Gone But Not Forgotten: Omaha’s Civic Auditorium
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…
Gone But Not Forgotten: The Crossroads Mall
Brandeis, the iconic, family-owned retail store based in downtown Omaha was responsible for the city’s first regional mall. Located at northwest corner of 72nd and Dodge Streets, The Crossroads Shopping Center opened five years after the much smaller, Center Mall. Brandeis turned down an offer to open a new store inside The Center preferring instead…
Gone But Not Forgotten: Riverview Park
Long before Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo was recognized as one of the world’s best, it was Riverview Park. The land along the Missouri River with steep hills was acquired on the cheap between 1893 to 1899. This was by design as Horace Cleveland, the architect of the parks and boulevard system, advocated for park land…
Brewery Series: Metz Brother’s Brewing Company
While Fred Metz is most often associated with Omaha’s second oldest brewery, it was his younger brother Philip that started it with partner Joseph Baumann in 1861. Following in his father’s footsteps, Fred originally found work as a forester. With dreams of riches, however, he set sail for the United States. First he worked odd…
Gone But Not Forgotten: Sidney Buffett’s Downtown Grocery Store
The history of the Buffett family in Omaha can be traced back to 1856 when George Washinton Homan moved from New York City where he operated a bus line on Broadway and Bleecker. In Omaha he established a livery business which his grandson Sidney Buffett likely worked at when he followed in his footsteps and…
Brewery Series: Fred Krug’s Brewing Company
Omaha Brewing history starts with Frederick Krug. Trained as a brewer in his native Germany, he arrived in the United States in 1852 at just 19 years old. The young man immediately found work as a superintendent of a small brewery in St. Louis where he met Anna Witting. The couple married and started a…
Gone But Not Forgotten: White Castle in Omaha
That time when White Castle was in Omaha… The hamburger chain was founded in Wichita, KS by Walter A. Anderson. He had run food stands in the area as far back as 1916 and opened his first diner in a converted streetcar. By 1921 he teamed up with Edgar Ingram, an insurance salesman and real…
Brewery Series: Spilker’s Ales in Cortland
A native of Cortland Sam Spilker intended to be a biologist or chemist when moved to Fort Collins to study biochemistry at Colorado State University. What he found when he got there was a community that was a part of the craft brewing revolution. It was there that he decided to combine his science background…
Gone But Not Forgotten: The Petry Family’s Moby Dick Water Slides
One of the more common requests that I get is for Moby Dick Water Slides. I can’t ever recall having gone there but many of you have fond memories so let’s dig in. After operating a construction company and two different nightclubs, brothers Glen and Bob Petry decided to get into the water slide business…
Gone But Not Forgotten: Indian Hills Movie Theater
Created out of a former golf course, the mid-century Indian Hills neighborhood in central Omaha had its namesake movie theater open its doors in 1962. Both the neighborhood and the theater were owned by Swanson Enterprises, the same family that invented the TV dinner. The theater was located at 8601 West Dodge Road just west…
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Omaha Exploration 