Omaha Exploration

In 1954 Omaha’s Civic Auditorium opened its doors replacing the beautiful City Auditorium which had opened right after the turn of the century. Designed by architect John Latenser Sr., the “Old Barn” opened in 1901 and despite its aesthetic appeal, the all-purpose venue was never considered adequate enough to meet the needs of a growing city.

Despite calls to replace it as early as 1920, the auditorium at 15th and Howard Streets continued even though most people chose to avoid it. One newspaper article said that it was not considered a decent place for athletes, speakers or actors to perform. Demolished in 1954, the land was eventually used to build a new headquarters for the Omaha Police Department. The profits from the sale were used to pay for a new auditorium.

Site preparation for the new facility that was more than triple the size of the old one began in 1952. Located on four blocks that stretched from 17th to 19th Streets and from Capitol Avenue to Chicago Street, the Municipal Auditorium was designed by Leo A. Daly and constructed by Peter Kiewit.

Renamed the Civic Auditorium, its opening was delayed to 1954 due to the ongoing Korean War which saw its construction cost increase from an estimated $3M to $6.5M. When it opened an advertisement from the construction company read that the auditorium will “stand as a symbol of forward-looking leadership of our city”.

The modern facility was a versatile space that suited nearly every event. It combined an auditorium primarily used for sports with three distinct halls. The largest was the Exhibition Hall which offered more than 43,000 sq ft and was adaptable to nearly any event including large concerts, tradeshows, conventions and the circus. With 25,000 sq ft, Mancuso Hall was used for more traditional events including consumer shows, banquets and smaller concerts. The smallest space, the Music Hall, was known for its more intimate setting and hosted Broadway shows, opera, comedy shows and even smaller concerts.

While the Civic Auditorium with a capacity of 10,960, surpassed the Aksarben Coliseum as the city’s largest convention center, its primary purpose was to house local events including graduation ceremonies, music festivals, sports, political meetings and labor union sessions. Despite that, it proved successful in attracting large events and according to the Douglas County Historical Society, it was one of the nation’s premier arenas for the second half of the 20th century.

Over the course of its life, the Civic Auditorium served as the home to the Creighton Bluejays men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams in addition to the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team and the Kansas City-Omaha Kings basketball team from 1972-1975. This was before the NBA team moved west to become the Sacramento Kings in 1985. It was also the site of a heavyweight title fight between world champion Joe Frazier and Ron Stander, a ranked contender from Council Bluffs, IA known as “The Bluffs Butcher” in 1972. The ringside doctor called the fight in the fourth round after Stander required 32 stitches. The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) hosted its Superstars of Wrestling which included Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and “Macho Man” Randy Savage performing in 1989.

The auditorium also hosted a number of memorable concerts over the years. Among them were the Rolling Stones in 1966, Elton John in 1971 and Elvis Presley in a disastrous performance in 1977 in which he forgot lyrics. It ended up being the second to last performance of his career. Afterwards it hosted Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel a year later. Other acts that included REM, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, The Ramones, KISS and the Foo Fighters among many others. In fact, nearly every band or performer that drew a large audience played the Civic.

In 1963 the Wallenda family of circus aerialists performed at the auditorium. During the performance, Yetta Wallenda climbed to the top of a 45 ft pole and stood on her head before losing her balance and falling to the ground. She was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital.

A 1968 speech by presidential candidate George Wallace attracted civil rights protestors who arrived at the auditorium to confront the segregationist governor of Alabama. Upon their arrival, the protestors were attacked by counter protestors as well as the police. The brutality led to riots in North Omaha that resulted in the death of a high school student.

In 1988 it was the site of a Vice-Presidential debate in which Democrat Lloyd Bentsen said to Republican Dan Quayle, “Senator, I served with Jack Kenndy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy”. This was after Quayle compared him to President John F. Kennedy.

While there was talk of replacing the auditorium in the 1990s the city ultimately chose to renovate it in 1995. The renovation, of course, was a temporary band aid for a facility that was ultimately closed in 2014 due to its excessive maintenance costs before being demolished in 2016.

By that time, a number of new arenas were built to replace the Civic Auditorium. Starting with the CHI Health Center (formerly Qwest and CenturyLink Center) in 2003 which became the home to the Creighton Bluejays not to mention the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting. After Liberty First Arena (formerly Ralston Arena) was built in 2012, both the Omaha Beef indoor football team and Omaha Lancers hockey team moved there as did the Mavericks basketball team before building an arena of its own.

After UNO opened Baxter Arena in 2015 near the site of the old Aksarben Coliseum, the Mavericks moved its hockey, basketball and volleyball teams to the new facility which also serves as the home to graduation ceremonies for Omaha Public Schools.

Much like the Crossroads Mall, the eight-acre site that the Civic Auditorium called home has sat vacant for decades. Tetrad Property Group acquired the site but backed out of the development in 2018. White Lotus Group acquired the property from the city in 2023. After two years, it started work on Civic Square which it claims will include housing, retail, restaurants, health care facilities, a fitness center and a grocery store. The company says that it discovered remnants of the former auditorium below grade.

While White Lotus claims it will go vertical with buildings in 2026, the city is attempting to reclaim ownership of the land stating that the developer has defaulted on the terms of the redevelopment agreement by not meeting certain benchmarks. During my recent visit, there seems to be little progress at the site.   

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