Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska , the north end of Omaha, is defined by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and political diversity among its residents. The neighborhood's culture is largely influenced by its predominantly African American community.
Culture in North Omaha, Nebraska , the north end of Omaha, is defined by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and political diversity among its residents. The neighborhood's culture is largely influenced by its predominantly African American community.
North Omaha is home to several important annual events that help define and celebrate the community, its history, and its future. Native Omaha Days is a biennial North Omaha cultural tradition, reuniting members of the city's African-American community. The Days are commemorated with a variety of events, including the Evergreen Reunion, named after the town in Alabama from where many families' ancestors migrated. [1]
Other annual activities include the Juneteenth Parade, the Fort Omaha Intertribal Powwow, Omaha Blues, Jazz, & Gospel Festival, Florence Days, and the Omaha North High School Homecoming, including a parade for the community. The Stone Soul Picnic is also an important event.
North Omaha is the location of dozens of historically and currently important cultural institutions. They include the Fair Deal Cafe, which was called the "Black City Hall" for more than 50 years. [2] John Beasley Theater is located in the Lake Point Building at 2401 Lake St. Suite 130. It is named after native Omaha actor John Beasley. The Theater's mission is, "To provide new educational opportunities for residents to experience and develop their interests and talents in theater, dance, music, poetry and writing." [3]
North Omaha is proud of its history as an important jazz community. Dreamland Plaza is located at 24th and Lizzie Robinson Streets, adjacent to the Dreamland Ballroom. Dreamland was the premier nightclub for jazz, blues and big band music in Omaha from the 1920s through the 1960s. The site of a recent $2 million investment by the city, it is now home to cultural activities throughout the year. [4] The Dreamland Historical Project is set on restoring North Omaha as a jazz center. [5] The Love’s Jazz and Art Center, located at 2510 North 24th Street, is a non-profit dedicated to showcasing, collection, documentation, preservation, study and the dissemination of the history and culture of African Americans in the arts. It is named after Omaha jazz legend Preston Love, a band leader and one-time saxophonist with Count Basie. [6] Other influential figures on North Omaha's early scene included Lloyd Hunter, Anna Mae Winburn and her International Sweethearts of Rhythm trombonist, Helen Jones Woods. The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame was established in 2005 to celebrate this legacy.
Formed by Bertha Calloway in the 1960s, the Negro Historical Society opened the Great Plains Black History Museum in North Omaha in 1976. The Museum is located at 2213 Lake Street, and is home to Omaha's only African-American history collection.
The Diamond Moving Picture Theater, located at 24th and Lake, was flattened by the Easter Sunday tornado of 1913. [7] After the tornado rumors circulated that hundreds had died inside the building; that proved to be untrue, as all patrons had escaped. [8] However, the resulting collection of rescuers in that location served useful, as the majority of the dead were in that vicinity. [9]
The Beacon Theater was located at 2910 Ames Avenue and was demolished in the early 1970s. [10] The Corby Theatre at 2805 North 16th Street, [11] the Lothrop Theatre at 3212 North 24th Street, [12] the Circle Theatre at 524 North 33rd Street [13] and the North Star Theatre at 2413 Ames Avenue [14] opened in the 1930s. The Minne Lusa Theater was opened on North 30th Street in the Minne Lusa neighborhood in the 1930s, too. All of these theaters closed in the 1950s and some were demolished. The Cass Theatre at 500 North 16th Street was opened in the 1940s and closed in the 1950s, as well. [15]
From its start in the late 19th century, near North Omaha was the location of a mixed European immigrant community that also became a center for the African-American community. The Jewish community in the area was rich, with several synagogues the provided social and cultural activities. Similarly, Catholic parishes in the area welcomed Irish and German immigrants. [16] Far North Omaha, near Florence, was home to an almost exclusively Scandinavian immigrant community. With a variety of churches and social clubs, this neighborhood was a cultural center for many of North Omaha's working class and middle class whites. Los of industrial jobs in the late 1950s and 1960s accelerated changes in the neighborhood. It became predominantly African American and many people have suffered from unemployment.
North Omaha has long been the location of a thriving community of African Americans. Early arrivals came mostly after Reconstruction, but the greatest number of migrants came after 1910. Blacks have contributed extensively to the economic, political and moral compass of Omaha. While struggling with racial tension, many African Americans have become involved in the civil rights movement.
In the late 19th century near North Omaha, closer to the downtown core, was home to many working class, middle class, and upper class WASP and Jewish families. Numerous churches, synagogues, social and civic clubs, and other cultural activities from that time continue to this day, despite the expansion of population gravitating to West Omaha in several waves of suburbanization. For instance, the City of Omaha noted in a landmark designation that Calvin Memorial Presbyterian Church, "... reflects the change of North Omaha from an affluent white suburb to a black inner city neighborhood and the manner in which many area churches were established, changed ownership and merged." [17] Some churches and residential areas demonstrated racial discrimination. A 1966 documentary examining efforts in Omaha to change segregation was A Time for Burning .
North Omaha's working class, middle class, and upper class white history is evidenced in the architecture of many neighborhoods, several notable mansions, progressive apartment building designs, and other churches or former synagogues spread throughout the area. This is especially evident in the Kountze Place neighborhood, which is recognized as an area of historical importance for its architecture.
Omaha is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 10 mi (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city, Omaha's 2020 census population was 486,051.
The Music of Nebraska has included a variety of country, jazz, blues, ragtime, rock and alternative rock musicians. Several towns across the state have active musical venues, with several communities having a particularly important musical legacy.
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
North Omaha, Nebraska has a recorded history spanning over 200 years, pre-dating the rest of Omaha, encompassing wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change. North Omaha has roots back to 1812 and the founding of Fort Lisa. It includes the Mormon settlement of Cutler's Park and Winter Quarters in 1846, a lynching before the turn of the twentieth century, the thriving 24th Street community of the 1920s, the bustling development of its African-American community through the 1950s, a series of riots in the 1960s, and redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st century.
Significant events in the history of North Omaha, Nebraska include the Pawnee, Otoe and Sioux nations; the African American community; Irish, Czech, and other European immigrants, and; several other populations. Several important settlements and towns were built in the area, as well as important social events that shaped the future of Omaha and the history of the nation. The timeline of North Omaha history extends to present, including recent controversy over schools.
The history of Omaha, Nebraska, began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. When it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree Ferry to bring settlers from Council Bluffs to Omaha. A treaty with the Omaha Tribe allowed the creation of the Nebraska Territory, and Omaha City was founded on July 4, 1854. With early settlement came claim jumpers and squatters, and the formation of a vigilante law group called the Omaha Claim Club, which was one of many claim clubs across the Midwest. During this period many of the city's founding fathers received lots in Scriptown, which was made possible by the actions of the Omaha Claim Club. The club's violent actions were challenged successfully in a case ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Baker v. Morton, which led to the end of the organization.
The neighborhoods of Omaha are a diverse collection of community areas and specific enclaves. They are spread throughout the Omaha metro area, and are all on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River.
The Jewell Building is a city landmark in North Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1923, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 2221 North 24th Street, the building was home to the Dreamland Ballroom for more than 40 years, and featured performances by many touring jazz and blues legends, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lionel Hampton.
The George and Sarah Joslyn Home, is a mansion located at 3902 Davenport Street in the Gold Coast Historic District of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in the Scottish Baronial style in 1903, the Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was designated as an Omaha landmark in 1979.
The Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. Situated from Cuming Street to Hawthorne Avenue, Glenwood Avenue to 33rd Street, Bemis Park was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and developed from 1889-1922. The district was designated an Omaha Landmark in 1983.
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area. It is bordered by Cuming Street on the south, 30th on the west, 16th on the east, and Locust Street to the north.
The Kountze Place neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community on the city's north end. Today the neighborhood is home to several buildings and homes listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located between North 16th Avenue on the east to North 30th Street on the west; Locust Street on the south to Pratt Street on the north. Kountze Place was annexed into Omaha in 1887. The neighborhood was built as a suburban middle and upper middle class enclave for doctors, lawyers, successful businessmen and other professional workers.
The Miller Park neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska is a historically significant community housing a historic district and several notable historic places. It is located between Sorenson Parkway on the south and Redick Avenue on the north, Florence Boulevard on the east and 30th Street on the west. The Minne Lusa neighborhood borders on the north, and the Saratoga neighborhood is on the south. Fort Omaha borders the neighborhood on the west. Miller Park is the namesake park in the neighborhood, as well as the Miller Park Elementary School. In 2017, the Miller Park/Minne Lusa area was ranked as having the 2nd highest rate of homicides and other violent crimes out of 81 Omaha neighborhoods.
The culture of Omaha, Nebraska, has been partially defined by music and college sports, and by local cuisine and community theatre. The city has a long history of improving and expanding on its cultural offerings. In the 1920s, the Omaha Bee newspaper wrote, "The cultural future of Omaha seems as certain of greatness as the commercial future... The symphony orchestra, the Art institute, the Community Playhouse and other organizations are on firm foundations and Omaha is destined to be not only a bigger, but a better city, both financially and culturally." Reviewing Omaha's contemporary arts scene in 2007, the New York Times hailed the city as having "a kind of cultural awakening".
The Minne Lusa Residential Historic District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is included on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the National Park Service, it is an "example of a substantial, affordable single-family residential development within the city limits that was platted, developed and constructed by a single firm between 1915 and 1941." The neighborhood is filled with bungalows, Craftsman, and other styles that were popular in the era. There are 540 properties in the neighborhood that contribute to the historic district, the other 167 do not. Minne Lusa Boulevard is a contributing structure.
African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated. In 1894 black residents of Omaha organized the first fair in the United States for African-American exhibitors and attendees. The 2000 US Census recorded 51,910 African Americans as living in Omaha. In the 19th century, the growing city of Omaha attracted ambitious people making new lives, such as Dr. Matthew Ricketts and Silas Robbins. Dr. Ricketts was the first African American to graduate from a Nebraska college or university. Silas Robbins was the first African American to be admitted to the bar in Nebraska. In 1892 Dr. Ricketts was also the first African American to be elected to the Nebraska State Legislature. Ernie Chambers, an African-American barber from North Omaha's 11th District, became the longest serving state senator in Nebraska history in 2005 after serving in the unicameral for more than 35 years.
The history of the Jews in Omaha, Nebraska, goes back to the mid-1850s.
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south–north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames Avenue. A portion of North 24th is considered the "Main Street" of the Near North Side, and was historically referred to as "The Street of Dreams." The corridor is widely considered the heart of Omaha's African-American community.