21 years after Gottlieb Storz took over the brewery that would become Storz, he built one of Omaha’s most magnificent homes in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Gottlieb made his way to Omaha after emigrating from Germany in 1872 to ply his trade as a brewer in the U.S. He worked in New York and St. Louis for two years each before landing in Omaha to work for Joseph Baumann’s brewery. Gottlieb purchased the brewery in 1884.
Located at 3708 Farnam Street, his 27-room mansion was designed by Omaha architects George Fisher and Harry Lawrie in the Jacobethan Revival style. Constructed at a cost of $16,000, the two-and-half story mansion sits over a raised basement.
It was constructed of beige stone with decorative limestone and features a red tile roof, steep gables, rectangular windows with stone mullions and transoms. His love of brewing can be found inside and out as ingredients including barley, hops and corn appear in the design of the limestone panels on the exterior of the home while a three-level stained glass window contains a hops motif. Another notable feature is the family crest above two windows.
The interior included hand carved oak woodwork and a sunroom covered with a stained-glass dome. Gottlieb himself designed the room and based it on the dining room of the Bremen cruise liner that his family had taken to Europe. Both the living and dining rooms have distinctive mosaic fireplaces. It also had a baby grand piano, Austrian brass and copper chandeliers in the grand foyer and Tiffany stained glass windows throughout the house.
Notably the third floor ballroom is named for Adele and Fred Astaire. Born in Omaha, it’s been said that they once danced in the ballroom as children while there father visited the mansion. It also features a music room and two level matching carriage house.
The side yard once held a gazebo which grandson Art claimed to have been a part of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition. Local historians, however, said it was a part of the Greater American Exposition the following year. The gazebo completely rebuilt now calls Lauritzen Gardens its home.
When the mansion was completed in 1905, Gottlieb moved in with his four sons: Adolph, Arthur, Louis and Robert as well as his two daughters: Minnie and Olga. After Gottlieb passed away in 1939, Arthur purchased the residence and moved in with wife Monnie and children Art, Bob and Monnie (yes, she had the same name as her mother).
Arthur was an accomplished fellow and a former World War I pilot that was influential in bringing Strategic Air Command to Bellevue. The well connected businessman was known to host grand parties with as many as 500 guests. Guests included the likes of actor Jimmy Steward and General Curtis LeMay. The house with a full-time staff of five was even the site of the premier party of the movie Strategic Air Command which debuted in 1955.
Grandson Art, the self described black sheep of the family ended up being its longest resident. Art was a pilot himself serving in both World War II and the Korean War. To show off his flying prowess, he once buzzed the Blackstone Hotel in a B-17. After his service he worked in advertising for Storz but his antics kept him from taking over the company.
Art moved into the mansion in the 1950s to care for his elderly parents. After they passed away in 1981, the house was to be divided among the three siblings and sold with its contents. While they had discussed turning the mansion into apartments or offices, Art refused to leave and renounced his share of the inheritance. He also formed the Storz Preservation Foundation to assist in turning the home into a museum.
He struggled to pay the taxes and utilities and rented it for weddings and other events. Things looked bleak after local historical societies refused to buy it due to the cost to maintain. The house was nearly turned into an upscale restaurant in 1989 before a family friend purchased it and paid the back taxes so that Art could remain there and operate the museum.
The purchaser was Las Vegas casino owner Michael Gaughan who had had once worked for Art at Storz years earlier. He had no plans for the mansion other than to let Art live there in peace. Art did just that until 2002 at which point he fell and broke his hip and tailbone. After that he moved out before passing away in 2009.
As its owner, Michael donated the mansion to Creighton University which sold it in 2007 for $475,000. The owners were selected due to their desire to use it as a single family residence and because they had experience with renovating old houses. They performed much needed repairs at great expense.
The mansion that brewing magnate Gottlieb Storz built more than 120 years ago was referred to as a “Omaha’s grand survivor… a one of a kind Nebraska mansion” by American Preservation magazine in a 1979 cover story. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated an Omaha Landmark in 1997.
Today the Storz Mansion is the last Gold Coast mansion that still stands along Farnam Street. Its presence remains even as the popular Blackstone neighborhood changes all around it.
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