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 National Historic Landmarks, indicating their varying level of importance to the city, state and nation.
The following list includes individual properties, as well as historic districts and National Historic Landmarks in Omaha, in the U.S. state of Nebraska. Residential, commercial, religious, educational, agricultural and socially significant locations are included.
Landmark preservation in Omaha Omaha has sought to preserve its historic landmarks for more than 50 years. The first city report on historical sites written in 1959,(1959) Historical Sites in Douglas County, Nebraska. City of Omaha Planning Department and the first buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in the 1960s. The demolition of the Old Post Office in 1966, along with the Old City Hall the next year, were rallying points for preservationists in the city. Omaha developed a comprehensive plan for landmark preservation in 1980.Becker, H.W. (1982) A Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha. Nebraska State Historical Society.
Some years, the demands of changing business in Downtown Omaha have overridden the desires of preservationists to maintain historic structures. In 1989, all 24 buildings of the area's "Jobbers Canyon" were demolished, representing the highest number of buildings lost at one time that were listed on the National Register of Historic Places to date.Gratz, R.B. (1996) Living City: How America's Cities Are Being Revitalized by Thinking Small in a Big Way, John Wiley and Sons. p. V.National Trust for Historic Preservation and Zagars, J. (1997) Preservation Yellow Pages: The Complete Information Source for Homeowners, Communities, and Professionals, John Wiley and Sons. p.80. The Christian Specht Building is the only extant building with a cast-iron facade known in Nebraska today, and one of the few built in the state.(nd) Christian Specht Building
The Burlington Train Station, also a downtown historic landmark, sat empty for more than thirty years and was stripped of much of its historical grandeur. In 2006 a group of developers began renovating the building for mixed-use, which will include residential condos. Not all of the buildings lost are deemed significant; the Omaha Auditorium, designed by noted and prolific local architect John Latenser, Sr., was almost universally panned for its gaudy and half-completed construction."Omaha Auditorium", Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 3/26/08.
In North Omaha, the historic Strehlow Terrace apartments have been renamed "Chambers Court" in honor of locally renowned Nebraska Legislator Ernie Chambers. Fort Omaha, an Indian War-era supply depot for the United States Army, has been re-purposed as a local community college.(n.d.) Fort Omaha HistoricOmaha.Com
In April 2001 the Nebraska Methodist Health System purchased the Indian Hills Theater on West Dodge Road and. In June it announced plans to demolish the theater and replace it with a parking lot. Indian Hills was the last drum-shaped, three-projector Cinerama theater in the United States. Despite grassroots formation of the Indian Hills Preservation Society, letters of support from Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Kirk Douglas, and the unanimous vote of the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission finding that the theater should be declared a Landmark of the City of Omaha, in August 2001 the building was demolished.Foster, M. (2001) "Curtain closes on Omaha Theater", National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 8/30/07.
City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission
The first comprehensive preservation ordinance in Nebraska was adopted by the Omaha City Council in 1977."Planning," City of Omaha. Retrieved 9/22/07. The commission was created after the demolition of the Old Post Office, when the pro-preservation organization Landmarks, Inc. advocated its creation."About" Landmarks, Inc. Retrieved 9/22/07.
As of 2007, more than 90 buildings and structures in Omaha have received federal historic preservation tax incentives, and have been listed by the City of Omaha as Certified Historic Rehabs."Certified Historic Rehabs in Omaha" . City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 8/30/07.
National recognition Many historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects in Omaha have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Three have been designated as National Historic Landmarks by the United States Secretary of the Interior for their historical significance. However, no Omaha Landmarks have been designated National Historic Landmarks, and many have not been listed on the National Historic Register.
Landmarks in Omaha