The Old Market is a neighborhood located in

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Omaha 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 ...

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, 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 restaurants, art galleries and upscale shopping. The area retains its brick paved streets from the turn of the 20th century, horse-drawn carriages, and covered sidewalks in some areas. It is not uncommon to see a variety of

street performers Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

, artists, and other vendors.

Historic designation

The area is 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 ...

as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

, and borders the former site of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District, as well as the extant

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, downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Today this Historic districts in the United State ...

and the Warehouses in Omaha MPS. There is a walking tour of historic buildings available from the

Omaha Chamber of Commerce Omaha ( ) is the 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 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popul ...

. There are also several specifically noted historic buildings within the district.

Historic buildings

Buildings within the Old Market have served a variety of purposes, and were built during various eras. Originally built to sell groceries wholesale and retail to the city of Omaha and beyond, the Old Market district was preceded by the

Market House A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...

in Omaha's Jefferson Square. The Old Market district was formed when the Market House still stood. The buildings and businesses included: *P. E. Iler Block, a contributing property to the district. Built in 1901, the six-story building was originally built as a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

. A 1990 rehabilitation converted the building into retail and office space. *The Windsor Hotel is a three-story brick building built in 1885. The building was converted into rental residential and commercial space, in 1985. The Broatch Building was built in 1880, and expanded in 1887. *The McClure-Smith Building is a two-story brick building that was built around 1878. Originally a steam bakery, a 1985 rehabilitation converted the building to office and retail space. *The A. I. Root Building is a three-story brick building constructed, in 1904, as offices. The building was doubled in size by the addition of an equal-size portion, in 1909. In 1993, it was converted to retail and residential spaces. *The Morse-Coe Shoe Company, now known as the Mayfield Apartments, was built as a five-story warehouse and light industrial building, in 1894. A 2002 rehabilitation converted the structure to a mixed-use of apartments, retail space and parking. The George H. Lee Building was built, in 1903, as warehouse and office space.

Construction

Most of the buildings in the Old Market are brick, and the streets throughout are covered with bricked surfaces, cobblestone and asphalt. There were also cast-iron fronts, metal cornices, stone trim, and metal sidewalk coverings shelters attached to many of the buildings around the turn of the 20th century.

Building details

Redevelopment

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, ...

relocated their headquarters to neighbor the Old Market in 1991, after a contentious battle with local advocates after the City of Omaha demolished the Jobbers Canyon Historic District. On October 1, 2015, ConAgra announced that it would cut about 1,500 jobs and relocate its headquarters to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

as part of a restructuring plan.

2016 Old Market explosion

On January 9, 2016, at 2:51 pm local time, a large explosion occurred at M's Pub on the northwest corner of 11th and Howard streets causing a large fire to break out. The fire and subsequent efforts to extinguish it caused a total loss of the 100-year-old building as firefighters worked through the night and following morning. Temperatures at the time were in the sub-zero range causing large-scale freezing of the water from the fire fighting efforts. The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gas line that was accidentally ruptured by contractors on behalf of Verizon installing fiber-optic cables. Although several people were injured during the explosion, there were no fatalities. Eyewitnesses reported injuries sustained by multiple people within the immediate vicinity of the explosion, although these were not broadcast by local media outlets.

Image gallery

References

External links

Official website for the Old Market in Omaha
{{NRHP Omaha Tourist attractions in Omaha, Nebraska History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska Neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska Omaha landmarks Restaurant districts and streets in the United States Busking venues Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska