Old Gold Coast is the name of a historic district in south Omaha, Nebraska. With South 10th Street as the central artery, the area was home to neighborhoods such as Little Italy and Forest Hill. The area is referred to as "old" because it was replaced in prominence in the late 19th century when a new district usurped its importance. [1] This area south of downtown was generally bounded by Leavenworth Street on the north, Bancroft Street on the south, the Missouri River on the east, and South 16th Street on the west.
Early in the city's history business owners built their homes close to their factories and businesses near downtown Omaha. Many of Omaha's most elite early settlers built mansions in this area. The hills along South 8th and South 10th Streets, from Mason Street to Riverview Park, was first recognized as the city's "Gold Coast" in the 1880s. The Omaha Horse and Railway Company allowed these business tycoons and others to commute from this suburban area to their downtown businesses. [2]
There are many historically notable sites in the Old Gold Coast neighborhood today, with few remaining structures evidencing history. Located between Pacific and Hickory, from South 6th to South 13th, the Old Gold Coast has deep relevance in the establishment of Omaha. Because of that, several notable buildings were constructed there.
Some of the historically important sites in the neighborhood were established by the Kountze brothers. Founders of the First National Bank of Omaha in 1867, they also built several other banks from the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains, including the Colorado National Bank in 1862. Each of the Kountze brothers was also a large landowner in the Missouri River Valley in Nebraska. Augustus, Charles and Herman all built large homes in the Old Gold Coast. Herman Kountze's estate was the largest landholding of the three in the neighborhood, capping a tall hill south of downtown Omaha along South 10th Street called Forest Hill. One of the fine homes demolished in the Old Gold Coast neighborhood is the Charles Kountze Mansion at 1234 South 10th Street, which was removed to make room for modern apartments in 2014. [3]
Other era mansions in the Old Gold Coast included the Cornish Residence at 1404 South 10th Street was built in 1886 for Colonel Joel Cornish shortly after he moved to Omaha. Architect Thomas R. Kimball designed several homes in the area.
Several other notable buildings were affiliated with Bishop George Worthington, a wealthy and influential Episcopalian leader among Omaha pioneers. Several are still standing in the area include Dietz Memorial United Methodist Church, built as St. Matthias Episcopal Church in 1889. and the Bishop Worthington Residence at 1240 South 10th Street. Built in 1886, the Bishop Worthington Residence is large and has been used for several purposes. The Brownell Hall, which was an Episcopalian boarding school for girls, used to be located across the street from St. Matthias Episcopal Church, which served as its chapel. Worthington Hospital was housed in a wood-frame building on South 9th Street and Worthington Place in the 1890s.
After the Kountzes died and moved away, the St. Catherine's Hospital moved onto the former estate around 1900. Brownell Hall moved to west Omaha into a grand new building, and the Worthington Hospital was closed and demolished. After being founded in the Kountze Place neighborhood, Presbyterian Hospital was located in the former Bishop Worthington Residence from 1898 through the 1930s, and closed permanently after that. Grace University moved to the area in 1948 and slowly re-amassed the land once included in Kountze's Forest Hill estate. After acquiring St. Catherine's hospital at South 8th and Forest Avenue, the university expanded south across several blocks, almost to Hickory Street, and west from South 8th to South 10th Street. Those are the same dimensions as Kountze's original plat for the area. However, due to declining enrollment and financial difficulty, the University closed in 2018 and sold its assets. Much of the area is now being developed into Apartments and an public elementary school.
At the turn of the 20th century, the neighborhood in-filled quickly with smaller houses and more affordable options. Around that time, an influx of Italian immigrants moved into the area and earned the neighborhood a place in Omaha's Little Italy.
Today, large American foursquare style houses dot the blocks while shotgun houses fill in many lots. Since 2010, there has also been determined gentrification of the neighborhood, with many old homes demolished to make room for large, modern apartments and condominiums.
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.
Samuel Sloan was a Philadelphia-based architect and best-selling author of architecture books in the mid-19th century. He specialized in Italianate villas and country houses, churches, and institutional buildings. His most famous building—the octagonal mansion "Longwood" in Natchez, Mississippi—is unfinished; construction was abandoned during the American Civil War.
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.
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.
Saratoga Springs, Nebraska Territory, or Saratoga, was a boom and bust town founded in 1856 that throve for several years. During its short period of influence the town grew quickly, outpacing other local settlements in the area including Omaha and Florence, and briefly considered as a candidate for the Nebraska Territorial capitol. Saratoga was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and has been regarded a neighborhood in North Omaha since then.
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 led to the U.S. Supreme Court trial, Baker v. Morton, which led to the end of the organization.
Education in Omaha, Nebraska is provided by many private and public institutions. The first high school graduates in the Omaha area came from Brownell-Talbot School, which was founded in the town of Saratoga in 1863. The oldest school building in continuous usage is Omaha Central High School.
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.
Midtown is a geographic area of Omaha, Nebraska that is a culturally, socially and economically important area of the city. It is home to major research centers, national corporations, several historic districts, and a number of historic residences.
The George H. Kelly House is located at 1924 Binney Street in the Near North Side neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in 1904 in the Neo-Classical Revival style, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and designated a City of Omaha architectural landmark that same year.
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.
Herman Kountze was a powerful and influential pioneer banker in Omaha, Nebraska, during the late 19th century. After organizing the Kountze Brothers Bank in 1857 as the second bank in Omaha, Herman and his brothers Augustus, Charles and Luther changed the charter in 1863, opening the First National Bank of Omaha that year. Kountze was involved in a number of influential ventures around Omaha, including the development of the Omaha Stockyards and the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898. Immediately after his death Kountze was regarded as one of Omaha's "old settlers". Today Kountze's First National Bank is the oldest bank west of the Mississippi River, and continues as a privately held company in its sixth generation of family ownership.
The Joel N. Cornish House is located in South Omaha, Nebraska. The 1886 construction is considered an "excellent example of the French Second Empire style." The house was converted into apartments after the Cornish family moved out in 1911.
The Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary was located at 3303 North 21st Place in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1891 in downtown Omaha, the institution moved to the Kountze Place neighborhood in North Omaha in 1902 and closed in 1943. Converted to apartments, the building stood until 1979 when a fire destroyed it.
The Redick Mansion, also known as the Mayne Mansion and Redick Hall, was located at 3612 North 24th Street in North Omaha, Nebraska. It served as the first home of Omaha University, now known as the University of Nebraska at Omaha, from 1909 through 1917. A five-story tower on the front of the mansion was a notable landmark throughout the area.
North 24th 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, 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.
The Gold Coast Historic District is a historic district in Chicago, Illinois. Part of Chicago's Near North Side community area, it is roughly bounded by North Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, Oak Street, and Clark Street.
South 10th Street is a two-way street that runs south-north from Downtown into South Omaha, Nebraska. Beginning at Dodge Street, South 10th Street passes Gene Leahy Mall and borders the ConAgra Campus and the Old Market. Its southern reaches are widely regarded as the heart of Little Italy, and further south it was the center of the Old Gold Coast neighborhood. There were several other historically ethnic communities, as well.
The Bishop Worthington Residence was built at 1240 South 10th Street in Omaha, Nebraska in 1885. The personal home of Bishop George Worthington of the Episcopal Church, the Worthington Mansion was a place of high social and religious importance during the pioneer era of Omaha history. During its history, the mansion also served as the second Presbyterian Hospital and as the White House Apartments.
Coordinates: 41°14′44″N95°55′46″W / 41.24556°N 95.92944°W
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