The old unassuming building at 4469 Farnam was razed as a part of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers expansion on the west side of Saddle Creek. Built in 1927 for Rex Baking, the company produced 100,000 loaves of bread each day. Founded in 1922, Rex was acquired by a chain called General Baking company in 1928 at which point they began baking Bond bread. The bread package included every ingredient to put the customers mind at ease that only the purest and finest of ingredients were used. The bread was developed in 1915 when a group of bakers set out to make a loaf of bread “as good as our wives would make at home”. Over time the company began going by the name Bond Bakery and continued to operate out of this building until around 1949.
Roberts Dairy bought the building in 1951 for $200,000 and remodeled the second floor for its offices. The United States Rubber Company occupied the first floor and the basement. By the mid-50’s it appears the rubber company moved out and in 1955.
By 1969 Omaha School District leased the building for $30,000 per year from Roberts. It was originally used for computer services and vocational education programs. Assistant Superintendent Edwin Parrish moved his offices to the building from Joslyn Castle. It was called the Area Educational Data Processing Center and included classrooms for “trainable mentally handicapped, children with learning disabilities and drug education.
By the early 1970’s it had become OPS administrative offices and offered courses in conjunction with Omaha Nebraska Technical College which would eventually become Metropolitan Community. When the district moved to the old Technical High School on 30th and Cuming in 1989, they attempted to sell this building. After failing to receive an adequate offer, they instead opted to retain the building and use it to store supplies and equipment. The upper floors were converted into Parrish Alternative School for high school students with mental illness and behavioral problems in 1992.
Preparing for its expansion, UNMC purchased lots from Farnam on the north to Leavenworth on the south and 48th to the west in 2014. Included was the old bakery which was sold for $2M in 2017. On the site, UNMC plans to build a new seven story administrative building.
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