North Omaha has been home to parks since Omaha was founded in 1854, including its first-ever. Since then, dozens of these green spaces, respites and recreation places have been in neighborhoods, provided play space, fishing holes, physical fitness opportunities, and much more. This is a history of parks in North Omaha.
Adam’s Note: As with my entire website, this article about North Omaha’s parks history includes everywhere north of Dodge Street and east of North 72nd Street; west of the Missouri River and south of the Washington County line.
The History of Parks in North Omaha
North Omaha has 60 public parks that include broad vistas, curving paths, and beautiful landscape features including lagoons and rows of trees. There are also small pocket parks in neighborhoods throughout the community, and huge regional parks. The major parks in North Omaha include Hummel, Dodge, Benson, Fontenelle, Adams, Miller and Levi Carter.
The oldest park in Omaha was laid out in North Omaha in 1846. There are more than 2,000 acres of parks throughout the community today. There are more than 60 play structures throughout North Omaha’s parks right now, and more than 1,000 miles of trails. I have identified 14 historic parks that are more than 100 years old, and six historic pavilions that were built more than a century ago.
The oldest parks in North Omaha are the Florence Park (1846), North Market Square Park (1846), Jefferson Square Park (1854-1969), Bemis Park (1891), Miller Park (1891) and Fontenelle Park (1892).
Some Historic Parks
With sixty parks located north of Dodge and east of 72nd, its important to acknowledge they cover almost all of the community. Some neighborhoods are underserved, and others have plenty of parks. Some of the parks in North Omaha include Florence Park, North Market Square, aka Filmore Park, Miller Park, Bemis Park, Gallagher Park, Kountze Park, Mercer Park, Levi Carter Park, Bluff View Park, Dodge Park, Hummel Park, and many others. The following details identify some of these parks.
1. Adams Park
Created in 1960, this 60-acre park at 3121 Bedford Avenue includes a playground, picnic area, an overlook, paths, restrooms, and open space. Originally planned in the 1930s, it sits next to the birthsite of Malcolm X, has an MUD pumping station on the site, hosts the only public swimming pool in the community, and is the site of a former dump. There are ball fields, tennis courts and an outdoor tournament-quality basketball complex with glass backboards, scoreboards and fan seating. This is a major park in North Omaha. It includes the 1931 Bedford Avenue Pumping Station, a historic public utilities building. Read my article about the history of Adams Park.
2. Bedford Place Park
A pocket park at 2812 Pinkney Street, there is less than an acre here. A paved trail goes through the park, and there is green space here. It was fixed up in 2010 for the Bedford Place neighborhood.
3. Benson Park
The Benson Park at 7002 Military Avenue was established by 1908 at North 72nd and Military Avenue bordering Ames Avenue. With a playground, football and soccer fields, horseshoe pits, basketball and tennis courts, fishing, and walking paths, it also has an indoor ice rink, a lagoon, a history pavilion, and a golf course. This is a major park in North Omaha.
4. Benson Lions Park
This park at 2005 North 66th Street has two acres with a playground and ball field and serves the surrounding neighborhood. It was established by 1978.
5. Binney / Wirt / Spencer Park
This pocket park at 1812 Wirt Street has less than an acre and includes a picnic area, play structure and green space.
6. Bluff View Park
With less than two acres, this park is at 1920 Carter Boulevard. It has a fascinating history, stemming back to the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition when a larger park was supposed to be dedicated near North 16th and Locust. This land was designated later as a placeholder, but never developed into a park and devoid any designation. There are houses strangely close, too. Today it includes picnic space and green space.
7. Bowling Green Park
Located at 7065 Blondo Street, Bowling Green Park includes seven acres with a playground, ball field, basketball court, football field and walking trails.
8. Boyd Park
The location of Omaha Central High School’s baseball field at 4201 North 16th Street, this park is named for an Omaha mayor and is located in the Sherman/Levi Carter neighborhood.
9. Carol Gast Memorial Park
3501 Ames Avenue — Located next to Butler Gast YMCA.
10. Clarkson Park
Located at 124 North 42nd Street, this is a pocket park with less than an acre that includes a playground, flowers and a picnic area with shelters.
11. Colonial Acres Park
A 12 acre park located at 4665 Willit Street, this is an undeveloped neighborhood space with trees.
12. Conestoga Park
This is a pocket park at 2500 Florence Boulevard with flowers and green space.
13. Country Club Manor Park
A three acre neighborhood park, this park at 6606 N 65th Avenue includes open space, a playground, walking paths, and a picnic area.
14. Craig’s Park
This park is leased from MUD by the City of Omaha and is at 2606 Craig Street to serve the Florence neighborhood. It includes a play structure and a baseball field.
15. Crown Point Park
Located at 4404 Laurel Street, this is a two acre park that includes a basketball court, playground, paths and picnic areas with shelters, as well as open space.
16. Cuming Corner Park
A pocket park on less than an acre, the Cuming Corner Park is at 4520 Cuming Street and includes a path, flowers and open space.
17. Dodge Park
With 445 acres along the Missouri River at 11001 John J. Pershing Drive, Dodge Park includes fishing, water skiing and boating on the Missouri River, as well as hiking, baseball fields, soccer fields, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, a picnic area, pavilions, historical monuments and a campground. This is a major regional park serving all of Omaha that falls into various states of disrepair according to the City leadership’s perceptions of its usage.
18. Erskine Park
Located on 4.4 acres at 3717 Erskine Street, this park includes a playground, basketball court, tennis court, paths and open space.
19. Florence Park
Easily the oldest park in Omaha, the Florence Park is at 3015 State Street. This is the original 1846 town square designated for the Mormon settlers of Winter Quarters. For more than 160 since, its been entertaining residents of the surrounding Florence neighborhood. It was the site of the landmark Mormon Tree for more than a century, too. This park is 2.6 acres and includes a playground, walking paths, a historical monument and a shelter area. Read my article about a one-time landmark in Florence Park called the the Mormon Tree.
20. Fontenelle Park
Established in 1893, Fontenelle Park is at 4575 Ames Avenue and currently has 108 acres with a lagoon, playground and paths, basketball courts, tennis courts, football fields, and a nine-hole golf course. It almost became the site of Omaha’s municipal baseball stadium in the 1930s. It was originally designed by famed landscape architect H.W.W. Cleveland in 1891 and is included in the Omaha Park and Boulevard System, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. This is a major park in North Omaha. Read my article about the history of Fontenelle Park.
21. Forest Lawn Park
A pocket park at North 36th Street and Forest Lawn Avenue with less than an acre, the Forest Lawn Park includes a play structure and open space.
22. Franklin Park
Located at 1703 North 32nd Street on one house lot, this park includes a playground, walking path and green space.
23. Freedom Park
A United States Naval Museum, the Freedom Park at 2497 Freedom Park Road is located on the Missouri River. It is home to the USS Marlin SST-2 Submarine and the USS Hazard AM-240 Minesweeper, the Anchor and Propeller Garden, shipboard rocket launchers and a Douglas A-4D Skyhawk Jet Fighter and other aircraft.
24. Gallagher Park
Located at 2936 North 52nd Street, this park includes 18 acres with a playground, ball fields, a swimming pool and a historical monument to the former Krug Park, which was located on this site from 1895 to 1940. It was the site of a roller coaster disaster in 1930 that killed four people, the worst in the nation at that time.
25. Grace Young Park
With 2.4 acres at 6317 Military Avenue, this park includes a playground, ball field and basketball court.
26. Graham Triangle Park
In 1944, the Florence Field Improvement Club donated a plot of land to the City of Omaha as a park in memory of Captain William H. Graham, a staff member at the Omaha World-Herald and a resident of the neighboring Florence Field neighborhood. Graham was killed in an airplane crash in the South Pacific during World War II. When the club dissolved in 1953, they gave $120.53 left over from fundraising for the Graham Triangle Park to the Children’s Memorial Hospital. Located at Martin Avenue and Reed Streets, the park at 3015 Martin Avenue has less than an acre and is an undeveloped green space.
27. Himebaugh Park
The Himebaugh Park is located at 2758 Ellison Avenue on an acre, and is an undeveloped neighborhood green space.
28. Hummel Park
With almost 200 acres, Hummel Park at 11808 John J. Pershing Drive is a regional destination with a playground, disc golf course, hiking trails, a scenic overlook, picnic areas, restrooms, horseshoe pits, a learning facility, and open space. There are also 1930s construction projects by the Works Progress Administration throughout the park as well as historical monuments to historic fur trading installations once nearby. This is a major park in North Omaha. Read my article about the history of Hummel Park.
29. Jefferson Square Park
Located at North 16th and Cass Streets, this was the original park on the City of Omaha plat from 1846. It was underdevelopment for more than 50 years, and even after that the park was constantly threatened with redevelopment by an unappreciative Omaha City Council that didn’t see its value. After hosting a public bathhouse starting in the 1920s, it became known as “Hobo Park” for its homeless denizens, and in 1969 it was bulldozed to make room for Interstate 480. Today there is no sign the park was ever there, and almost all of the surrounding neighborhood has been redeveloped. Read my article on the history of Jefferson Square Park.
30. Jerry Parks Youth Football Complex
Located at North 16th and Cornish Boulevard, this sports facility includes two football fields.
31. Kellom Greenbelt Park
Located at 1915 Charles Street, the Kellom Greenbelt Park was built on the site of the Kellom Public Housing Projects, which were demolished around the 1980s. This was a neighborhood park with a play structure, picnic areas and walking paths that has been demolished and redeveloped.
32. Kountze Park
Located at 1920 Pinkney Street in the historic Kountze Place neighborhood, this is a 10 acre park including a playground, ball field, basketball courts, tennis courts, a community center, shelter area and restrooms. In the 1970s there was an active movement to rename this park in memory of North Omaha native Malcolm X, slain a decade earlier. As the location of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition, there are historic markers there for it and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Read my article about the history of Kountze Park.
33. Levi Carter Park
With 523 acres, the Levi Carter Park at 3100 Abbott Drive is home to Carter Lake and has opportunities for water skiing, fishing and boating. The park has a sprayground, playground, baseball field, football fields, basketball courts, fishing, a marina, waterskiing, walking paths, picnic areas with shelters, restrooms, a pavilion, sand volleyball and open spaces. As of 2024, there is a massive redevelopment project planned for the entire park to ensure its future as a regional park. Today, there are buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and history markers, too. The City of Omaha plans a history trail throughout the park, too. This is a major park in North Omaha. Read my biography of Levi Carter.
34. Logan Fontenelle Park
This is a five acre park at 1501 North 21st Street commemorating the former location of the Logan Fontenelle Public Housing Projects. It includes a soccer field, paved walking paths and a playground.
35. Memorial Park
Located at 6005 Underwood Avenue, the Memorial Park has 67 acres, with historic monuments, a playground, walking paths, trails, flowers and open space. The centerpiece is a historic veterans monument.
36. Mercer Park
Located at 3808 Lincoln Boulevard in the Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District, the Bemis Park is a 1.8 acre with walking paths, a picnic shelter, greenspace, and a soccer field. It was originally developed in the 1880s for the neighboring houses, and was considered a fine jewel of the city’s parks system. It was designed by famed landscape architect H.W.W. Cleveland in 1891 and is included in the Omaha Park and Boulevard System, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.
37. Miami Park
Almost an acre, this park includes a playground, walking paths, a picnic area and open space, as well as a multi-purpose court. Serving the Clifton Hills neighborhood, its located at 4243 Miami Street.
38. Miller Park
Created in 1891, this 78 acre park is located at 6201 North 30th Street. Originally a wild prairie, in the 1870s it was cultivated into a corn field and stayed that way for 20 years. Then in the early 1890s it was developed into a park. In 1897 it was considered as a potential site for the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, and for a time had bridges from that event relocated there. It includes a lake, an artesian well fountain, a golf course, trails, picnic areas, a pavilion, a playground, baseball fields and soccer fields. It was originally designed by famed landscape architect H.W.W. Cleveland in 1891 and is included in the Omaha Park and Boulevard System, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. This is a major park in North Omaha. Read my history of Miller Park.
39. Myott Park
The Myott Park is a five acre park that includes a playground, ballfield, basketball courts, and a tennis court. It was built in conjunction with a former apartment complex next to it and sat underdeveloped for decades as the complex languished. When that was demolished, the park was rehabilitated and is now utilized by the surrounding neighborhoods. It is located at 5151 Mary Plaza.
40. North Market Square Park
Located at 2818 Bondesson Street in Florence, the North Market Square was established when the town of Winter Quarters was laid out in 1846. For more than 70 years, this was called Filmore Park. However, in the late 2010s it was changed to today’s North Market Square Park in honor of its history. There are almost two acres of land with a playground, a tennis court and open space, and it sits next to the Florence Community Center and Florence Library.
41. Raven Oaks Park
Located at 7901 Raven Oaks Drive, this park was built for the surrounding neighborhood when it was developed.
42. Storz Rugby Complex
This is an 18 acre sports facility with five complete fields. Built on land reclaimed from swamps that used to fill the area, it was completed in the 1990s. Its located near North 16th Street and Storz Expressway, immediately west of Florence Boulevard.
Community Centers in North Omaha
There are several community centers operated by the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Departments. They include the A.V. Sorensen Community Center at 4808 Cass Street, built in the 1970s.
The Adams Community Center at 3230 John Creighton Boulevard was built in 1975. Today, it has meeting rooms, a senior center, a workout facility, and a gymnasium.
Located in the 1915 Benson City Hall and fire station, the present-day Benson Community Center was located in the building at 6008 Maple Street in 1923.
The Florence Community Center is at 2920 Bondesson Street. It moved there in 1973 after it was located in the Florence Building at North 30th and Clay Street for more than 50 years.
The Sherman Community Center is at 5701 North 16th Street. It was opened in 1977, and as of 2024 is only operated sporadically. The Levi Carter / Sherman Neighborhood Association doesn’t have access to use the space, and a private nonprofit gardening organization uses the outdoors space for its neighborhood operations.
Other Park-Related Sites
There are several parks-related sites in North Omaha. Perhaps the most major is the Omaha Boulevards System, conceptualized in conjunction with the Omaha parks system to provide a park-like driving experience throughout the city including more than a dozen trips north of Dodge Street. Read my article about the history of the boulevard system.
The J.J. Pershing Monument was installed in 1940 at 8200 J.J. Pershing Drive in honor of a World War I general. Its located across from the historic Florence Water Works and includes a monument and parking area along the North Omaha Trail, which is for walking, running and bicycling along the Missouri River. Another park-like place in North Omaha is Belvedere Point at 3275 Belvedere Boulevard. Possibly the site of a visit by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, it has been maintained with a bench and viewing clearance by the City of Omaha for several decades.
North Omaha has private parks, too. The Danish Vennelyst Park is one instance of this. Opened in 1934, its located at 9100 North 31st Street and is privately owned and operated today. Read my article about the history of Vennelyst Park. Also located in Florence, the Florence History Garden at 8515 North 30th Street is lovingly maintained by the Florence Historical Society.
The Neale Woods Nature Center includes 554 acres of floodplain, forests, and restored prairie in the Ponca Hills.
Trails in North Omaha
In the last 20 years, trails have been emerging throughout the North Omaha community. The North Omaha Trail was a project led by the Spark and Fabric Lab with funding coming from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District and private philanthropy. Located from North 24th and Ohio Streets to North 30th and Ames Avenue, the project included several miles of new trail and the planting of 150 trees along the pathway.
A new trail called the Belt Line Trail has been designed and funded by the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District and philanthropists. Extending from Hamilton and Military Avenue to North 30th and Taylor Street, the trail will feature historic plaques and other cultural effects along the route.
Running the distance of a proposed River Drive from the 1920s, the North Riverfront Trail extends from Miller’s Landing by the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge to the Gallup Campus, then north from East Locust Street and Abbott Drive north along Carter Lake to Dodge Park, to the Washington County line and beyond. Ultimately, the entire trail goes from South Omaha to the Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge.
Other trails north of Dodge Street include the Blondo Street Trail, the Sorenson Parkway Trail and the Boulevard Trail near Dundee. The Military Road touches the community, too.
Demolishing Historic Parks and More
Unfortunately, some North Omaha parks have been lost to redevelopment. These include South Market Square near North 29th and King Streets in Florence. It was platted for Winter Quarters in 1846, and today is fully covered by houses. The Pries Lake was opened in 1879 near Oakridge Drive and JJ Pershing Drive, and today is privately owned land without a lake. The Florence Lake, located near the present-day intersection of Himebaugh Avenue and Storz Expressway, was drained in 1920 and is completely covered by private factories.
Two areas that were supposed to stay publicly owned were the Ferry Reserve and the Mormon Reserve in Florence, and today both of them are held by private owners. The Ferry Reserve was the landing zone for the Missouri River ferry at Florence, and the Mormon Reserve was “left-over” land that belonged to the settlers of Winter Quarters.
One of the most random losses in Omaha history are the former bicycle racing tracks. In 1887, the Omaha Bicycling Club was responsible for expanding Athletic Park at North 20th and Lake Streets to include a bicycle racing track. It was demolished and replaced by the Charles Street Bicycle Track at North 18th and Charles Street. Both of these were gone by 1900.
Of course, the most egregious loss of parks north of Dodge Street might be Jefferson Square Park, originally laid out in 1856 when Omaha was established and mercilessly demolished in 1969. Another was the short-lived JFK Community Center located at North 24th and Ames Avenue. Originally operated as a private facility, it was taken over by the City of Omaha and closed in the early 1970s.
Recognizing the History of Parks
In 2013, the National Parks System listed the Omaha Parks and Boulevard System on the National Register of Historic Places. Highlighting a dozen parks originally designed by Horace Cleveland in 1891, the listing includes several North Omaha parks including Bemis, Miller, and Fontenelle Parks. There are also pavilions in Miller Park, Benson Park and Fontenelle Park in that listing. The Great Depression-era Levi Carter Lake Pavilion, originally a bathhouse, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places separately.
As of January 2024, there are more than 60 parks in North Omaha covering more than 2,000 acres. They include large regional parks, small neighborhood parks and everything in-between. The history of the parks is recognized by the City of Omaha, and the Parks and Recreation Department has done work to preserve and share the history of these public places. There are historic markers in several parks, including Kountze Place, Levi Carter Park,
Let’s make sure this happens into the future!
You Might Like…
MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF PARKS IN NORTH OMAHA
PARKS: Adams Park | Miller Park | Fontenelle Park | Kountze Park aka Malcolm X Park | Hummel Park | Levi Carter Park | Jefferson Square Park
PRIVATE PARKS: Danish Vennelyst Park | Omaha Driving Park | Charles Street Bicycle Park | Omaha Rod and Gun Club | Carter Lake Club
AMUSEMENT PARKS: Kiddieland and the Pleasure Pier | Lakeview Amusement Park | Cortland Beach | Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition
RELATED: Kellom Pool | Omaha Municipal Beach | CCC Camp | Ames Avenue Bridge
BASICS OF NORTH OMAHA HISTORY
Intro: Part 1: Before 1885 | Part 2: 1885-1945 | Timeline
People: People | Leaders | Native Americans | African Americans | Jews | Scandinavians | Italians | Chinese | Hungarians
Places: Oldest Places | Hospitals | Schools | Parks | Streets | Houses | Apartments | Neighborhoods | Bakeries | Industries | Restaurants | Churches | Oldest Houses | Higher Education | Boulevards | Railroads | Banks | Theaters |
Events: Native Omaha Days | Stone Soul Picnic | Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition | Greater Omaha Exposition | Congress of White and Black Americans | Harlem Renaissance | Riots
Related Topics: Focus Areas | National Register of Historic Places | Architecture | Museums | Markers | Historic Sites | History Facts | Presentations | History Map
Omaha Topics: Black History | Racism | Bombings | Police Brutality | Black Business | Black Heritage Sites | Redlining
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Order A Beginner’s Guide to North Omaha History here »
Elsewhere Online
- “Omaha Park and Boulevard System” article on the National Park Service website
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