Livestock Exchange Building (Omaha, Nebraska)

Last updated
Livestock Exchange Building
Omaha Livestock Exchange.JPG
USA Nebraska location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Omaha, Nebraska
Coordinates 41°12′36″N95°57′22″W / 41.21000°N 95.95611°W / 41.21000; -95.95611
Built1926 [1]
ArchitectPrinz, George; Peter Kiewit and Sons
Architectural style Romanesque revival
Northern Italian Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No. 99000751 [2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 7, 1999
Designated OMALJune 22, 1999 [1]

The Livestock Exchange Building in Omaha, Nebraska, was built in 1926 at 4920 South 30 Street in South Omaha. [3] It was designed as the centerpiece of the Union Stockyards by architect George Prinz and built by Peter Kiewit and Sons in the Romanesque revival and Northern Italian Renaissance Revival styles. In 1999 it was designated an Omaha Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [4] The Union Stockyards were closed in 1999, and the Livestock Exchange Building underwent an extensive renovation over the next several years.

Contents

History

According to the City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, the Livestock Exchange Building was the largest and most visually prominent building constructed in South Omaha. Completed for the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha in May 1926, the Livestock Exchange Building was the most significant structure associated with the Omaha Stockyards and served as the center of the livestock industry in Omaha. Chicago and Omaha were the two largest centers for livestock processing in the nation, and the industry was the most important in the city. In 1957 the stockyards and meatpacking industry employed half the workforce of Omaha. [5]

Once the center of business and trading in the midst of 260 acres (110 ha) of livestock pens, the Livestock Exchange Building housed the Stockyards National Bank, offices, a bakery, cafeteria, kitchen, soda fountain, cigar stand, telephone and telegraph offices, apartments and sleeping rooms, a clothing store and a convention hall. There are two ballrooms located on the 10th floor, with 22-foot ceilings in an elegant Romanesque and Northern Italian Renaissance Revival style. The North Ballroom has a built-in bar, stage and hardwood floors. The South Ballroom has a balcony, three private boardrooms and a large dance surface. [5] [6]

A complex public-private renovation was completed in 2005. The building was converted to mixed-use, yielding more than 100 apartments, plus community and commercial space. Its historical character was preserved and it will be the center of a new neighborhood. The surrounding area will be redeveloped for mixed commercial, medical and light industrial uses. [7] One of the most recent additions is the newest iteration of the South Omaha Library, a partnership between the City of Omaha and the Metropolitan Community College. The college has also opened a new campus on the site of the former stockyards.

See also

Related Research Articles

Architecture in Omaha, Nebraska, represents a range of cultural influences and social changes occurring from the late 19th century to present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webster Telephone Exchange Building</span> United States historic place

The Webster Telephone Exchange Building is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. It was designed by the well-known Omaha architect Thomas Rogers Kimball. After the Easter Sunday Tornado of 1913, the building was used as the center of recovery operations. In 1933, American Bell donated the building to the Omaha Urban League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewell Building</span> United States historic place

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Family Catholic Church (Omaha, Nebraska)</span> Historic church in Nebraska, United States

Holy Family Church was built in 1883 at 1715 Izard Street, at the intersections of 18th and Izard Streets in North Omaha, Nebraska within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. It is the oldest existing Catholic Church in Omaha, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omaha Union Station</span> United States historic place

The Union Station, at 801 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the Midwest". Designated an Omaha Landmark in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2016. The Union Station is also a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District. It was the Union Pacific's first Art Deco railroad station, and the completion of the terminal "firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saunders School</span> United States historic place

Saunders School, located at 415 North 41st Avenue in the Midtown area of Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was declared a landmark by the City of Omaha in 1985, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha</span>

The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was a 90-year-old company first founded in South Omaha, Nebraska in 1878 by John A. Smiley. After being moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa and dissolved within a year, the company was reorganized and moved to South Omaha in 1883. Six local businessmen responded to a request by Wyoming cattle baron Alexander Swan showing interest in a livestock market closer than the Union Stock Yards in Chicago, Illinois. The Company's Union Stockyards in South Omaha were once a fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards. The Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha was bought out in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Stockyards (Omaha)</span> Livestock and meat-processing complex

The Union Stockyards of Omaha, Nebraska, were founded in 1883 in South Omaha by the Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha. A fierce rival of Chicago's Union Stock Yards, the Omaha Union Stockyards were third in the United States for production by 1890. In 1947 they were second to Chicago in the world. Omaha overtook Chicago as the nation's largest livestock market and meat packing industry center in 1955, a title which it held onto until 1971. The 116-year-old institution closed in 1999. The Livestock Exchange Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jobbers Canyon Historic District</span> United States historic place

Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, US. 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. In 1989, all 24 buildings in Jobbers Canyon were demolished, representing the largest National Register historic district loss to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Specht Building</span> United States historic place

The Christian Specht Building is located at 1110 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. It is the only existing building with a cast-iron facade known in Nebraska today, and one of the few ever built in the state. The building was deemed an Omaha landmark in 1981, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Museo Latino</span> United States historic place

El Museo Latino is a museum featuring Latino and Hispanic art and history that is located at 4701 South 25th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska. Established in 1993, by Magdalena García, it is the first Latino art and history museum and cultural center in the Midwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinton School</span> United States historic place

Vinton School was built as a fourteen-room elementary school in 1908 at 2120 Deer Park Boulevard in the Deer Park neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Designed by Omaha architect Frederick W. Clarke, Vinton School is the earliest and most elaborate example of a Tudor Revival-style school in Omaha. Designated an Omaha Landmark in June 1990, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omaha Public Library (building)</span> United States historic place

The original Omaha Public Library building was built in 1891 at 1823 Harney Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska by renowned architect Thomas Kimball. Designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style, the building was designated an Omaha Landmark in October 1978, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mason School</span> United States historic place

Mason School is located at 1012 South 24th Street in south Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Designed in the Richardson Romanesque style by the architectural firm of Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie, the school was built in 1888 by the brick manufacturing and construction firm of Hadden, Rocheford & Gould. The school closed in the late 1970s and was converted into apartments. It was designated an Omaha Landmark in 1986 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places that same year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackstone Hotel (Omaha, Nebraska)</span> United States historic place

The Blackstone Hotel is a historic hotel located at 302 South 36th Street in the Blackstone neighborhood of the Midtown area in Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1915, it was declared an Omaha Landmark in 1983 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eggerss–O'Flyng Building</span> United States historic place

The Eggerss–O'Flyng Building is located at 801 South 15th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and named an Omaha Landmark on March 17, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packer's National Bank Building</span> United States historic place

Packer's National Bank Building is located at 4939 South 24th Street in the South Omaha Main Street Historic District in south Omaha, Nebraska. It was built in 1907. In 1984, it was designated an Omaha Landmark and, in 1985, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center School (Omaha)</span> United States historic place

The Center School, now known as the Lincoln School Apartments, is located at 1730 South 11th Street in South Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in 1893, it was declared an Omaha Landmark June 18, 1985 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 23, 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosewater School</span> United States historic place

The Rosewater School, now known as the Rosewater Apartments, is located in South Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in 1910, the building was named an Omaha Landmark on September 18, 1984, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

References

  1. 1 2 "Omaha Landmarks". Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. Larsen, L. and Cottrell, B. (1997) The Gate City: A History of Omaha. University of Nebraska Press. p. 76
  4. (nd) National Register of Historic Places - Nebraska; Douglas County. National Park Service. Retrieved 6/22/07.
  5. 1 2 "Livestock Exchange Building", City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission, accessed 11 Jul 2008
  6. Livestock Exchange Building Archived 2007-07-01 at the Wayback Machine . Brandies Catering. Retrieved 6/22/07.
  7. (nd) "Renovation of the Historic Livestock Exchange Building in Omaha" Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine , US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Retrieved 6/22/07