Many of the country’s top jazz musicians made stops in Omaha between the 1920s through the 1960s. While the Dreamland Ballroom in the Near North Side was the crown jewel of the city’s jazz scene, many also played at the Red Lion Cocktail Lounge in the swanky Blackstone District.
The Red Lion opened in 1955 in the basement of the swanky Colonial Hotel at 3802 Farnam Street. In 1957 it hosted famed jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Toots Thielemans. Live jazz sessions performed in the lounge were even broadcast over the radio at the time. By 1964 however the lounge stopped operating as a jazz club and instead featured rock n’ roll. The change in format didn’t turn out the way the new owners had hoped and the lounge would close just a few years later. When an advertising agency moved in afterwards, they would get confused looks from customers after noticing the bar was missing.
Both the hotel and lounge saw new life in 2018. The hotel with its low-rent, short-term sleeping rooms were converted into 40 upscale apartments. The basement which had been used for storage in recent years was renovated by the owners of nearby Stirnella. As a part of the renovation they removed the kitchen which expanded the lounge to 4,000 square feet with the two rooms being separated by a large wooden bar. They kept the original floors, bookcases, doorways and window frames while adding large red velvet booths that were made by the manufacturer of the original furnishings. The walls were adorned with lots of black-and white photos. They didn’t stop there as they even managed to tuck an old school phone booth into a corner. You’ll have to tell me whether it’s functioning.
The vision was to bring back the classic 1960’s lounge and they nailed it!
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