, a
bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...
, a shoemaker, saloon, milliner, and doctor.Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2006) p. 6. As South Omaha's meatpacking industry grew, many Czechs moved from Bohemia Town to South Omaha, closer to their employment. Later concentrations of Czechs developed on the east side of South Omaha. The
Immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the Asian Exclusion Act and National Origins Act (), was a United States federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from every count ...
was largely responsible for ending large-scale immigration of Czechs to Omaha.


Landmarks

The Little Bohemia neighborhood has had several important landmarks.Douglas County.
''Czechs in Nebraska.'' Retrieved 9/17/07.
* Prague Hotel on the SW corner of South 13th and William Streets. * Bohemian Presbyterian Church at 1474 Hickory Street. There is a stained glass chalice above door, which is a symbol of the
Hussite file:Hussitenkriege.tif, upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century file:The Bohemian Realm during the Hussite Wars.png, upright=1.2, The Lands of the ...
movement. Czech language services ended in 1980, and today it is home to Templo Victoria and Spanish language services. * Bohemian Cafe on the SW corner of South 13th and William Streets. * Famous Disney animator
Art Babbitt Arthur Harold Babitsky (October 8, 1907 – March 4, 1992), better known as Art Babbitt, was an American animator, best known for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. He received over 80 awards as an animation director and animator, and a ...
lived at 1436 S. 13th as a child. * Tourek Engraving and Printing on South 13th Street. * Milacek and Sons Monument Company across from th
Bohemian Cemetery Omaha
on Center Street.
Bohemian Cemetery Omaha (Sometimes referred to as Bohemian National Cemetery.)
on Center Street. * Donut Stop on South 13th Street. * Tomasek Machine Shop, Inc. on South 13th Street. * Sokol Auditorium and Gymnastics Hall on the northwest corner of South 13th and Martha Streets. * Huser Printing, a Czech family printing business on South 13th Street. * Former Bohemian-American National Committee headquarters at 1211 South 13th Street. * St. Wenceslaus Church * C.F Hermanek Company Annex, a Czechoslovakian grocery store located at 1312 Williams Street


See also

*
Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska have made significant contributions to the political, social and cultural development of the city since the first immigrants arrived in 1868. About In the 1860s, many Czechs primarily from Bohemia and Moravia immigrated ...
* Czechoslovak Museum * History of Omaha


References


External links

* Kucera, V. (1976)
Czech Contributions to the Progress of Nebraska
'' University of Nebraska Press.

of Little Bohemia, from the University of Minnesota.
Bohemian Cafe
- historic Czech café run by the Kapoun family * {{coord, 41, 14, N, 95, 56, W, format=dms, display=title, type:city_region:US-NE Czech-American history Czech communities in the United States Neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska History of South Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska Ethnic enclaves in the United States Landmarks in South Omaha, Nebraska Czech-American culture in Omaha, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Nebraska