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The Historic Arches in Gene Leahy Mall

Two arches from the original United States National Bank Building now find themselves surrounded by the recently renovated Gene Leahy Mall at The Riverfront. The limestone arches first appeared at the entrance of the building when it was constructed in 1887. Also referred to as the Solo Building, it later served as the home to…

Patrick Wyman
2–3 minutes
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Two arches from the original United States National Bank Building now find themselves surrounded by the recently renovated Gene Leahy Mall at The Riverfront. The limestone arches first appeared at the entrance of the building when it was constructed in 1887.

1966 Durham Museum photo of the United States Bank Building and later the Corey & McKenzie Building at 12th and Farnam. Notice the two arches at the entrances.

Also referred to as the Solo Building, it later served as the home to Baker Brothers Engraving, Corey & McKenzie Printing Company and Solo Saving Center. Two years after Corey & McKenzie moved from 12th and Farnam to 1405 Harney Street in 1975, the building was razed however two exterior arches that formed the entrances were preserved at the suggestion of local architect Gary Bowen.

Looking north into the Gene Leahy Mall at the southern arch from the Corey & McKenzie Building.

The arches were then dismantled, and the more than 200 pieces were numbered, charted and then stored. In 1979 the pieces were moved Central Park Mall (current day Gene Leahy Mall) where they were re-constructed back-to-back to from the single two-sided arch that stands today. The arches were once again preserved after the Gene Leahy Mall was renovated in 2022. Today the arches continue to serve as a visual link between the Old Market and the park.

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More pictures

Closeup of the arch from the 1966 Durham Museum photo of the United States Bank Building.
Looking south towards the Old Market at the northern arch from the Corey & McKenzie Building.
A different perspective of the arch from the Corey & McKenzie building.
1964 Durham Museum photo of the Corey & McKenzie building with the arch at the entrance.
Google Earth view of Gene Leahy Mall with the arch near the bottom right of center.

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5 responses to “The Historic Arches in Gene Leahy Mall”

  1. Chris Norden Avatar
    Chris Norden

    What we really need is a distinctive, unbroken, two-block-long Old Market-style streetscape from the historic Arch at 11th & Farnam all the way down to Howard Street.

    The Arch is billed as “the vlsual link between the Gene Leahy Mall and the Old Market.” And yet, what does one actually see of the Old Market when one looks southward down 11th Street? It is so far away and so disconnected from the Mall, one is hard-pressed to even see the Old Market from the Arch!!

    On one’s left is an empty surface parking lot reserved for tenants and visitors to the Burlington Building to one’s left, way over at 10th & Farnam, while on one’s right is Orangetheory Fitness, anchoring the east end of the fortress-like, personality-less gray concrete-and-glass Landmark Center (why exactly do we have an utterly impenetrable block-long wall facing the most public, people-intensive, supposedly interactive sidewalk in the city’s center??).

    Continuing back down 11th past the empty Burlington lot on one’s left, one passes yet another empty surface parking lot that I understand has recently been purchased by an investment group for possible conversion into a mid-priced chain hotel (think like a Canopy or Motto by Hilton).

    At Harney, there starts to be some Old Market buildings appearing on the right, but on the left one still has another full half-block of surface parking lot to slog past before one reaches the first charming Old Market building on the left.

    That last half-block is the type of streetscape that needs to appear *immediately* across the street from the Arch, with the NE and NW corners of 11th & Farnam being the singlemost prime parcels in the city for creating iconic new multistory Omaha buildings—in the Old Market style—that abut the Mall and magnetically pull people onto 11th Street, engaging them immediately, drawing them in a constant state of delight with shops and restaurants and hotel lobbies all the way down towards the traditional old buildings at the true heart of the Old Market.

    Until that happens, tacking the phrase, “the visual link between the Mall and the Old Market,” onto the Arch will just be a wishful thought. Personally, I’d love to see that phrase actually become reality with the re-envisioning of 11th Street between Farnam and Howard as the two most exciting blocks in Omaha’s astoundingly engaging Downtown.

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  2. Michael Denver Avatar
    Michael Denver

    Does anyone know exactly where this building was located? I’m wondering specifically if it was located where the current Central Park/Gene Leahy Mall is today, or if it was on the south side of Farnam? If it was there, and it was at 12th and Farnam, then it must have been at that intersection, which no longer exists, where that big annex to the Landmark Tower is now?

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    1. Chris Norden Avatar
      Chris Norden

      Very good observation and question, Michael! Had I read that caption more closely, I would have realized that the building would indeed have been either on the north or south side of Farnam, less than a block whence the arch had originally been located.

      Patrick, do you know the answer to Michael’s question?

      I feel that eliminating that 12th & Farnam intersection and literally “walling it off” with a featureless, impenetrable concrete and glass surface was one of the greatest failures of whatever design review/permitting board existed back in the ’70s when the Landmark Center was greenlit. The Gene Leahy (neé Central Park) Mall was designed to be one of “the New Omaha’s” most interactive pedestrian-oriented streetscapes. Wouldn’t it have been more in keeping with the goal of that section of Farnam had that 12th Street intersection been preserved, serving as yet another entrance portal connecting the Mall with the world of the Old Market?

      Perhaps it’s time for the owners of the Landmark Center to rip up the building and attached parking structure, restore the 12th Street intersection, put a circular drive entrance in front of The Farnam hotel and place a 12 Street island in front of the circular drive dedicated to a large water feature, food trucks, and/or an educational display about the Old Market’s history.

      Across 12th street, the investors could more than recoup their remodel cost by creating a more place-appropriate, denser and higher (16-18 story) building in the block bounded by 12th, Farnam, 11th and Harney. They could place the new parking garage at its core (instead of facing Harney) and build it high up into the building, adding twice the parking spaces as the building’s current iteration. The building could be built in the style of the Old Market or the old Hotel Fontenelle, finally visually connecting the Gene Leahy Mall with the history and entertainment of the Old Market where currently they are separated by a block and a half of cold, closed-off streetscapes.

      The street level of all four sides of this new building could be pedestrian-oriented shops and restaurants, with the second floor of the Farnam side being a large, raised “front porch” to the city, a set-back roof of restaurants where diners can eat by lamplight below the history-evoking brick face of the beautiful building overlooking the action and concerts on the Mall.

      The balance of the building could be office and meeting spaces to replace the current spaces lost by the destruction of the Landmark Center, along with market rate (lower floors) and luxury (higher floors) apartments or a high-end hotel. Finally, a glassed-in observation restaurant on the 18th floor could offer the best all-weather restaurant views in the heart of the city, with the roof being the hottest—and highest—rooftop bar in all of Downtown Omaha.

      While 12th Street would displace the western third of the Landmark Center, the new Landmark Building could be a much more lucrative profit center for the investors, while offering more parking, infinitely more interactive streetside shopping and dining than any other Mall-side venue, and an architectural entrance and connection to the Old Market from the Gene Leahy Mall where only a cold concrete and glass wall currently exists.

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      1. Omaha Exploration Avatar
        Omaha Exploration

        I love what you’re suggesting Chris. I don’t recall reading anything that suggests the building will be razed anytime soon but it’s high time for it to come down and be replaced something that compliments the amazing park across the street. All three of the RiverFront parks are a huge asset to the city. Now we must take steps to continue to improve downtown and the Old Market and adjacent area.

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    2. Omaha Exploration Avatar
      Omaha Exploration

      Hi guys, according to this fantastic photo in the Durham archives, the Corey & McKenzie building was on the southwest corner of 12th and Farnam. How great would it be if that building was still there located across from the park?

      Wilkinson Building – Bostwick-Frohardt Collection – The Durham Museum Photo Archive

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