Category Archives: Historic houses

A History of The Sherman Apartments

This is a history of one of North Omaha’s most important historical landmarks, The Sherman apartments on North 16th Street.

A History of 3467 North 42nd Street

Adam’s Note: Here’s another normal house history from North Omaha. Focused on an address where everyday North Omaha people lived, this house is similar to the other exposés I’ve written. Over more than 125 years, some of these homes have fallen apart and others were bulldozed, while the vast majority of original houses are still filling […]

A History of North Omaha’s McLain Mansion

Many of Kountze Place’s finest homes are gone now, demolished by indifferent landowners and city planners who are blind to the value of the neighborhood. One of these homes stood at 2214 Wirt Street, and it was clearly one of the biggest homes in the area. This is a short history of the address.   […]

A History of the Thomas Mansion

Built: est. 1875 Address: 958 North 27th Street Architecture: Stick Style Demolished: 1953 Many of early Omaha’s wealthy builders built their mansions and estates in North Omaha. One of them was attorney Dexter L. Thomas (1841-1919). His large house at N. 27th Avenue and Nicholas Street was a landmark for years, surely inspiring his contemporaries to […]

A History of the Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District in North Omaha

The Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District is a jewel in the crown of North Omaha history. This is a summary of its history.

Dynamic Past, Hope-filled Future: North Omaha History, Volume Three Now On Sale!

(Olympia, WA: December 1, 2016) The final book of Adam Fletcher Sasse’s series, North Omaha History: Volume Three, is now available from CommonAction Publishing. In the third book of the North Omaha History Series, Adam Fletcher Sasse reveals a lot of the hidden, denied and neglected history of one of the oldest areas of Nebraska’s largest city. Highlighting the […]

A History of North Omaha’s Burkenroad House aka Broadview Hotel aka Trimble Castle

The home at 2060 Florence Boulevard has a reputation as a mansion for the social elite; an apartment house; a brothel, a hotel and as apartments again. Here is a history of North Omaha’s Broadview Hotel.

A History of the Gold Coast Historic District in Omaha

From 1880 through the 1920s, Omaha’s new Gold Coast neighborhood was the opulent address in Omaha. Starting with Gilded Age mansions, it evolved into a mixed income neighborhood with wealthy and manager level classes.

A History of the Minne Lusa Historic District in North Omaha

“Proud, powerful and transforming.” Asked to think of words to describe the Minne Lusa neighborhood, these came to my mind immediately. I was sitting with a friend in Omaha recently, talking about the changes in North O, and they asked me what I thought of it. I easily remembered summers riding bikes up and down Minne Lusa Boulevard, going to the Viking Ship regularly, eating ice cream and buying cassette tapes at Four Aces Pawn Shop. Even as a kid, I thought the neighborhood was special, with its giant houses on the boulevard and polite houses up and down the blocks, all with an overall feeling of respectful suburbanity. The following is a short history of the neighborhood that I write out of admiration for Minne Lusa’s beauty, my memories, and the people who fill the homes today.

A History of the Miller Park Duplex Historic District in North Omaha

Immediately after World War II, there was a rush of soldiers flush with government money that allowed them to buy homes and build families right away. A lot of North Omaha finished in-filling during this period, with houses constructed in just a few months and selling a lot quicker than that. Spread across a few streets in the Miller Park neighborhood, one set of these homes created an architecturally distinct area that should be designated as a historic district and preserved quickly.

A History of the Governor Alvin Saunders Estate in North Omaha

The fine Second Italianate Renaissance Style home built by Nebraska Territory governor Alvin Saunders was located in North Omaha at 1510 Sherman Avenue / 2008 North 16th Street. Learn more about it in this article.

A History of the Bailey Residence in North Omaha

Built: 1875 estimated Address: 1504 North 19th Street Architecture: Eastlake Style Demolished: 1900 estimated When Omaha was first starting up in the 1850s and 1860s, it was built with wood. Wood-frame stores, hotels, homes and boarding houses were all over. There were some soddies, too. One of the first people to help the city move […]

A History of the John E. Reagan House in North Omaha

With the old country ties in mind, one lawyer in Omaha took it upon himself to bring some fellow Irishmen back to Omaha to stump for “Cowboy” Jim Dahlman, Omaha’s corrupt longtime mayor who was controlled by local boss Tom Dennison. Did his tireless campaigning get him a seat in the Nebraska State Legislature? Was there dirty money involved in building his palatial home?

A History of the Redick Mansion in North Omaha

The most famous mansion built in North Omaha is probably the Mayne Mansion, also known as the Redick Mansion. Clifton E. Mayne was a pioneer real estate investor and salesman in the city. In the 1870s, a farmer built a little house along Saunders Street leading north out of Omaha. He sold ten acres and his little farmhouse to Mayne in 1885.

A History of North Omaha’s Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects

Once upon a time, there was a massive public housing project located at the intersection of North 24th and Paul Streets in the Near North Side neighborhood. Originally named the “Northside Village Public Housing Project,” the name was officially changed in honor of the famous Omaha tribe leader Logan Fontenelle.