Omaha Exploration

This Queen Anne house, located just south of Farnam Street in Blackstone, is another attention-getter. Built in 1890 for prominent businessman William O. Taylor. This pre-dated both the streetcar line and the swanky Blackstone Hotel which was built in 1915.

The three-story house with a turret featured a wraparound porch, stained-glass windows, a grand staircase with an ornate railing, oak and parquet floors, a stone fireplace, built-in pocket doors, curved windows, 12-foot coffered ceilings, and decorative wrought-iron radiator covers. The second floor included three bedrooms and a sitting room. Behind the home stood a carriage house with horse stall, hitching post and living quarters for the coachman on the upper level.

When he built the house at 3565 Howard Street, William was working as the manager of the New York–based Bradstreet Mercantile. He traveled frequently for work, and his name appeared often in newspapers thanks to his real-estate dealings and his role as a frequently quoted source on business conditions in the city.

After William moved to St. Louis in 1895, he sold the house to Dr. Charles E. Smith, a prominent Omaha dentist. Dr. Smith was a charter member of both the Omaha Club as well as Ak-Sar-Ben. The home remained in the Smith family following the deaths of Ida in 1919 and Charles in 1931. Their daughter Dorothy continued living in the house until her passing in 1934. After that the home appears to have been rented by various occupants.

By 1965 it was owned by Lyman and Minnie Nicewander, who renovated the property while retaining many of its original features. They removed an unused carriage entrance that once led into the dining room and replaced the wooden porch railing and pillars with iron. They also removed windows from a living-room wall. The interior of the home was painted light green—including the woodwork—and the original floors were covered with carpet. Access to the attic had been sealed with a cedar closet. The Nicewanders appear to have moved out after Lyman’s death in 1976.

Its next owner was John L. Sullivan, an antique dealer who kept numerous valuable items in the home. Among them was a large piece of glass from the old Barton Mansion, stored in the basement as a replacement pane. Burglars broke into the house in 1980 and stole various items, including a stained-glass window. John, it seems, used the house as both his residence and for business using it to host antique sales.

When Justin Rossitto who had restored the home next door in addition to 20 other properties purchased it in 2013, it contained three apartments. He began converting it back into a single-family residence. Justin updated the bathrooms with period-appropriate fixtures and details, created a second-floor suite with a walk-in shower and adjacent dressing room, and installed a modern chef’s kitchen with high-end appliances. He preserved the original horse stall and hitching post in the carriage house. After relocating, he listed the home—which was featured in the February/March 2024 issue of Country Living magazine—for sale.

The current owners, Michael and Jackie Kolakowski, purchased the house later that year. Despite modern updates, it retains much of its historic charm, and the interior of the carriage house remains original.

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