The M. Tatle Building, famous for being the longtime home of the Happy Bar, is one of the last historic vestiges of the once thriving Jefferson Square neighborhood in North Downtown Omaha.
Born in 1867, Meyer Tatle, a Russian Jew, immigrated to the United States around 1890. After settling in Omaha, he established a furniture and antiques business. Considered an authority on antiques, his pieces were often purchased and displayed in some of the most prominent homes not only in Omaha, but also in Lincoln and as far away as St. Joseph, Missouri. Of interest, Meyer’s sister Sarah was the mother of Johnny Rosenblatt.
As his son Ben grew older, Meyer opened M. Tatle & Son in 1913. The high-end furniture store was located in the Flatiron Building. He was also involved in real estate, having built flats along 18th Street between Jackson and Leavenworth Streets, as well as a hotel at 16th and California Streets.
Meyer passed away unexpectedly after a brief illness in 1915 at the age of 47. Buried in Orchard Hill Cemetery, he left behind his wife Kate and children Ben, Esther, Marie, and Gertrude. Ben sold the furniture business to Orchard & Wilhelm Company in 1919 and later worked in the furniture department at Brandeis.
Today, Meyer Tatle’s most visible contribution to Omaha is the M. Tatle Building located at 601 North 16th Street in the emerging Builder’s District. Built in 1910, the three-story building was designed by architect John McDonald in the Classical Revival style. Meyer hired Griffin & Chapin to construct the brick and terra cotta structure.
Occupying the upper two floors, the Hotel Rex was advertised as completely modern and up to date, featuring new furnishings, running hot and cold water on every floor, and closets and telephones in every room. When it opened, rooms rented for $1 per day or $4 per week. By the late 1930s, it had been renamed the Wade Hotel.
The main level consisted of three storefronts and over the years housed a variety of businesses, including the Rex Restaurant, Rex Bar, and Rex Drug Company, among others. Beginning in the 1940s, it became the longtime home of Boylan Tire, which billed itself as Omaha’s oldest tire shop. Since 1968 it has served as the home to the Pascarella family’s Happy Bar which is a popular gathering place for those who live and work in the area in addition to baseball fans attending the College World Series.
While the M. Tatle Building remains standing, it is under constant threat due to the development that surrounds it including the Kiewit Corporation headquarters, 1501 Mike Fahey building, a new urban park and Creighton University.
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