The longtime home to Johnson Sash & Door Company at the intersection of Military Avenue and Hamilton Street is in the process of being repurposed by Ooh De Lally. If that name rings a bell, it’s because they took over the former Marks’ Bistro in Dundee.
1919 Durham Museum photo looking south from the Hamilton Street viaduct at the Mo-Pac Beltline tracks. This is the area where Johnson Sash & Door Company is located. The Sunderland Bros. coal yard is on the left.
The non-profit is dedicated to empowering formerly incarcerated people by providing culinary training in addition to employment opportunities. Once the AO-led project is complete, the renovated building at 1412 Military Avenue will contain eight residential units for its employees and meeting space while the first floor will include both a bakery and coffee house.
While this project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026, the building was constructed in 1912. Originally the building had three storefronts facing Military Avenue and four apartments on the second floor with separate entrances.
According to North Omaha History, the southeast corner of the building was removed after the Omaha Belt Line Railway line was established along Military Avenue. R.E. Jackson was sold the Jackson Apartments building in 1918. After that it was utilized by a garage and a furnace company before being acquired by Clarence E. Johnson in 1952.
Clarence had established Johnson & Company some twenty years earlier in a building located next door to the west. After its expansion, the business became Johnson Sash and Door Company. The family business continued for three generations with his son Richard taking over followed by his grandson Craig. The business closed in 2018 after nearly a 90-year run.
It should be mentioned that right across the street, the Belt Line Trail just opened with its trailhead located at this intersection. The trail follows the old Belt Line railroad corridor that circled the western edge of Omaha after it was constructed starting in the 1880s.
This new section is a 1/3 of a mile long. Additional sections will be completed in 2026. When finished, it will connect to the North Omaha Transit Center cutting through Adams Park. It will be within a 15-minute walk from more than a dozen schools including Omaha North, Skinner Magnet, King Elementary and Walnut Hill. It will also connect several parks, and community spaces like the Malcolm X Memorial, Permaculture Center and urban farms.
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