Omaha Exploration

In the past, we’ve explored both the Downtown Branch and the soon-to-be Central Branch of the Omaha Public Library. Today we’ll go back to where it all started.

The Omaha Library Association was established in 1857 but disbanded shortly thereafter due to a lack of funding. It wasn’t until 1872 that it made a comeback under the direction of  Byron Reed, Andrew Poppleton and James Woolworth. They managed to open a small facility on the second floor of the A.J. Simpson Carriage Factory at 14th and Dodge Streets. It lasted five years before it closed in early 1877.

After the city accepted a gift of 4,500 books from the library association that had just closed, it levied a tax in order to form the Omaha Public Library on June 13, 1877. The city’s rapid growth and increased demand for books forced the library to move three times before it found a permanent home. 

That home came in 1894 when real estate magnate Byron Reed donated land for the building at 1823 Harney Street. In addition to the land, Byron also donated most of his rare books, coins, currency, documents, manuscripts and other items to the library which were among the most complete in the country at the time.

The building was Thomas Kimball’s first major project in Omaha. Designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style, he hired John Harte as the contractor. Among its key features is the elaborate terra cotta detailing and the lintel just below the cornice displays the names of important literary figures. He said that “he attempted to build a square, honest, sensible building, adapted inside and out to the purpose to which it is to be devoted.” When it was built it was said to be reminiscent of the Boston Public Library

South Omaha, meanwhile, started its own library association in 1889 but found it difficult to find a permanent home. Like Omaha’s it moved around quite a bit in its early years until industrialist Andrew Carnegie approved a grant to build a permanent structure. Located at 23rd and M Streets, it opened in 1905. It would be absorbed by Omaha in 1915 after South Omaha was annexed. Lack of space and damage to the building led to it being razed in 1954 and replaced with the current building. 

The main library downtown, meanwhile, continued to serve as the symbolic center of Omaha’s general education and literary entertainment needs. Even so, Omaha won a satirical contest of having one of the worst libraries in the nation in the 1950s. Despite being a beautiful building, it was woefully inadequate to meet the needs of the growing city. 

Would-be robbers attempted to steal pieces from the Byron Reed coin collection in 1965 and went so far as to cut a hole in the wall to gain access. After hearing the building engineer, they fled. A string of rare coin robberies actually led the library to place the collection in a bank vault before that event.

By 1970 the city was getting serious about replacing the old library. One proposal had it being built on the same site as the old Kimball designed building. Instead they selected a site at 14th and Douglas where the mostly empty Karbach Block stood. The site had the advantage of being across the street from the newly developed Central Park Mall (present day Gene Leahy Mall). The brand new W. Dale Clark Library opened in 1977 and replaced the branch at 18th and Harney Streets. 

Now referred to as the Historic Library Building, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a Omaha Local Landmark in 1978. Afterwards it was converted to office space and was mostly occupied by lawyers. Since 2018 the building has served as the home of the Omaha Housing Authority. 

The Omaha Public Library currently operates 13 branches including the new Downtown Branch at 1401 Jones Street. Soon it will expand to be 14 with the opening of the Central Branch in 2026.

In the future we’ll explore the W. Dale Clark Library.

Content written by Omaha Exploration – follow my page for more! Please also feel free to leave a comment. If there’s something you want to learn more about, let me know. In the meantime, keep exploring!

Omaha Exploration is sponsored by @Rockbrook Mortgage Inc.

Click here to learn about opportunities to sponsor Omaha Exploration!

More pictures

Contact me to learn more about M4K!