Omaha Exploration

For those of a certain age, the southeast corner of 12th and Harney in the Old Market was once home to The Diner. While the beloved breakfast joint lasted 35 years, the history of this corner dates back to the city’s founding.

It was the site of Omaha’s first post office, established by William Wells Wyman, who served as the city’s second official postmaster. The “post office” occupied the front room of a small cottage. Inside was a wooden box measuring three feet square. Its run as a post office lasted just one year, as it was relocated to the Douglas House in 1856.

Judge George Baker Lake, the future chief justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court, lived on this lot after settling in Omaha in 1857. It’s likely he replaced the earlier cottage, as his home was considered quite pretentious for pioneer times. In fact, Harney Street as far west as 13th was the city’s best residential district at the time. His house was regarded as the center of social life, and his neighbors were a who’s who of early Omaha, including Ezra Millard to the east, George W. Doane to the west, and James Woolworth to the south.

By the 1880s, the houses were replaced and the area developed into a produce hub. Judge Lake sold his property to the Omaha Tent and Awning Company in 1910. The growing company had outgrown its location a block east at 11th and Harney and planned to build a larger structure on this site, resulting in one of the few remaining houses in the area being razed in 1912.

After a merger with the Scott-Rawitzer Manufacturing Company, plans were announced for an 11-story structure on the site. The new building was to be state-of-the-art, featuring fireproofing, reinforced concrete, steel framing, and an exterior covered almost entirely in glass. Those plans never came to fruition, however, as the company’s owner, Albert Rawitzer, tragically passed away in 1914.

The lot remained vacant for five years before being sold to the L. V. Nicholas Oil Company. Citing its location in the heart of the wholesale district and produce hub, and its proximity to retail areas, Nicholas declared it the best lot in the city for a filling station. He boldly proclaimed that the new station would be the best in the country, both in capacity and architectural design. It was also the first to utilize electronically operated gas pumps.

The station remained in use until at least the 1960s. After it was torn down, the prime location sat vacant for decades until Dean and Philip Drickey announced plans to open a roadside diner in 1983. Dean, the owner of Drickey’s Drive-In (present day Homy Inn) and his son Philip noticed a lack of breakfast options for those working downtown.

To capitalize on the opportunity, they built the restaurant themselves and designed it in the style of an old-fashioned roadside diner. The exterior featured a neon sign and a clock above the entrance, while the interior included a black-and-white tile floor, red leather booths, barstools, chrome trim, and an old-fashioned cash register.

Over the years, fuel had leaked into the ground, turning the site into an environmental hazard that proved difficult and expensive to clean up, likely thwarting any significant development. Even so, developer Michael Henery later purchased the land with plans to demolish The Diner and replace it with a six-story mixed-use building featuring condos, a restaurant, and underground parking. Those plans fell through, and the restaurant continued to operate until 2018, when the property was sold to another developer.

Today, the site is home to the six-story, 105-room Moxy Hotel. Its brick façade allows it to blend reasonably well with the historic Old Market buildings that surround it. The Marriott-owned hotel offers compact guest rooms with an emphasis on communal spaces, along with a fitness center and restaurant.

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