Miller Park (Omaha, Nebraska)

Last updated

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. [1] [2]

Nebraska U.S. state in the United States

Nebraska is a state that lies in both the Great Plains and the Midwestern United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwest; and Wyoming to the west. It is the only triply landlocked U.S. state.

Historic district section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons

A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from certain types of development considered to be inappropriate.

Florence Boulevard, originally known as the Prettiest Mile in Omaha Boulevard, is a boulevard-type north-south street in the north Omaha, Nebraska. With the start of construction in 1892, Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in Omaha's boulevard system designed by Horace Cleveland. Florence Boulevard was the first roadway in Omaha to be fully lit with electric lamps.

Contents

About

Miller Park is named for Dr. George L. Miller, a founding father of the city of Omaha. He was the first physician in Omaha, and later in life, a major landowner throughout the city, including all of the area comprising the neighborhood today. [3] Miller was also the first president of the City of Omaha Board of Park Commissioners.

George L. Miller American politician

Dr. George Lorin Miller (1830–1920) was a pioneer physician, editor, politician, and land owner in Omaha, Nebraska. The founder of the Omaha Herald, which later became part of the Omaha World-Herald, Miller arrived in Omaha in 1854, the year the city was founded. He also promoted Omaha as the route of the First Transcontinental Railroad and the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha in 1898.

Once considered a possible location for the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898. [4] It was a running consideration for the Expo because of its accessibility via the Florence Boulevard, a north-south thoroughfare once regarded as "The Prettiest Mile" because it captured the best views of the Missouri River valley, and because of the wide-open fields the area offered. [5] After losing out to Kountze Park to the south because of its distance from the city, the Miller Park neighborhood rebounded, quickly developing with upper-middle-class homes surrounding the perimeter of the park. [6]

Trans-Mississippi Exposition

The Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was a world's fair held in Omaha, Nebraska from June 1 to November 1 of 1898. Its goal was to showcase the development of the entire West, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast. The Indian Congress was held concurrently. Over 2.6 million people came to Omaha to view the 4,062 exhibits during the five months of the Exposition. President William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan were among the dignitaries who attended at the invitation of Gurdon Wattles, the event's leader. 100,000 people assembled on the plaza to hear them speak. The Expo stretched over a 180-acre (0.73 km2) tract in North Omaha and featured a 2,000 feet (610 m)-long lagoon encircled by 21 classical buildings that featured fine and modern products from around the world.

Missouri River major river in the central United States, tributary of the Mississippi

The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km) before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river drains a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Although nominally considered a tributary of the Mississippi, the Missouri River above the confluence is much longer and carries a comparable volume of water. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system.

Omaha State Senator Lowen Kruse is a past president of the Miller Park-Minne Lusa Neighborhood Association. [7]

Lowen Kruse was a politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. From 2001 to 2009, he represented the 13th District, consisting of part of Omaha, Nebraska, in the Nebraska Legislature. Kruse was a minister for the United Methodist Church in the Nebraska Conference from 1956-1994. He was married to Ruth (Wallis) Kruse for 61 years, from 1956 until his death.

Miller Park was established in 1891 after George Miller failed to locate the Trans-Mississippi Exposition there two years before. He convinced the city of Omaha to build Omaha's Prettiest Mile Boulevard to the park the following year, which later became known as Florence Boulevard.

Miller Park is located at 2707 Redick Avenue in North Omaha, Nebraska. Bounded by Redick and Kansas Avenues on the north and south and 24th and 30th Streets on the east and west, respectively, the park was added to the city of Omaha in 1891.

Fort Omaha

The Miller Park neighborhood is home to the Fort Omaha Historic District. Inside the Fort there are dozens of historical buildings, with the Guard House designated by the City of Omaha as an Omaha Landmark, and the General Crook House listed independently on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

See also

Related Research Articles

North Omaha, Nebraska human settlement in Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America

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.

The history of North Omaha, Nebraska includes wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change spanning over 200 years. With a recorded history that pre-dates the rest of the city, North Omaha has roots back to 1812 with 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 the African-American community through the 1950s, a series of riots in the 1960s, and redevelopment in the late 20th and early 21st century.

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.

Culture of North Omaha, Nebraska

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.

Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District Place in Bemis Park

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 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.

Harry Buford House

The Harry Buford House is a historic house located at 1804 North 30th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1929 in a Period Revival style, it was designated a landmark by the City of Omaha in 1983.

Scriptown was the name of the first subdivision in the history of Omaha, which at the time was located in Nebraska Territory. It was called "Scriptown" because scrip was used as payment, similar to how a company would pay employees when regular money was unavailable. Its original survey placed the location from the Missouri River to North 30th Street, Cuming to Fort Street.

Minne Lusa United States historic place

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.

Walnut Hill is a historic neighborhood located in north Omaha, Nebraska. It is bounded by North 40th Street on the east, Cuming Street on the south, Northwest Radial Highway and Saddle Creek Road on the west and Hamilton Street on the north.

The Florence Water Works is located along John J. Pershing Drive in the Florence neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Home of the Minne Lusa Pumping Station, the Water Works has provided water throughout the city of Omaha since 1880.

Miller Park Elementary School is located at 5625 North 28th Avenue in the Miller Park neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The school is credited for creating the original Junior Forest Club concept.

Boulevards in Omaha, Nebraska United States historic place

Boulevards in Omaha are part of a park and boulevard system originally designed in 1889 by Horace Cleveland. There are more than one hundred miles (160 km) of boulevards throughout the city of Omaha, Nebraska today.

Fontenelle Boulevard is a roadway in the Omaha boulevard system located on the north end of Omaha, Nebraska. The boulevard shares its namesake Logan Fontenelle with several local institutions and fixtures, including Fontenelle Elementary School and Fontenelle Park.

Lincoln Boulevard in Omaha, Nebraska was built in the early 1890s as part of the city's boulevard system under control of the Board of Park Commissioners. It runs through the Bemis Park neighborhood west-east from Mercer Boulevard to its end at North 29 Street; it then reemerges immediately north of Dodge Street, where it intersects with Turner Boulevard.

North 30th Street is a two-way street that runs south-north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, historically significant sections include those from Dodge to Lake Street, from Fort Street to Laurel Avenue, and from Weber to Bondesson Streets.

The Minne Lusa Pumping Station was located along John J. Pershing Drive in the Florence neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska. The station, which was surrounded by settling basins, was the main source for pumping, filtering, and distributing Missouri River water throughout the City of Omaha. The station was the namesake of the Minne Lusa neighborhood located immediately to the south.

Henry B. Neef House United States historic place

The Henry B. Neef House is located just north of the Minne Lusa neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The Neef House was the first steel-frame house in the area, and was a pioneering construction style in Nebraska.

References

  1. "Crime in the Miller Park neighborhood - Omaha Crime Report". omahacrimereport.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  2. "Homicide in Omaha - Omaha Crime Report". omahacrimereport.com. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  3. Larsen and Cotrell. (1997) The Gate City: A history of Omaha. University of Nebraska Press. p 72.
  4. (nd) Locating the Exposition Archived 2006-09-26 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 5/29/07.
  5. (n.d.) Historic Omaha
  6. Wakeley, Arthur. (1917) Omaha: The Gate City and Douglas County Nebraska. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, p. 161.
  7. (nd) Lowen Kruse Archived 2007-08-07 at the Wayback Machine website. Retrieved 6/11/07.

Coordinates: 41°18′44″N95°57′06″W / 41.31222°N 95.95167°W / 41.31222; -95.95167