Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the south, and South Tenth Street on the west.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and was removed in 2002. From 1988 to 1989, all buildings, excluding Nash Block, in Jobbers Canyon were demolished, representing the largest National Registerhistoric district loss to date.
The Jobbers Canyon Historic District was primarily developed from the late 1880s to the early 1920s as a warehouse district directly bordering the Missouri River in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Properties within the district housed several organizations, such as Kellogg Company, Campbell Soup Company, and John Deere.[4] Additionally, the district housed some of Omaha's largest wholesale companies. The district was named for the higher than usual elevation, which created a canyon-like effect.[5]
In 1981, the Fairbanks, Morse and Co. building was added as an Omaha Landmark. Additionally, the city planned on listing the entirety of Jobbers Canyon as a whole to be listed as an Omaha Landmark. However, the restrictiveness of the landmark designation caused property owners to reject a local listing. Three years later, in 1986, a major movement to list the district on the National Register of Historic Places was launched. The nomination was officially approved by the LHPC on September 11, and the National Park Service officially listed the district on December 4, 1986.[6]
Demolition
The M.E. Smith Building, designed by Frederick S. Stott, built in 1920 and formerly located at 201 South 10th Street. It was demolished in 1989.
In August 1987, ConAgra Foods announced that it would be moving its headquarters from the north tower of Central Park Plaza to directly border the Riverfront. The move would require the demolition of almost all of the buildings on the site. While several proposals were made to keep some, if not all of Jobbers Canyon, ConAgra rejected the designs, threatening to move out of Omaha if the city did not let them demolish the district.[7] At the time Charles M. Harper, chief executive of ConAgra, was asked about the district, and responded saying it was "some big, ugly red brick buildings".[8]
The district court later ruled in favor of defendants on the merits, with a court of appeals affirming the district court decision in a brief opinion. The court of appeal granted a partial stay of demolition during the appeals at a time when five buildings remained standing in the district. The injunction was later dissolved, and ultimately, all buildings in the historic district, excluding the McKesson-Robbins Warehouse, which was separately listed on the National of Historic Places in 1985, were demolished by 1989.[10]
Aftermath
As of 2025, the demolition of the Jobbers Canyon Historic District remains the largest single historic loss on the National Register of Historic Places.[11][12] ConAgra Foods later completed its corporate headquarters in 1992. Additionally, Heartland of America Park was developed on the site and opened in 1990.[13] The National Park Service later de-listed the district in 2002.[2] ConAgra later moved its corporate headquarters out of Omaha and to Chicago, Illinois in 2016.[14] Four years later, one of the campus's buildings itself was demolished to build the Brickline at Mercantile.[6]
Individual properties
All of Omaha's largest and most notable wholesale and mercantile businesses built massive warehouse structures in the area by the early 20th century. Six- and seven-story red brick buildings filled with jobbing houses towered over red brick streets, creating a canyon-like feeling and leading to the area becoming called "Jobber's Canyon". The brick-surfaced South Ninth Street was an important streetscape in the city, with brick and cobblestone streets, railroad spur lines, loading docks, and dock canopies all contributing to the character of Jobbers Canyon. The eight-story Creighton Block was built for John A. Creighton to house the Byrne and Hammer Dry Goods Company. The most ornate building in Jobbers Canyon, this Renaissance Revival-style structure was designed by architect Charles Cleves.[15]
↑ 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. 6.
↑ 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.
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