M's Pub: An Omaha Icon

M’s Pub logo, designed by Karlis Dzenis

Copyright © 2018 All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without prior permission from the publisher or BVH Architecture.

ISBN 978 0 578 20812 1 1st Edition Produced by M’s Pub, Inc., BVH Architecture Lund Ross Constructors, and Morrissey Engineering Project directed by Gary Bowen, BVH Architecture Text by Dennis Mihelich Editing by Jessica Spitsen, BVH Architecture Book design by Jinell Carslin, BVH Architecture Research by Gary Bowen, Ken Kirkpatrick of BVH Architecture; and Dennis Mihelich Photography by: Old Market of Omaha, pg. 5-6 Vera Mercer, pg. 8, 24-25 BVH Architecture, pg. 11, 20-21, 28, 30, 40-41, 43-47, 50-53, 56-58, 60, 63-64, 67-70 Karl Dzenis, pg. 11, 21 Durham Museum, pg. 14-18 John Morford, pg. 30 Richard Carstensen, pg. 33 Omaha World-Herald, pg. 34 Ken Smith Photography, pg. 36 Ann Mellen, pg. 62 Tom Kessler Photography, pg. 73, 75, 77-78, 80 Printed in China

M’s Pub An Omaha Icon

Text by Dennis Mihelich Forward by Robin Axtel Larsen Epilogue by Ann Mellen

Table of Contents Foreward / i Introduction / iii 1 Omaha City Market / 1 2 Emergence of the Old Market / 9 3 Evolution of M’s Pub / 19 4 Fire & Ice / 31 5 Avoiding Demolition / 37 6 Recreating M’s Pub / 61 7 The Grande Dame Returns / 71 Epilogue / 81 Acknowledgements / 85

Foreward My mother—aka “M”— first dreamt of opening a small corner pub, like the pub near Stratford-upon-Avon, where she once stopped to admire Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and a cat wound itself around her ankle. Then she thought it would be like the pub she visited with Nicholas and Jane Bonham-Carter when she flew to Yorkshire for their wedding. Or like the cozy pub in Georgetown she admired with her close friend and Leo A. Daly designer, Karl Dzenis.

Probably all of these origin myths are true. It was a heady time in Omaha in the late Sixties when a cabal of creatives convened, made up of all ages and all talents, but all inspired by the notion that the Old Market was a go.

Night after night during the late Sixties and early Seventies, she and the rest of this group met to dream up the best in design, architectural restoration, and cuisine. They wanted i

the Old Market to become a place where Omaha could reimagine itself, perhaps more like the town in its colorful frontier years, but also like the quietly cosmopolitan, prosperous, individualistic place it has become.

widowed or unmarried, did not obtain loans easily. Using the investment portfolio she inherited from her late husband, M persuaded Northwest Bank to loan her the money for the pub’s restoration.

In 1968 Roger duRand and Wade Wright opened their head shop, The Farthest Outpost. In 1970, Mr. Toad became a tiny, booklined pub that seated a few dozen. In 1971, Homer’s Music was established at 1210 Howard.

Once financing was secured, the three most dynamic of the group set to work: designer Cedric Hartman, boutique owner Judy Youngman, and developer and Old Market property owner, Sam Mercer. Hartman and Youngman did the persuading; Mercer did the developing.

That was the year—or was it 1970?—when M visited the warehouse at 422 South Eleventh Street. Captivated by the soaring ceiling, raw brick walls, deep space, and iron supports, she and designer Cedric Hartman, his then-partner John Morford, and Karl Dzenis set to work.

What makes Omaha so unique to me is that I have known all three of these remarkable founders since my childhood. Judy and I were together at school in District 66. Cedric lived a block west of me on Woolworth Street.

Sam and his first wife Agnes were close friends of my parents during the 1940s.

First, however, came the financing.

Women, especially those who were

Yet as my mother noted over the years, she was the only person in that

creative cabal—indeed, in town— who could have conceived of M’s and then executed it.

As the daughter of an awardwinning architect in Lincoln with a deep love of that profession, the super-smart granddaughter of a dean of arts and sciences at the new University of Nebraska, the wife of two well-known husbands who dealt in matters financial, M knew pretty much anybody who was anybody in town.

She also had exquisite taste, a deep love of Omaha and its history, and an abiding interest in cuisine.

I think the trio of Cedric Hartman, John Morford and my mother fused their best ideas into the perfect design that is M’s.

Like Hartman and Morford, M was a perfectionist. I remember sitting with her and Morford in the unfinished space in the spring of 1971, talking about how the lighting had to be

reflected in the mirrors, how the green marble bar had to be the same vibrant green echoed in the glass windows above the kitchen, and how the brass of the candelabras would be reinforced by the brass railings around the bar. How the floorboards needed to be wide, walnut-stained, and fastened by wood pegs.

As she explained in a letter she wrote to Mr. Twining of Earl Grey fame in 1980 when she sold M’s: “It was inspired by the concept of that noble institution, the English Pub, in the sense that it is a place where sociability vies with good food and drink. And I think it has.”

M’s began in 1972 as an elegant dining space for 95 that brought into the Old Market what my mother called “the carriage trade”—and it still does.

Robin Axtel Larsen, San Francisco, CA April, 2018 ii

Introduction The sponsors of this book wished to document the catastrophic results of the January 9, 2016 fire that engulfed the Mercer Building on the northwest corner of 11th and Howard streets, and to detail the reconstruction project that rehabilitated the historic structure. It is no ordinary story; as the tale actually recounts the third inferno to wreak havoc at the site.

This most recent blaze destroyed M’s Pub, Nouvelle Eve, and Mark and Vera Mercer’s apartment, as well as causing water and smoke damage to several neighboring businesses.

The Mercer Building and M’s Pub, located at the crossroads of the historic Old Market District, played a significant role in establishing the area as a major arts and entertainment venue in Omaha.

Following the fire, the City of Omaha issued a demolition order for the Mercer Building, but careful analysis of the damage and a viable iii

plan for stabilizing the building, reassured city officials that the historic structure could be saved. The remarkable reconstruction process, with the associated technological aspects of the project, merits documentation. The primary focus of the volume is M’s Pub. The Mercer Management Company preserved the original plans for the pub, and architect Gary Bowen, who was a partner in the original design firm, reprised his role of constructing M’s Pub. Fortunately, proprietor Ann Mellen overcame the emotional loss of her career and business, and maintained the passion and fortitude necessary to undertake the costly and difficult process of putting her life and business back together.

BVH Architecture and Lund Ross Constructors maintained meticulous records of the reconstruction process.

Furthermore, a true appreciation of the significance of the fire and the

restoration of the historic building and iconic restaurant necessitated historical context. That required a comprehension of Omaha’s Old Market District. I collected the information from materials housed in the Douglas County Historical Society Library Archive Center on the Ft. Omaha campus of the Metropolitan Community College, from the photo collection at the Durham Museum, and from the collection of Omaha City Directories at the W. Dale Clark Library. I also used the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Omaha WorldHerald Digital Archive, 1878-1983, as well as the digital Newsbank Newspapers Articles of the Omaha World-Herald, 1983-present. Three history books provided significant information: James W. Savage and John T. Bell, A History of Omaha (1894), Alfred Sorenson, The Story of Omaha (1923), and Sam Mercer and Mark Mercer, The Old Market of Omaha (1994). Oral interviews

provided considerable insight, in alphabetical order they included:

Gary Bowen, FAIA, Principal, BVH Architecture;

Jay G. Davis, Assistant Planning Director for the City of Omaha;

Cedric Hartman, Architecture, Interior and Lighting Designer;

Lonnie Kates, Lund Ross Constructors Project Superintendent;

Larry Lundquist, President of Lund Ross Constructors; Ann Mellen, Owner of M’s Pub;

Mark Mercer, President of Mercer Management Company;

Bob Peters, retired Director of Planning for the City of Omaha (1996-2005) and president of the consulting firm, the Robert Peters Company.

I organized the narrative in chronological order, beginning with the origins of the Omaha City Market, which organized commission merchants, local farmers, and peddlers to service consumers of fruits and vegetables in an area bounded by 10th to 12th streets, Jackson to Harney streets. Then I described the post-World War II demise of that original market area and the rise of the contemporary Old Market Historic District, one of Omaha’s premier entertainment venues. In that context, I explained the evolution of M’s Pub as “the Grande Dame of the Old Market,” followed by the devastating fire and the heroic reconstruction of the Mercer Building and the iconic restaurant.

Dennis N. Mihelich, February, 2018

iv

1 Omaha City Market “A city the size of Omaha

needs a marketplace to bring together vendors that offer fruits, vegetables, and meat.

1

On September 25, 1890, the Omaha World-Herald published an editorial which argued that “a city the size of Omaha” needed a marketplace to bring together vendors that offered fruits, vegetables, and meat. Commission houses purchased produce grown around the country by the trainload and redistributed it to local grocers, however, area farmers had to go from grocer to grocer with no agreement of a sale, or navigate neighborhood streets to hawk their produce directly to consumers.

The editor of the Omaha World-Herald advocated for a centralized market that would attract the buyers to the sellers.

The Omaha City Council did not immediately respond and an economic downturn forced a further delay. On February 2, 1894, the Omaha World-Herald reported

that a ballot proposition ratified in the 1893 fall election had authorized the mayor and city council to issue $200,000 in bonds to fund construction of a city market building.

The plan’s supporters thought in terms of replicating the status of large eastern cities that had built facilities to house numerous stalls that farmers could rent year-round.

Unfortunately, the Panic of 1893, a severe economic depression that gripped the nation and lasted the remainder of the decade, led to Omaha losing population, jobs, and revenue.

In this weakened economic condition, the city council opted for a minimal solution. In 1894, it passed a resolution allowing the use of the streets radiating from the crossroads of 11th and Howard for a farmer’s market place. A three-way struggle ensued among 2

gardeners, peddlers, and commission merchants. On September 3, 1895, Omaha World-Herald headlines declared, “Garden Sass for Nothing,” and “Wise Housewives Able to Buy Vegetables for a Mere Song,” and “By Taking the World-Herald’s Tip, They Profited by the Peddler-Gardener War.” The article explained that many of the gardeners operated farms in Iowa, but set up their stands at the designated street curbs in Omaha and sold to the public without paying rent or taxes like the commission merchants. In comparison, peddlers had to buy a $30 license yearly for a horse-drawn wagon, $20 for a pushcart, or $10 for those carrying goods on their shoulders to sell in the neighborhoods. Moreover, some commission merchants illegally charged gardeners $1$2 per month to use the curb space in front of their building. The competition bred vandalism, price wars, and boycotts directed against Iowa truck farmers. The police complained that they could not control the situation and appealed to the council members to rectify the disarray.

On April 2, 1896, the Omaha WorldHerald reported that the Omaha City Council passed the “market gardener’s 3

ordinance,” settling the “troubling” question.

It divided up the curb lines along both sides of Howard from 10th to 12th, and along 11th from Jackson to Harney, excepting directly in front of the commission houses.” At the time, about ten produce wholesalers operated in the authorized area, interspersed among dry goods wholesalers, a variety of retailers, and numerous light manufacturers. The city rented 221 eight-foot-wide curbside spaces to gardeners and peddlers for 15 cents for a single wagon or 25 cents for a double wagon per day, 5:30 a.m. to noon, May 1 to November. According to an Omaha WorldHerald article of June 9, 1896, at times gardeners competed with commission men, but the latter did not object “as it concentrates the business and brings the retailers there, doing away with soliciting.”

Entrepreneurs supporting the concept of a farmer’s market building finally succeeded with the return of economic prosperity at the onset of the twentieth century. On October 30, 1903, the Omaha World-Herald announced the opening of the Omaha City Market House on Capitol Avenue, just east of 14th Street.

It unsuccessfully competed with the public

“The city rented 221 eight-

market established in 1896 and with the Retail Grocers’ Association (RGA) market established in 1903, which operated on a quarter block it leased from the city on the northeast corner of 11th and Jackson streets. On November 16, 1905, an Omaha World-Herald headline disclosed, “City Market House is Closed as a Failure.” The article clarified that most farmers refused to relocate their stands because they could not chance angering the RGA. Subsequently, the City Market House became a National Guard Armory until it was razed for the construction of I-480 in the 1960s.

foot-wide curbside spaces to gardeners and peddlers for 15 cents for a single wagon or 25 cents for a double wagon per day, 5:30 a.m. to noon, May 1 to November.

Much of the current Old Market area has been owned by the Mercer family since the 1890s, including the building at 11th and Howard that houses M’s Pub.

4

Dr. Samuel David Mercer (1842-1907)

David “ Samuel Mercer physician ,

turned real-estate mogul, was a major property developer in the market district.

5

Samuel David Mercer (1842-1907), physician turned real-estate mogul, was a major property developer in the market district. He was born on a farm in Marion County, Illinois, educated by private tutor, and then at a school in the village of Walnut Hill until the age of 16. He injured his hand in a threshing machine, ending his career as a farmer. He then attended the University of Michigan for medical training and with the outbreak of the Civil War, became an assistant surgeon with the 149th Regiment, Illinois Volunteers. After the war, he attended the Chicago Medical College, but eventually obtained his degree from the Berkshire Medical College in Massachusetts in 1866.

The year after his graduation, he moved to Omaha and established the first hospital in the city. Mercer became a leading proponent for the creation of the Omaha Medical College in 1869, serving as clinical chair of surgery for four years.

Mercer married Lizzie Covert Hulst of Omaha in 1870 and they had six children, four of whom survived early childhood.

He became chief surgeon for the Union Pacific Railroad, surgeon for the Omaha Grant Smelting and Refining Works (later

ASARCO) and the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, and United States pension examiner at Omaha for ten years. In 1885, he built the 23-room “Mercer Mansion” at 40th and Cuming streets. However, according to A History of Omaha (1894) by James W. Savage and John T. Bell, “owing to ill-health and the accumulation of many outside business affairs,” Samuel D. Mercer retired from medicine in 1886.

hotel and converted it to a commission house; the D. J. O’Brien Company leased most of the building to house its candy factory and outlet, while the Hayward Shoe Company occupied the remainder.

With the dawn of the twentieth century, Dr. Samuel D. Mercer listed himself in the Omaha City Directory as “Capitalist” and shared office space with his son, Nelson, at 220 Bee Building.

After his retirement, Mercer became an Omaha real-estate tycoon, developing the 75-house Walnut Hill development, naming it after his hometown. He also acquired several buildings on the southeast, northeast, and northwest corners of 11th and Howard streets, as well as the Mercer-Whitmore Company (pharmaceutical chemists) Building at 1112 Howard Street. He constructed the six-story, 150-room Mercer Hotel at 12021208 Howard streets in 1892. The latter facility catered to long-term residents and travelers, was the first in Omaha with in-room telephones and baths, and its second-floor dining room became a social center for parties and dances. In 1899, Joseph Gahn of Boston bought the

Dr. Nelson Samuel Mercer (18741963), the second son of Samuel David Mercer, inherited and expanded his father’s real estate holdings. Nelson Mercer married Ann Mary Mulholland, born in Northern Ireland, and in 1910, the couple established residence in London, where they had three children: Samuel, Nancy, and Margaret (Peggy). Associates oversaw the daily activity of the Mercer Management Company, but Nelson and his family returned to Omaha frequently to supervise the firm’s activities. In 1920, he remodeled the Mercer Mansion into apartments, and in 1926, removed the Victorian gingerbread that adorned the residence and added a wing with seven more units, one of which they occupied during their sojourns in

Dr. Nelson Samuel Mercer (1874-1963)

6

Omaha. During the 1930s, Nancy and Peggy acted in plays at the Omaha Community Playhouse and the family spent the duration of World War II in Omaha.

Nelson’s son, Samuel D. (Sam) Mercer (1920-2013) was born in England and made his first visit to Omaha at age twenty. He attended the Westminster School in London, Grenoble University in France, and the University of Chicago. He married Agnes Mason of Philadelphia in 1943 and they had one son, Mark. Sam received a medical discharge from the Army, and in 1944, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where he commenced governwment work.

His marriage ended in divorce, and in 1947, he graduated from Yale

7

Law School. Sam worked for the Republican Congressional Caucus for a year, and then joined a New York City law firm whose clients included the French government. He went to Paris in 1951, when the practice established an office there. A year later, Sam opened his own firm that became Mercer, Porter & Durham, specializing in international commerce. In 1953, he married a Swiss woman, Eva Aeppli.

He visited Omaha quarterly to oversee the operation of Mercer Management, which he inherited in 1963 upon the death of his father. He witnessed the demise of the Omaha City Market and facilitated development of the historic Old Market District.

By that time Sam’s son Mark had graduated from Georgetown

Law School and began to assume more responsibility in the dayto-day operations of the Mercer Management Company. His cousin, Nicholas Bonham-Carter assisted with the company’s real-estate holdings. Mark worked during the summer of 1968 helping to open shops in the fledgeling Old Market.

In 1969, upon his return from Law School, he negotiated an arragement with the French Cafe chefs. Mark and Nicholas had talked about excavating the alley space between two buildings on the north side of Howard, and recognized the potential for a multistory “passageway” after seeing similar developments in Paris.

Left: Samuel D. (Sam) Mercer (1920-2013)

witnessed the demise of the “ [Sam] Omaha City Market and facilitated

Right: Mark Mercer

development of the historic Old Market District.

8

2 Emergence of the Old Market “The City Market ceased to

function in 1964. Moreover, city officials openly expressed their preference for bulldozing the entire area and implementing an urban renewal plan.

9

The City Market ceased to function in 1964. Over the years, as trucks supplanted wagons, the curbside vendors diminished and the RGA morphed into the Omaha Wholesale Produce Market House Company, which in its heyday rented up to fifty stall spaces at 11th and Jackson streets. In its last year of operation, it rented only six stalls and decided to terminate its operation.

The city sold the three lots to Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Weiss, who converted them into a parking lot. Urban growth on both sides of the river, such as Eppley Airfield, eliminated many nearby truck farms. Mom & pop neighborhood stores gave way to chain grocery stores with their warehouses for the stockpiling and the distribution of goods to their individual retail outlets, which replaced the historic seller-buyer arrangement of commission house, gardener, and peddler.

According to an Omaha World-Herald article published on February 25, 1978, Sam Mercer traced the “Old Market’s new look� to a day in 1967 when Leland Lubbers, S.J., head of the Creighton University art department approached him about renting a warehouse that could become studio space for his students. No deal ensued, but Sam Mercer, who owned about half of the produce commissionhouse buildings in the area, confronted continued expenses of taxes, insurance and upkeep on those facilities, many of which (especially their upper floors) stood empty. Moreover, city officials openly expressed their preference for bulldozing the entire area and implementing an urban renewal plan.

10

Cedric Hartman c. 1972

said that he would move “ Percy his British Import Shop down there and become the first tenant. He did, and it was the beginning of many new stores in that old part of the city.

11

Fortuitously, as Sam Mercer explained in The Old Market of Omaha (1994), Cedric Hartman and Judith Youngman (Wigton) “expressed interest in moving their household equipment and decorating store [The Afternoon] to the Old Market if we would undertake renovation of the area.” Cedric Hartman described the way he imagined future occupancy of these buildings by new tenants who would be seeking a location with an atmosphere and charm which only these unique buildings could supply. Not just one building, but the whole group of buildings together would be needed to create the environment typical of commercial neighborhoods in Nebraska towns of their period. Hartman also believed that the canopies attached to the buildings to shelter the produce, as well as the sellers and buyers, would add an artistic element.

Sam Mercer enlisted the help of Ray Simon, a Creighton Law School friend, to prevent the razing of his empty buildings and he entertained the notion of implementing the Hartman-Wigton plan on Howard Street, 10th to 11th streets. First, he had to engineer a miraculous save before he could take the first step. He and Hartman saw a condemnation

It was November or December of 1964 when Cedric and I saw the For Rent sign on the warehouse at 11th and Howard. I telephoned the number on the sign and Mrs. Illsley at the Mercer Realty Company said that Mr. Mercer would be coming from Paris in two weeks and could show us the property then.

So a couple of weeks later we went to the Mercer offices which were in the old Byron Reed house at 2506 Dodge Street. Mr. Mercer showed us the warehouse saying that it had been built in 1905 after the Mercer Hotel on that site had burned. Apparently bananas were a new thing in America and the bulding was constructed as a warehouse expressly for them. The ceilings were full of hooks which had held huge bunches of bananas.

We proposed trying to turn the vacant warehouses into a community of shops and restaurants. It must have seemed like a mad idea then, but Sam Mercer is a man of great imagination who always sees new possibilities. A few dates later we arranged for him to visit Jim Shugart’s splended house in the old Budweiser brewery offices at 1215 Jones Street. Sam agreed that something nice might be done with the old warehouses.

Over the next three years, whenever Sam was in town, we spend many hours discussing how to proceed. Finally, the day came when he decided we should go ahead and give it a try.

I was at a dinner party and had been talking about the project. Percy and Valerie Roche were also there. Percy said he would move his British Import Shop down there and become the first tenant. He did, and it was the beginning of many new stores in that old part of the city.

Judy Youngman Wigton 12

notice posted on the vacant ironfronted Gilinsky Fruit Company building, with demolition to begin the following week. The building sat at 1013 Howard and its removal would create a gap in the adjoined buildings in the proposed redevelopment area.

They contacted the last family member residing in Omaha, Sarah “Peaches” Gilinsky, who agreed to cancel the demolition order and sell the building to Mercer.

With no master plan, no abundant amount of money and no prospects of obtaining a line of credit using the old buildings as collateral, Mercer nonetheless managed to gain control of most of the structures in what became the heart of the Old Market by obtaining leases with the option to purchase. Percy Roche, originally from New Zealand, married to Valerie Roche, the head of the Creighton

13

University dance department, opened the first store in the Old Market, moving his British Import Shop from 2955 Farnam to 1019 Howard Street.

In Sam Mercer’s words, “The response was rapid and almost overwhelming.

Stores and lofts which had been vacant for years, or rather had been occupied only by pigeons and bats, were rented in the space of a few months mostly by very young people, who were busy cleaning up, painting and repairing the lofts and stores to prepare to open all sorts of enterprises. They included a café with no liquor license, but a rock band, clothing shops with lowcost ‘far out’ styles, poster shops, art galleries, a theater, a movie house and many others.” Twelve businesses opened in the first year.

City officials remained skeptical as the area mostly attracted young people—“hippies”—in the new

parlance. Moreover, many of the old buildings, which had been warehouses, did not meet the code requirements for the new types of businesses that operated in them.

Thus, city inspectors and fire marshals issued frequent citations against the fledgling entrepreneurs; the negative attitude persisted for well over a decade. On October 16, 1982, the Omaha World-Herald reported that retired Omaha City Planner Alden Aust labeled the City Law Department, the Fire Marshals and a “group of opportunistic politicians” as “obstructionists” in regards to the preservation of old buildings.

Yet, the concept of the Old Market persisted and evolved. In 1969, Sam Mercer developed the French Café, the first French restaurant to open between Chicago and San Francisco, in a town Holiday magazine described

as “an over-steaked area.” Cedric Hartman designed the space and sought to retain the “essential aspects” of the former Gilinsky Fruit Company building. Mercer recruited Toussaint Moallic and his wife Lise, whom he had known in Paris, to operate the restaurant. In 1971, Mercer sold the establishment to Michael Harrison and Tony Abbott, who expanded the operation into an Old Market mainstay. In 1972, the firm of Hartman, Morford and Bowen began designing the loft apartments above the French Café, which became the first market-rate housing in the Old Market.

steakhouse dining establishment opened in 1972, and quickly became a focal point of the Old Market. Those businesses occupied bays in one-half of the second building located on that site. The first Mercer Building at that location was constructed in the early 1890s, but a fire destroyed it in 1905.

Across the street in the Mercer Building on the northwest corner of 11th and Howard, Carol Palmerton opened an art gallery on the ground level, which featured the work of her artist husband Tom. Upstairs Roger duRand and Wade Wright established a shop selling hand-made jewelry, student art and posters. Next door to the north, at 422 South 11th Street, M’s Pub, a second nonFirst building on site 11th & Howard (Looking west from 10th & Howard)

14

15

Above: (Looking northeast) Left: Mercer Building Fire c. 1905 (At 11th & Howard)

16

Circa 1910, the second Mercer Building arose at the northwest corner of corner 11th and Howard streets.

Unfortunately, on March 29, 1952, a devastating fire consumed the north half of the structure. The inferno began on the second floor of the E. L. Nogg Fruit Company and extended to the roof up through a freight elevator shaft. The floors loaded with potatoes and fruit collapsed into the basement, but according to that day’s Omaha World-Herald, “Quick work by firemen and adequate firewalls prevented the blaze from spreading to other parts of the building.” The adjacent Nebraska Furniture Mart warehouse, the Central Woodworking Company (furniture makers) and the Charles Schneider & Co. (upholsterers) only suffered water and smoke damage. The fire-ravaged north half of the building was razed.

For a third time, on January 9, 2016, a fire erupted at that site, which devastated the remaining portion of the Mercer Building located on the northwest corner of 11th and Howard streets. It destroyed M’s Pub, 17

Nouvelle Eve Clothing Store, and two apartments, one occupied by Mark and Vera Mercer, but once again, adequate firewalls and heroic work by Omaha firefighters prevented its spread to neighboring buildings. This time, however, the severely damaged portion of the structure avoided the wrecking ball. The Mercer Building would be reconstructed and M’s Pub would be restored, with the pub re-emerging as a virtual clone of its historic self.

“The Mercer

building would be reconstructed and M’s Pub would be restored.

Mercer Buildling c. 1910: (M’s Pub located in 3rd and 4th bays from left)

Second building at 11th & Howard.

North half burned in 1952 (Looking northwest, c. 1910)

18

3 Evolution of M’s Pub “Sam Mercer said his friend Mary

Helen Davis Vogel was interested in the Old Market from its inception.

She leased the space at 422 S. 11 th Street, and engaged her friend Cedric Hartman and his partners to design the pub.

19

Sam Mercer said his friend Mary Helen Davis Vogel was interested in the Old Market from its inception. Mary, better known as “M” to her friends, was the widow of two prominent Omaha businessmen— investment broker Lane Axtell and banker W. Dean Vogel. After the death of her second husband, she travelled, took up bowling and golf, and became active at the Joslyn Art Museum and the Douglas County Historical Society. In 1970, she leased the space at 422 S. 11th Street, formerly occupied by the Sortino Fruit Company. On May 17, 1972, Omaha World-Herald entertainment columnist Peter Citron wrote that Mary “has been putting M’s together for more than two years now,” and that she had engaged her friend Cedric Hartman and his partners to design the pub.

Mary “M” Vogel c. 1972

20

Hartman was born in Lincoln, but raised in Omaha, and studied at the Sorbonne. He briefly taught architecture at the University of Nebraska in the early sixties and served as the president of the Alliance Francaise. In 1963, he created a unique reading lamp, adding dozens of varieties over the years, all individually hand-made at an anonymous studio in Omaha “to keep the curious at bay.”

According to the December 12, 1971 Omaha World-Herald, his firm “reached a national market with its line of sophisticated reading lamps which are on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.”

The following year, Hartman expanded his architectural and interior design company, partnering with architects John Morford and Gary Bowen, both previously employed in Omaha by the Leo A. Daly Company. Despite newspapers frequently acknowledging Hartman, he and Bowen credit Morford with doing the vast majority of the design work for M’s Pub. Before moving to Omaha,

21

Left: John Morford c. 1972 Below: Gary Bowen c. 1972

Morford had served as an interior designer for Jeanne Hartnett & Associates in Chicago, and subsequently became an internationally recognized designer based in Hong Kong.

Harris Carnaby of Crestridge Construction acted as the general contractor for building M’s Pub. The Omaha World-Herald, on May 19, 1973, revealed that Mary Vogel established the fundamental concept for M’s Pub based what she had seen in Georgetown (Washington, D.C.) and in London, England, where pubs offered a place a woman could go “without being misunderstood” and that “reflected local history.” Thus, the design theme retained and exposed the heavy wood ceiling beams, the cast-iron columns, and the original brick walls, which were painted white. The floor needed replacement, as condensation from the machinery of the Sortino Fruit Company, which sold bananas, had caused it to rot. However, “the new wood floor underwent several decades of

weathering” to give it a vintage look. The bar “topped with green marble [actually Serpentine Stone] received a complementary aging treatment” and the interior accessories included “Gothic brass candelabra [actually menorahs] resurrected from storage in a church in Northwest Nebraska” [but purchased from Drew’s Antique store in Omaha]. Previously, on December 13, 1972, Mary had told an Omaha WorldHerald reporter, “I decided to go the whole way and produce something quite unique, rather than the original idea of filling it with Victorian memorabilia. Now it’s a presentday pub with Victorian architecture ... It’s in the tradition of the English pub which means it will be local in character.”

It s a present-day pub “ with Victorian architecture... ’

It’s in the tradition of the English pub which means it will be local in character.

22

Picture, if you will, the Old Market in the spring of 1970. While it was certainly beyond its infancy, it was far from bustling. A single restaurant, two galleries, and a bookstore, quite a few imagination and charming shops—these were all.

Into this alluring vacuum came the flash of an idea, inspired by a visit to Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown—the original of all authentic areas in America. Add to Georgetown a happy recollection of the elegant and sophisticated pubs of London, with their socialibitiy, charm, and delectable food, and you have the concept behind M’s Pub. This big room had been a discouraging sight, though it had made a fine warehouse of forty years. Plywood covered the stairs, walls were crumbling, the arches had been bricked up, and the only light came from naked bulbs suspended from a ceiling festooned with cobwebs.

Yet the space felt just right, giving an impression of both spaciousness and intimacy. The basic warehouse architecture was respected by the designers. Ceiling and walls were restored and painted, the arches filled with glass, the island bar and the cabinet kitchen constructed on the spot. Clear glass, mirrors, brass, and white walls bright with reflected light brought new beauty to a room that was essentially beautiful to begin with. All furnishing were ordered or designed especially for the place, except for the candelabras, which came from an old church in northern Nebraska.

We opened for business on January 18, 1973, to an enthusiastic clientele which we have tried never to disappoint. The present owners cherish the Pub, and have greatly embellished the menu which remains imaginative and unusual.

Is it a restaurant or is it a Pub? Is it, perhaps, closer to being a European cafe? You, dear customer, may be the judge. For it is you who rule in this establishment.

Mary Vogel, 1979

23

M’s Pub c. 1973

24

25

On January 25, 1973, one week after the opening, in his column in the Omaha World-Herald, Peter Citron wrote, “During my nose-against-thewindow previews, I concluded M’s Pub, 422 South Eleventh Street was shaping up to be a nice, but sterile, lounge and snack. But now that I can get on the other side of the window, I find warmth and a lot of charm in the Victorian setting, with its proper squared structures and stark accoutrements.”

He described it as a “white brick and cocktail table atmosphere,” with the décor “completed with magnificent mirroring and brassy candelabra and coat racks.” Moreover, the room was “flanked by a kitchen windowed in carafes and mustard dishes and an arched window peeking into the art gallery next door.”

In that same story, Citron divulged that the menu fronts offered, “copies

of lithographs from the Official State Atlas of Nebraska from 1885, from elegant Nebraska homes to the state insane asylum.” The bill of fare included homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, and Greek pastries, as well as “a growing collection of wines” and “an afternoon tea special from 4 to 5 p.m.” He shared that the sandwiches came in “ladies and men’s varieties,” which was “not a sexist situation, just a delineation of size.” Mary added, “And I know it sounds corny, but I worked out every single recipe, except for the Greek pastry, in my kitchen.”

worked out “ Ievery single

recipe in my kitchen.

Besides being a creative cook, Mary acted as the hostess at her pub.

On November 27, 1975, Robert McMorris recounted in his Omaha World-Herald byline that Gourmet magazine had asked Mary for M’s recipe for its beef burgundy soup.

Unfortunately, the chef did not have one. She wrote back to the magazine, “You see, it’s the kind of soup that off-hand you can’t tell someone the ingredients. You just throw in this and that and taste and taste until it’s right.

But as soon as we’ve got it figured out, we’ll send you the recipe.”

In 1979, the Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission presented Mary with a preservation award for the sensitive restoration of 422 S. 11th Street into M’s Pub. That same year, she sold her namesake establishment to Floyd and Kate Mellen. Their son, Joe Mellen, who

Left: M’s Pub c. 1973

26

had worked in restaurants in San Francisco, Palm Beach, and Aspen, as well as at the French Café in Omaha, briefly became the manager of the restaurant. According to the April 13, 1979 Omaha World-Herald, he decided to change the menu towards a continental cuisine, “with prices just below the French Café,” a half block away. The strategy did not fare well, prompting Joe to depart and for Kate to take over. “She persuaded Mary to come back as the luncheon hostess, put one of Mary’s former waiters, Dean Minchow, in as manager and got busy on the menu.” Citron approved, “It is a nice piece of work, well executed in the kitchen and well served beneath the high black joists of the ceiling.”

However, on May 6, 1981, the Omaha World-Herald unveiled the fact that Kate “makes no bones about her M’s Pub being for sale, but she goes right on

27

dreaming up new items and renewing old favorites.”

Kate’s daughter Ann, a University of Nebraska graduate in journalism began working at M’s Pub in 1980, doing the bookkeeping for the family operation. In 1985, she worked out an arrangement to buy the establishment by purchasing stock from her parents over a period of time. The following year, Ron Samuelson, who played the saxophone and attended North Texas State College for their music program, applied for a job as a manager at M’s Pub. After two years at college and abandoning the idea of a music career, Ron had moved to Denver and spent nine years managing corporate-owned restaurants before returning to his hometown. He and Ann made a good team, and in 1988, she asked him to become a partner in the business, using the stock buy-in arrangement she

had with her parents. Ann continued to do the books and Ron concentrated his efforts on the kitchen operation.

They made no substantial changes to the original Morford design, only moving the hutch at the end of the bar to become a coat closet at the end of the kitchen, which was expanded one window in length. For a few years, Ron and a few of his friends indulged their love for jazz by jamming on Monday nights. Similarly, Friday and Saturday evenings included classical piano music. However, by 1990, the establishment became too busy and too loud to continue as a musical venue.

On April 5 of that year, the Omaha World-Herald quoted Samuelson, “I think when I got here people thought of it as a bar that served food, now it’s a restaurant that has a lively bar.” He explained, “Many people feel that a restaurant must be quiet to be intimate,

but in many ways, loud surroundings are more intimate. People find it easy to blend into a busy place and they also enjoy the opportunity to take in their surroundings and entertain themselves by watching people.”

The popularity of M’s Pub grew with the development of the city and

of the Old Market—the burgeoning popularity of the College World Series, the creation of the Gene Leahy Mall and the Con Agra Campus, and the boom in downtown residence. In 1993, the partners purchased Doodles restaurant in the Mercer-owned building adjacent to the west of M’s Pub. In the

basement, workers drilled through 28 inches of adjoining brick walls to construct a doorway between the two spaces. Bakers and chefs could service both restaurants from their basement kitchens. They named their new establishment Vivace, and Samuelson developed a frequently changing bill of

popularity “ The of M s Pub ’

grew with the development of the Old Market.

M’s Pub plan c. 1973

28

fare of northern Italian cuisine, a niche he thought Omaha needed filling. With its outside patio tables, Vivace could seat 150 customers. It did well for a decade, but by 2014, the partners thought the concept had run its course and sold the restaurant.

“Three items on the M’s Pub menu have been there since the restaurant opened: the hot dog, the Greek sandwich and the cucumber sandwich.” In addition, “The restaurant serves food late, and is one of the only restaurants in the Old Market that serves food until midnight every night but Sunday, when it serves M’s Pub continued to thrive, and until 11 p.m.” in 1996, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce bestowed its “Business Hansen’s column headline for Proprietors of the Year” award to Ann January 6, 2013 announced, “40 Mellen and Ron Samuelson. Omaha YEARS OF M’S PUB—Regulars, staffers World-Herald food critic Sarah Baker say camaraderie, food, atmosphere are Hansen repeatedly heaped praise; the recipe for longevity.” M’s Pub became title of her January 20, 2012 column one of a handful of Omaha restaurants resounded, “DINNER AND A MOVIE— to remain in business for four decades.

Menu, atmosphere keep classy M’s Hansen reported, “Regulars call the Pub enchanting—Grande dame of the place warm and welcoming, and say the Old Market is aging well, thanks to mix staff is like family.” She also explained, of old and new.” She continued, “The “It draws a diverse group of diners atmosphere at M’s Pub is a big reason so dressed in jeans or formal gowns. In one many Omahans love it. It’s why visiting night, it might serve a family with small New Yorkers love it when locals take children, a couple looking for romance them there. The simple, straightforward and the group of regulars—they call sophistication melded with warm themselves the ‘slime dogs’—who have Midwestern hospitality has worked for been meeting there for drinks on Friday the restaurant since it opened.” In nights for as long as there has been her M’s Pub tidbits segment, she listed, an M’s.” The group numbering 20-30 29

wishes to remain anonymous and no one remembers how it acquired the name.

Hansen’s column of January 14, 2016 responded to the fire, “A MAGICAL PLACE—M’s Pub, left in ruins by a fire at the weekend, had the rarest of restaurant qualities: Everybody liked it.” She had first visited the restaurant as an eight-year-old and had crème brulee. Subsequently, “That girl grows up and eventually claims a seat at the long, marble-topped bar [another in a host of people misidentifying the stone] next to the sophisticated adults she’s long admired. She eats lahvosh with her future husband, her future in-laws and friends from all over the country.

She celebrates her sister’s birthday, year after year, at a long table in the center of the restaurant. Her last visit comes on a mid-December night when her husband returns from a trip to Cuba. They drive straight from the airport, sit at the bar, share a burger, talk about his trip. M’s pub wasn’t just a restaurant to this girl. It was a place where she—where I—felt welcomed.

Relaxed. Well-fed.”

In that same column, Hansen cited Jim Trebbien, retired dean of the Metropolitan Community College Institute for Culinary Arts, who credited “two new, chef-driven restaurants with redefining Omaha’s restaurant scene when he moved to Omaha in 1971: the late French Café and M’s.” She also quoted Old Market chef and restaurateur Paul Kulik, who said, “It’s unfathomable that there would be an Old Market without M’s. I called it a ‘forever restaurant’.” He tried to explain that “certain something” about M’s: “It’s a mystery. Everyone has tried to unpack it and figure out what the alchemy was. But one thing it really did was elegantly thread the needle between casual and sophisticated.”

Hansen asserted, “That staff created a restaurant that just worked, day after day, for 43 years, as food trends and entire generations of diners came and went.” She concluded, “We all found comfort. A near-universal comfort. That was—and hopefully will be again—the magic of M’s Pub.” Thankfully, the wish secured fulfillment.

M’s Pub Commemorative Poster c. 1973 John Morford

30

4 Fire & Ice “The wood floors on all levels of the

Mercer Building, as well as the wood bar and furniture in the restaurant, fueled by a constant stream of natural gas for well over an hour, produced a quick-burning fire.

31

An explosion at 2:51 p.m. on January 9, 2016, ignited a fire in the four-story Mercer Building at 11th and Howard.

Waiters and diners in M’s Pub said they smelled gas and saw a flame shooting up about six feet outside the restaurant’s patio area on 11th Street. The gas odor led the kitchen staff to shut off their equipment in the basement and leave the area. Flying glass severely cut David Gonzalez, one of the cooks coming up the stairs as the explosion erupted. Fortunately, by that time, the restaurant staff and patrons (approximately 25 people) had safely exited through a side door. Employees and shoppers in the Nouvelle Eve clothing store (adjacent south bay of Mercer Building) and condominium residents in the 420 Building (contiguous to the west) vacated their premises.

Fire investigators determined that a crew employed by North Central Service, a Minnesota company laying fiber-optic cable for a Verizon Communications project in the Old Market, ruptured a natural gas line on 11th Street. Gas leached into the basement of M’s Pub where it is believed that the pilot light of a water heater ignited it, causing the explosion and fire. Unfortunately, faulty maps of the underground natural gas pipeline system led an MUD worker to concentrate his efforts on a line taken out of service in 2009. It took one hour and thirty-five minutes to find the correct line servicing M’s Pub and to close that connection feeding the fire. The Nebraska Fire Marshal’s final, 124-page report faulted MUD, which the report claims did not properly mark the severed gas line.

32

MUD disputed the finding and a profusion of lawsuits ensued. The Mercer Management Company, M’s Pub, insurance companies, Old Market businesses, and condominium owners filed claims against several entities involved with the fire. On January 21, 2018, the Omaha World-Herald recounted that in the intervening year, seven new plaintiffs brought grievances, bring the total to fifteen, with no court decisions rendered.

The Omaha Fire Department (OFD) established a command post at 11th and Howard. First firefighters searched the upper floors to make sure no one remained in either building. Twelve condominiums occupied the floors above the Market House (formerly Vivace’s) restaurant in the 420 Building. In addition to M’s Pub, the Mercer Building housed the Nouvelle Eve clothing store, which also leased the second-floor area above it, and five apartment spaces.

Mark and Vera Mercer maintained their apartment on the entire fourth floor, Vera used the third floor as her art studio, and the second-floor apartment above M’s Pub was a rental unit. At the time of the fire, Mark was at his office a block away, but Vera was home on the fourth floor and left 33

Mercer Building Fire January 9, 2016

“Within 20 minutes of

being there, firefighters determined they could not save the building.

the apartment following the explosion. In hindsight, knowing that it took time for the fire to reach the upper floors, she wished she had collected some prized materials before departing.

a -25° F wind-chill reading. Mist from the spray froze on the masks and gear of the firefighters. The need to rotate personnel in those frigid conditions resulted in a crew of 60, making it a 3-alarm fire.

The wood floors on all levels of the Fortuitously, there were no fatalities and Mercer Building, as well as the wood bar only one firefighter suffered an injury, and furniture in the restaurant, fueled by breaking his hand after slipping on the ice. a constant stream of natural gas for well over an hour, produced a quick-burning fire. According to a January 13, 2016 article in the Omaha World-Herald, “within 20 minutes of being there,� firefighters determined they could not save the building and they concentrated on containing the fire in order to save the rest of the block.

As they poured water on the structure from three directions, the temperature plummeted during the evening, reaching

The fire originated in front exterior stairwell

34

Right: Fire aftermath, January 10, 2016

It took nine hours to contain the fire that started on a Saturday afternoon, but the Omaha World-Herald reported on January 11, 2016, “Fire crews on Monday morning finally stopped pouring water on the burnedout hulk of a historic building in the soul of the Old Market.” A firewall along the west side of the Mercer Building prevented the spread of the fire to the adjoining 420 Building.

The explosion, however, caused damage to buildings and businesses across 11th Street to the east in the form of shattered windows, smoke and soot staining, and loss of business due to driving and parking restrictions at the crossroads of the Old Market. The blaze did spread to the roof and the fourth floor on the south side of the Mercer Building. However, the second and third floors, and Nouvelle Eve, as well as the entire 420 Building, suffered only smoke and water damage.

35

Nonetheless, the severe impairment forced the closing of Niche and the Market House restaurant in the 420 Building and Nouvelle Eve. The OFD departed its command unit at 11th and Howard streets on the afternoon of January 12 and turned the area over to the City of Omaha Planning Department, which would manage the inspections to determine the cause of the fire and the structural integrity of the Mercer Building.

they poured water on “ As the structure from three directions, the temperature plummetted during the evening, reaching a -25° F wind-chill reading.

36

5 Avoiding Demolition “Firefighters had sprayed over one

million gallons of water to fight the inferno, and as the temperature continued to plunge during the evening, it froze in multiple layers on the building, sidewalk, and streets.

37

On Sunday, January 10, 2016, Mark and Vera Mercer met with their insurance agent, facilities manager, Bob Peters, and Jay Davis to discuss the fate of the Mercer Building. Peters, the former Director of Planning for the City of Omaha (19962005), lived in the Old Market area, had witnessed the fire, and had a lengthy association with the Mercers. Following his retirement, he established a consulting firm with a specialization in project management, sustainable financing, and land use planning and development. Davis was the Assistant Planning Director, Permits & Inspection Division, and the Superintendent and Building Official responsible for code enforcement and zoning. The first order of business was to prepare the area for the safe inspection of the building.

Jay Davis, who had viewed the fire until 12:30 a.m. and returned to the scene at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, served as the lead inspector for the city. He worked with the OFD to establish the drop zone, a perimeter of chain-link fencing isolating the affected area. A television news crew provided footage captured with a drone equipped with a camera, which revealed that the roof and all four floors of the north bay of the building had collapsed into the basement of M’s Pub. Davis’s initial assessment of the exterior concluded that the north wall (it had been an interior wall between bays of the building before the 1952 fire) was unstable. It had lost support from its connections to the floors and roof, and it had bowed in the middle and seemed to have moved several inches.

Presumably, only the ice coating the wall 38

kept it upright. Moreover, the portion of the sidewalk canopy attached to M’s Pub, crushed under the weight of the ice, threatened to pull down the east wall of the edifice. Firefighters had sprayed over one million gallons of water to fight the inferno, and as the temperature continued to plunge during the evening, it froze in multiple layers on the building, sidewalks and streets. Davis estimated that 20 tons of ice had formed on top of the canopy.

On January 12, 2016, the City of Omaha issued a Demolition Order requiring the owners “to demolish and remove said structure by 02/12/16.� An appeal to rescind the order had to be filed with the Omaha Building Board of Review within 20 days of the date of the order. A large-building fire of this nature, where inspectors predicted a collapse when the ice melted, prompted the directive to protect the safety of the public and to avoid tort claims against the city. However, because the building sat in a historic district, all involved hoped an alternative would emerge.

Mercer Management contacted Gary Bowen of BVH Architects to aid in the evaluation effort. In turn, Bowen 39

recommended employing Stephen J. Kelley, an architectural forensic engineering expert from Chicago, with whom BVH had worked on the 20-year restoration of the Nebraska State Capitol. Before they could begin their examination of the condemned structure, crews had to drain flooded basements and melt tons of ice that required them to wear ice crampons just to walk in the area. Several abutting buildings to the west of the Mercer property had connecting basements, which had probably served as fire escape routes.

Workers had to siphon water up to nine feet deep from the basements of the Market House, Niche, Stokes Grill & Bar, Billy Froggs, City Limits, and the Tea Smith.

In the middle of January, confronted with a deadline to file an appeal, the Mercer team could not wait for Mother Nature to melt the ice. Workers sprayed hot water from a large power washer to remove the icebergs that had grown at the lower level of the building and vacuumed up the runoff. A thin sheet of ice remained attached to the upper floors of the shell. According to a January 15, 2016 article in the Omaha World-Herald, a team from Paul Davis Restoration used a

“In the middle of January

confronted with a deadline to file an appeal, the Mercer team could not wait for Mother Nature to melt the ice.

“ground thawing machine to melt the thick sheet of ice in the 400 block of South 11th Street. They spread coils of hose on the ice, covered it with blankets, and then turned on a machine that pumps hot fluid through the hose.” City officials wanted to make it safe for fire and OSHA investigators to get closer to the scene of the fire and to where the excavators had punctured the gas line. Once the ice melted and the ground thawed, investigators cut through the street and dug down to the point of the pipe breach. A steel cage was placed under the sagging canopy to prevent its collapse and to protect workers from potential falling debris. Ice removal also freed about two dozen cars stranded for a week next door in the underground parking garage of the Cornerstone Building.

,

(left-right) G. Bowen, Architect; K. Whestone, Mercer Management Co; S. Kelley, Forensic Architect-Chicago; M. Marcer, Mercer Management Co.

40

long as we don t warm “ As up and get a 50 mph ’

wind, I think we’re OK.

41

Kelley & Bowen in bucket inspecting fire damage

ASSESSING THE DAMAGE Three days after the inspection, Bowen sent an email to Bob Peters outlining his thoughts on the next steps in the process.

They included:

On January 23, two weeks after the fire, Gary Bowen and Stephen Kelley were raised in a basket suspended from a 150foot boom crane, situated at the northeast and then southeast corners of the building, to inspect the exterior of the walls and then lowered down into the interior of the shell to inspect it from that perspective. They gathered mortar samples for analysis and concluded the wall was sound. The Omaha World-Herald reported on January 26 that Bowen had taken soundings on the wall and that Assistant Planning Director Jay Davis, who witnessed the inspection, said that Kelley’s assessment gave him “some comfort level” and “as long as we don’t warm up and get a 50 mph wind, I think we’re OK.” The article also quoted Bowen as stating that Davis “has been a big asset” and the city “more than cooperative.” An alternative to demolition began to unfold.

1 Write the assessment report 2 Engage a local structural engineer to develop the stabilization plan

3 Select a contractor to implement the stabilization plan

4 Write instructions/specifications for debris removal and salvage

5 Select removal contractor 6 Develop construction documents for shell reconstruction and canopy replacement

7 Select a contractor for reconstruction 8 Develop reconstruction documents for tenant spaces (Nouvelle Eve and M’s Pub)

9 Select contractor/s for rebuilding the tenant spaces.

42

On February 1, 2016, Kelley and Bowen submitted their inspection report to Mark Mercer. The document described the Mercer Building as a four-story structure with a basement, with perimeter masonry bearing walls that supported all four floors, and a masonry bearing wall, oriented

Mercer Building floor plan.

43

east-west, located in the center of the building, with a central archway connecting the two bays. On each floor, an east-west line of four castiron columns, supporting heavy timber beams, located in the center of each bay of the building separated by the middle masonry-bearing wall,

supported the floor joists. The first and second floor structure was composed of 3x14 inch wood joists that spanned north to south from wall to girder to wall. Floor joists on the third and fourth floors measured 2 x 12 inches and smaller wood girders supported the roof structure.

The fire appeared to have spread upward through the northern half of the building. The floor structure of all four stories in that segment of the building collapsed entirely, due to the loss of strength of the wood joists (north-south orientation) as they burned, leaving a portion of the wood slat flooring above M’s Pub charred but structurally sound. The floor joists were connected to the masonry bearing walls with metal-strap anchors laid into the walls and attached to the joists, which were recessed into the walls with fire cuts. This historic type

of construction helped save the building.

As the fire ascended, and when the joists collapsed, the metal straps broke away and the fire cuts allowed the floor structure to fall straight down without pulling the wall with it. Additionally, the fire did not significantly damage the cast-iron columns and massive timber

historic type “ This of construction

Wall collapses as fire-damaged beam rotates downward

Wall remains in place as fire-damaged beam rotates downward

Above: Looking down at Mercer Building Left: (1) Wall collapses as fire-damaged beam rotates downward; (2) Wall remains in place as fire-damaged beam rotates downward

helped save the building.

Conventional Joist

Fire-Cut Joist Fire-Cut Joist

44

charred “ Though to a depth of about 1 inch, the girders remained in place and the entire assembly endured straight and plumb.

M’s Pub from above.

45

girders (east-west orientation). Though charred to a depth of about one inch, the girders remained in place and the entire assembly endured straight and plumb.

From the basement to the fourth floor, the center brick wall prevented the blaze from spreading beyond the north bay, but once it reached the fourth story, it consumed the roof structure and spread to the south bay where it destroyed that roof and the contents of the Mercer apartment.

after the 1952 fire. The brick infill at the fourth-floor level arch had loosened without destabilizing the wall, but Bowen and Kelley could not determine whether the condition was pre-existing or caused by the fire.

Main support beam, showing fire damage. 14�x20�

The north wall was monolithic and composed of common brick. It stood approximately 12 inches thick (three Wythes) at the top and increased in thickness at two-inch intervals per floor down to its base of 21 inches. Damage included localized displacement of bricks and several holes in the upper portion, and it no longer had any form of lateral support. Formerly an interior bearing wall, each level had an arched opening, filled in when it became an exterior wall

46

North Exterior brick wall from interior showing fire damage.

47

The interior masonry wall possessed the same characteristics as the north wall. Due to the collapse of the roof structure it supported, and because of the prolonged battering from the high-pressure fire hoses, it sustained damage above the fourth floor. The arched opening above the fourth floor collapsed at the spring point of the arch and much of the upper reaches of the wall became unstable. Below the fourth floor, the fire did not affect the interior wall, but it became saturated with water.

The east masonry wall facing 11th Street consisted of an outer wythe of hard face brick laid with 1/4 inch butter joints, tied to a back-up wall of common brick with mortar collar joints.

Its dimensions mirrored the north wall, but it endured minimal impairment.

The fire did destroy all the windows and some pieces of face masonry

fell from below the northernmost window on the fourth floor. However, the metal fasteners of a fire escape that once attached to the building below that window had probably loosened those bricks beforehand.

The columns and timber girders remained attached to the east wall, providing it with necessary stability; however, it lost lateral support above the fourth floor due to the collapse of the roof structure. Several vertical stress cracks at the windows below the cast-iron lintels at the fourth level and the pronounced outward lean of the parapet wall both appeared to be pre-existing conditions.

The south masonry wall facing Howard Street mirrored the features of the east wall. Correspondingly, it sustained minimal damage, losing its fourth floor windows. The first through the fourth floor-structures remained attached

to the south wall, keeping it stable, but it also lost lateral support above the fourth level due to the loss of the roof structure. It also had similar vertical stress cracks below the window jambs and the outward lean of the parapet wall.

Bowen and Kelley recommended that the Mercer Building could be saved and rehabilitated without tearing down large sections of any of the walls. They advised immediate stabilization of the east and north walls, and all three freestanding walls on the fourth floor south side.

Left exposed to the elements, the walls would rapidly deteriorate and they were susceptible to collapse from high winds. They also recommended engaging structural engineer Kip Squire of the Thompson, Dreessen, Dorner Company (TD2) to develop scenarios for stabilization of the walls.

48

STABILIZATION & CLEAN UP

49

At the behest of Mercer Management, Bob Peters served as the project coordinator and assembled the team that included Bowen (BVH) as the architect, Lund-Ross as the general contractor, and Anderson Excavating Company for debris removal.

To the delight of those Old Market businesses that remained open, by February 13, 2016, the drop zone shrunk considerably; the only fencing that remained ran from Howard Street to the alley north of the Mercer Building and along the north half of Howard from 11th Street partway to 12th Street. In late April, a panel of judges that included Mark and Vera Mercer chose 29 banners (11 x 4.7 feet) from approximately 300 entries to hang on the construction-site fencing. In early May, the Omaha Farmers Market reopened and planned to operate in the area of 11th and Jackson until October 16.

The Board accepted the request and allowed the team to proceed with their preliminary plans, with continued monitoring by Jay Davis and the Omaha City Planning Department. Officially, the demolition order continued in effect into the summer of 2016, until after the completion of the stabilization and clean up phases, and the beginning of reconstruction. Squire’s plan consisted of 30-foot interior lateral braces at each floor level, attached every ten feet to the north wall and the center masonry wall, with steel brackets bolted to each wall. A Z135 Lift, with its 30 x 70 foot boom stuck through the blown-out windows, facilitated the placement of the huge beams. The weight of the machine broke the sidewalk in front of M’s, but it already needed replacement. Where needed, Lund-Ross supplemented the lateral support beams with interior diagonal props to anchor the walls on the fourth floor south.

In the meantime, Kip Squire completed his stabilization plan and on March 3, 2016 the Mercer Management team appealed the demolition order before the Property Maintenance Appeals Board.

Anderson Excavating removed miscellaneous asbestos from the wreckage and then pulled the debris east out the destroyed windows of M’s Pub with a backhoe. The debris had piled up as high

“30-foot interior

lateral braces at each floor level, attached every 10 feet to the north wall and the center masonry wall, with steel brackets bolted to each.

Bracing brick walls.

50

Wall bracing; fourth floor south.

“Interior diagonal props anchored the walls on the fourth floor south.

51

as the second floor. Once removed down to the first-floor level, Lund-Ross used the rubble to build a ramp, which it utilized to remove all the kitchen equipment from the basement, none of it salvageable.

However, an Omaha World-Herald article on February 11, 2016 stated that Anderson Excavating rescued a few “architecturally significant items” such as the M’s Pub and Nouvelle Eve signs, exterior gaslights, and the columns of the canopy. Surprisingly, the two iconic candelabras that sat on opposite ends of M’s bar and seven bronze-head castings from the Mercer’s art collection also survived. North to south, Anderson removed 45 feet of the severely damaged canopy. The OFD monitored the debris removal as part of

its investigation, one of four conducted; the others included Mercer’s insurance provider, MUD (unhappy with result), and MUD with a New York City inspector, a time-consuming process that delayed progress towards reconstruction.

Salvaged brass candelabras.

52

MASONRY WORK

Mortar samples submitted for analysis.

Cleaning, and where necessary replacing, the bricks and mortar of the Mercer Building, and the subsequent reconstruction of the masonry shell of the edifice and its tenant spaces, included adhering to stringent guidelines established by the Technical Preservation Services (TPS) of the National Park Service (NPS), part of the Department of the Interior. The National Historic Preservation Act (1966) created the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) administered by the NPS to establish the standards for the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction of historic buildings. In 1979, the Omaha City Planning Department successfully placed the Old Market and Wholesale District (Harney to Howard, 10th to 13th streets; Howard to Jackson, 10th to 12th streets), on the National Register.

Additionally, Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission (LHPC) and Omaha

By Design administer local ordinances. The Omaha City Council established the LHPC in 1977, consisting of nine members, including an architect, a curator, a professional historian, three members active in a preservation related field, two laypersons, and one owner

53

or operator of a business or property in a Landmark Heritage Preservation District. The commissioners “review and recommend to the City Council on all matters pertaining to the designation of individual buildings, sites, objects, or entire districts of local historical significance.” In 1985, the Commission succeeded in obtaining local Landmark status for the Old Market District.

Furthermore, in 2007, the Omaha City Council adopted urban design regulations to standardize the “critical physical characteristics of development” of new structures. Two years later, the Council established the Urban Design Review Board to make “recommendations to the Planning Director on issues of urban design.” Its mission evolved to “review plans for design, redevelopment, and/or modifications of structures.” The public section of the Board consists of a licensed architect, a landscape architect, a licensed engineer, a professional planner, and a citizen at-large. The private section of the Board includes two real-estate representatives; an alternate from the field of real estate; an alternate from architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, or planning; and one citizen at-large. Melissa Dirr Gengler (formerly with the Nebraska State

Historical Society and the South Dakota State Historical Society), the founder, president, and architectural historian of the Historic Resource Group, Inc., consulted with the Mercer team to interpret the myriad rules and regulations.

The TPS criteria for each of the four construction classifications placed the Mercer project in the rehabilitation category. The Standards of Rehabilitation included ten basic guidelines; the two most pertinent included:

1 A property will be used as it was

historically or be given a new use that requires minimal change to its distinctive materials, features, spaces and special relationships.

9 New additions, exterior alterations

or new construction [kitchen and restrooms for M’s] will not destroy historic materials, features and special relationships that characterize the property. The new work will be differentiated from the old and will be compatible with the historic materials, features, size, scale and proportion, and massing to protect the integrity of the property and its environment.

54

Thus, rehabilitating the shell of the Mercer Building necessitated using the same or closely matching materials as those that had composed the structure before the fire. Pertaining to the initial masonry work, the TPS had a 16-page booklet on “Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings.” Bowen provided Atkinson-Nolan & Associates, Inc. (ANA) of Denver, Colorado, with two sample of existing mortar from inside of the north wall of the Mercer Building. Its labs tested for mortar composition to determine the binder type, binder-aggregate ratio, aggregate color and aggregate size gradation “to provide an appropriate compatible replacement mortar formulation.”

“mortar used for repointing joints, crack repair and rebuilding should meet requirements of ASTM C270, Standard Specification for Mortar for Unit Masonry, for Type O mortar with volumetric proportions of 1 part Portland cement, 2 parts lime, and 7 to 9 parts sand.” The report also stated, “Alternatively, at areas protected from weather or where masonry units are particularly soft, the use of Type K mortar is preferred. It consisted of 1 part Portland cement, three parts lime, and 9 to 12 parts sand; while slightly less durable than Type O, it was “more accommodating to softer historic brick.” Finally, ANA specified that pigments might be required to match “the hardened On March 21, 2016, ANA mortar color,” necessitating the use reported, “chemical analysis of white Portland cement, rather than detected a very small trace of soluble the typical gray, in order to match silica which likely indicates the the existing color. original lime binder had a minor hydraulic fraction. The amount Stephen Kelley advised that the would place the sample proportions use a different mortar for interior and approximately half-way between exterior work was “too confusing,” Type K and lime-sand mortar.” and recommended the use of Type O The company recommended that, throughout (the eventual solution).

55

First, however, Bowen sent ANA more mortar samples:

Sample 2; from interior bearing and firewall on fourth level

Sample 3; from face brick on east elevation at area of localized collapse

Sample 4; from south wall at fourth-level window jam

Sample 5; from interior bearing wall on fourth level above door

Sample 6; from east wall window jam on fourth level.

ANA reported that samples 2, 4, 5, and 6 seemed to match closely the previously tested mortar, but that sample 3 appeared “heavily pigmented” and might be a different mortar mix.

Using the same two analytic techniques (chemical analysis and aggregate sieve) the firm determined that the new samples were “generally finer” and would “likely require the incorporation of additional fine aggregate to standard ASTM C144 masonry sand in order to match the original texture.”

Furthermore, the acid-digestion tests revealed that the “samples exhibit typical binder/aggregate ratios with the exception of Sample 3, which has a very high binder fraction,” meaning it “contained acid-soluble components such as limestone.” In conclusion, ANA indicated that to “match the hardened color,” the masons had to use “pigments conforming to ASTM C979 Standard Specification for Pigments for Integrally Colored Concrete, but not to “exceed 5% by weight of binder content in the mortar.”

Thiele Geotect Inc. tested five bricks from various walls of the shell to determine their size, weight, 24-hour water absorption and compressive strength. It could not ascertain the original manufacturer, but masonry subcontractor Mark Markuson III Construction found a supplier for the various bricks necessary for restoration of the shell, and the LHPC (enforcing TPS guidelines) certified all exteriorwall brickwork. Markuson, a LundRoss subcontractor, also completed all the remaining brickwork—tuck

pointing, rebuilding, and cleaning.

In addition to replacing missing and damaged bricks in various walls, Markuson’s crew had significant tuckpointing work on the center and north walls, where the high-pressure fire hoses had blown out mortar joints.

Mortar testing for color match.

56

They also had to rebuild a significant portion of the north wall. Lund-Ross agreed with Squire’s stabilization plan, but advocated the removal of a “V” segment of the north wall above the fourth-floor arch, where a large number of interior bricks had fallen away. Bowen agreed as long as they reused the original bricks. Lund-Ross constructed scaffolding adjacent to the exterior of the north wall, which included stairs to each floor that accommodated the masonry repair, completed by June 2016.

The following month, brick cleaning ensued to remove considerable carbon crust and smoke discoloration. Stephen Kelley warned against employing dry ice blasting, a technique “developed for the airline industry to strip paint from airplane fuselages.” The nozzle pressure, proximity to the surface, and the length of time pointed at the surface determined the severity of the cleaning.

In his experience, applicators ignored the severity guidelines to enhance the speed of cleaning. “With brick masonry 57

(especially the common brick) you do not want to wear away at its surface as the brick is softer beneath the surface and not as durable when exposed to weather.” Because it had originally been an interior wall between bays of the Mercer Building, the north wall consisted entirely of common brick.

the appropriately colored mortar completed the rehabilitation process of the exterior walls, although Bowen predicted that efflorescence likely would occur on the “east and south walls for up to a year after initial cleaning due to moisture in the walls.” Firefighting had saturated the masonry, and as it warmed, salts Thus, the cleaning process would leach to the surface as a white consisted of applying a cleaning powdery coating; therefore, a second detergent with hand brushes and cleaning might become a necessity. removal of the cleaner with a light spray of water. Tuck-pointing with Brickwork repair on the North Wall; fourth floor.

TENANT SPACE DEVELOPMENT

of the National Energy Conservation Act (1978) enacted in response to the oil Reconstruction of the interior of the embargo of 1973. Kates, at the job site Mercer Building began on the south side, virtually every day, coordinated the work which had lost its roof and sustained of all the various trades and with all the water and smoke damage on all levels. sub-contractors. Bowen credited him In March 2016, work commenced with making many helpful suggestions as a Lund-Ross crew, directed by in the restoration process. superintendent Lonnie Kates, removed debris from the fourth floor and braced In July 2016, Kates and his crew the walls with diagonal wood beams began interior work on the north side to facilitate framing for the roof. The of the Mercer Building. Larry Lundquist, Drey Company installed the roof with the owner of Lund-Ross, and Kates R-60 insulation to meet the guidelines and his crew, walked through Nouvelle

Eve to inspect the M’s Pub space. The women’s apparel gave off a ghostly impression as all the clothing still hung on display. The crew discovered that the west half of the second floor of M’s Pub remained intact, charred but reusable. In order, they rebuilt the first, third and fourth floors in August 2016, removing the lateral stabilization girders as they ascended. The following month, subcontractor Drey roofed the north side of the building and Lund-Ross reconstructed the missing portion of

Before and after brick cleaning.

58

the second floor. They scraped off the char from the remnant, sanded it and painted it black, and reconstructed the balance of the floor to match.

up-to-date utilities; the reworked infrastructure for the HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems were serviced from basement control areas through M’s Pub. Workers placed ductwork, The upper floors of the entire piping and conduit as unobtrusively building received a white-box as possible; where it crossed the treatment. “White Box” denotes a restaurant’s ceiling, they painted it real estate term, referring to an area black to blend into the background. made ready to lease by installing heating, ventilation, air conditioning In October 2016, window (HVAC), electric, and plumbing, but replacement on the east and south no finishes. Thus, the interior brick sides of the Mercer Building and walls continued unadorned, while interior door installation completed the fire-resistant sheetrock covered the upper-floor renewal. The Landmarks ceilings on floors three and four, a Commission required the windows code requirement because 2 x 12 inch to replicate the pre-fire design and joists supported them (did not qualify the national energy code mandated as “heavy timber”). All ceilings gained windows that would provide an overall a fire-sprinkler system and workers R-17 insulation. The combination of encapsulated all the lead-painted cast the new roof and windows met the iron columns. To those upper floors, prerequisite. Chicago Lumber installed Stevens and Smith Construction applied Marvin Clad Double Hung full frame a layer of Acousti-Mat sound-control windows and Lund-Ross trimmed them material, overlaid with Gyp-Crete to pre-fire appearance. The Metal 200/3.2 noncombustible gypsum, Door & Hardware Company provided which enhanced “fire safety by slowing their namesake items; interior doors the spread of fire and helping prevent in the stairwells required a 90-minute smoke leaks.” New codes required door and corridor doors necessitated 59

a 45-minute rating (i.e., the length of time required to resisted a fire).

Bowen and Lund-Ross had to coordinate their work and schedules for the Mercer Building rehabilitation (including the reconstruction of M’s Pub) with Jay Palu of Alley Poyner Machietto Architecture, whom the 420 Building Condominium Association hired to oversee the rehabilitation of their bays. Lund-Ross had converted the upper floors of the building to apartments for Mercer Management in the early 1990s. Subsequently, Mercer sold the apartments for condominium conversion, but retained ownership of the basement and the first-floor retail unit. The Condominium Association did not employ Bowen or Lund-Ross, but had to harmonize its activities because of a common space used by tenants in both buildings.

The attempt to dry the saturated 420 Building using its intact furnace system produced widespread mold; thus, crews had to strip the units to the studs and rebuild. The rehabilitation of the two buildings had to proceed

concurrently because they shared entrance-egress stairways for the condominiums of the 420 Building and the apartments of the Mercer Building.

An elevator in the 420 Building also serviced the second, third, and fourth floor apartments of the Mercer Building. The elevator did not go down to the basement and plans called for closing the opening that connected the basements of the two buildings. The symbiotic relationship of the buildings required an interlock fire-alarm system, whereby a fire in either disabled the elevator and closed connecting doors.

Therefore, Bowen and Lund-Ross had to coordinate activities with Palu in the reconstruction of all four floors in both buildings in order for all involved to obtain the necessary certificate of occupancy for their clients.

“In order they rebuilt the first

third, and fourth floors in August 2016, removing the lateral stabilization girders as they ascended. ,

,

M’s Pub ceiling showing new structure and a portion of second floor retained

60

6 Recreating M’s Pub “Mark Mercer had

retained a copy of the original architectural plans. Thus, she decided she “wanted to put it back exactly as it was before.”

61

A phone call informed Ann Mellen of the dire situation at her restaurant; she arrived at the scene of the fire 25 minutes later. Anger and sadness engulfed her, but also relief that no fatalities occurred.

During the next few weeks, she would visit the site and stare in disbelief, and then return home, only to repeat the sequence. She remained confounded, having received advice that reconstruction of the Mercer Building might take two to three years. One of her visits in late 2016, however, revealed a far more rapid restoration schedule. By November 2016, Lund Ross had essentially completed

the replacements of the storefronts. She got excited and decided to rebuild. Ron Samuelson had decided to go solo in new restaurant ventures, but he and Mellen established an accord allowing her to retain the M’s Pub name. She worked out a lease with Mercer Management, and hired Bowen (BVH) to execute the design and Lund Ross as the general contractor.

She knew that Bowen’s former firm had designed M’s Pub, and serendipitously, Mark Mercer had retained a copy of the original architectural plans. Thus, she decided she “wanted to put it back exactly as it was before.”

Ann Mellen

62

main “ The difference in the reconstructed space will be a onestory addition on the north side of the building.

63

Above: Original floor plan.

Nouvelle Eve, The Market House, and Niche remained closed. Lund Ross utilized the Nouvelle Eve area for office and storage space for the crew working on the renovation of M’s Pub. Upon completion of that project, Lund Ross and its subcontractors would complete the basic “white box” renovation of the Nouvelle Eve tenant space, but its owner, Susie Keuck, employed another firm to execute the interior design.

Meanwhile, Gary Bowen busied himself with recreating M’s. He gained approval from his former partners, Cedric Hartman and John Morford, to use the original architectural drawings, and Hartman provided access to the project’s workbook.

It included all the basic components such as paint colors and furniture sources, including the distinctive “Caboose Chair,” first designed for the Union Pacific Railroad

and put in every caboose on every train because of its ability to withstand abuse.

Bowen then had to locate the suppliers to provide duplicates of the original materials and artisans to rebuild the service kitchen and the bar. On November 2, 2016, the Omaha World-Herald quoted Bowen stating that the “main difference in the reconstructed space will be a one-story addition on the north side of the building that will allow the restrooms to be on the first floor instead of in the basement, a code requirement. The addition will also house an expansion for bakery and kitchen areas that used to be in the basement. Staff will enter the new space through an arched doorway on the north wall.� The code requirement referred to the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) of 1990. The basement restrooms did not provide handicap access, and the alternative of installing an elevator required an excessive expense and would have taken up valuable first-floor space.

Right: Caboose Chair.

Below: Interior BVH detail drawings.

In the basement, Lund Ross removed the deteriorating slab, dug down an additional inch before pouring the new one (could not go lower because of existing door sills), giving the cellar more 64

height to accommodate the new coolers, freezers and equipment.

They recrafted the remainder of the basement into storage and office space, installed a fire escape door into the Nouvelle Eve basement, and built a dry-goods storage room on that side of the brick dividing wall that M’s would lease. Along the north wall, the crew rebuilt the stairway to the first floor, which provided M’s employees a non-public-use route to bring supplies up to the restaurant level. They also rebuilt the vault that extended east under the sidewalk with a watertight concrete lid to house the water meters and utility connections.

Similar vaults dot the Old Market; they probably had served as coal storage bins. City Planning issued a waiver allowing retention of the sewer system, which no longer met code, because it was a pre-existing condition, but

65

Lund Ross relocated the water intake from Howard Street to 11th Street.

OPPD installed new electrical service, with the conduit running along 11th Street to a basement electrical room in the northwest corner of the building and MUD mounted the gas meters in a niche in the north wall of the new addition. Up on the sidewalk, to cap the vault, the Landmarks Commission required the reuse of the original cast iron grate with glass roundels, which let in light.

The fire had consumed the entire entrance to M’s Pub, including a separate stairway that extended into the restaurant along its south wall and led to the second-floor apartment. Lund Ross rebuilt the entryway, repaired the entrance ramp leading to the new doorway, and framed out the new windows.

Mercer Management decided not to

replace the stairway to the second floor; other stairs on the north and south side of the common area with the 420 Building provided access to all the Mercer apartments on the upper floors. Mirrors had faced the wall of the stairway inside the pub. Bowen located mirrors along that section of the now exposed brick wall, which separated M’s from Nouvelle Eve, in the same stair-step configuration as homage to the original design.

The removal of the stairs provided space for extra restaurant seating.

That wall contained a second unique design feature, an arched window in the middle of the brick wall that looked into Nouvelle Eve. Assistant City Planner Davis allowed replacement of the window in that arch, but required the positioning of a sprinkler head atop the opening to prevent a fire from spreading through glass opening.

A mirrored wall concealed the utility pipes and conduit ascending from the basement to the apartments above along the south half the wall on the west side of the restaurant.

The balance of the west perimeter contained a windowed brick wall that enclosed a four-story light well, capped with a translucent polycarbonate roof. An original feature of the Mercer Building, it allowed natural light to penetrate down to each floor. All the exposed parts of the interior brick walls received a coat of white latex semi-gloss paint that matched the original color. M’s ceiling furnished another distinctive design element Bowen wished to retain. Building codes classified wood structural members with a cross section of three inches or greater as “heavy timber,” which did not need a fire-resistant cover. The first and

second floor of the Mercer Building used 3 x 14 inch wood floor joists (north-south orientation). They could remain exposed with the addition of an automatic fire-sprinkler system.

Moreover, Lund Ross restored 14 x 16 inch east-west beams and the salvageable floor joists on the west half of the space.

To improve sound control (no carpeting or acoustical tiles were in the original pub), the crew glued oneand-one-half-inch black acoustic foam panels to the ceiling between the joists.

Originally, M’s Pub had exposed unitheaters suspended from the ceiling, a standard warehouse HVAC system.

Bowen had hoped to eliminate that element by placing ductwork below the floor, with heat registers with fire dampers along the walls. Because of the high cost and lack of basement clearance he discarded that approach

and the ductwork, painted black, redeployed to the ceiling. The new sophisticated HVAC system, however, provided zone control, allowing for different temperatures in separate areas if needed.

The enclosed service kitchen was built adjacent to the stairway to the basement, along the north wall, The Kay-Dee of Omaha company provided custom-built cabinets and woodworking, including the paneling around the kitchen, the service island, and service counters. The width of the service kitchen increased approximately eight inches, resulting in a main entry aisle way of roughly five feet-eight inches, while its eastwest length remained the same as the original, allowing for a nine-foot seating area occupied by a round-top table facing the front window looking out to 11th Street.

66

CD

DC

D

D

Floor plan with addition.

67

Kay-Dee also custom built the island bar in sections, which Lund Ross assembled in the pub. To accommodate the new equipment in the bar area and maintain a 36-inch-wide work space within the bar, while retaining the desired aisle width between it and the service kitchen, necessitated moving the bar approximately eight inches to the south edge of the cast iron column line. Despite these minor adjustments, the space between the south edge of the bar and the south brick wall (separating M’s from Nouvelle Eve) remained close to the original plans. However, finding the replacement for the mottled green stone that had topped the original bar presented a vexing problem with a surprising conclusion.

After a fruitless extensive search, Bowen contacted the Natural Stone Institute (formerly the National Marble Institute), which directed him to Vermont Verde Antique LLC that owned a quarry in Rochester, Vermont. The company identified the stone as Verde Mare Serpentine (not marble) and reported that it had shipped an order of it to GMS Werks in Omaha. The honed, sealed stone with a bullnose edge closely matched the original color and now tops the bar. One of the rescued candelabras, refurbished by Omaha artist Larry Sosso, adorned the west end of the bar, while the other

graced the southwest corner of the restaurant area. ADA requirements, however, mandated one change in the bar’s configuration; the lowering of a segment of the east area to accommodate customers in wheelchairs.

Since the front entrance did not strictly comply with ADA slope prerequisites, an ADA acceptable entrance to M’s Pub proceeds through an exterior door in the new north addition, moving down a corridor separating the restrooms and the new kitchen-bakery, and through a brick archway in the north wall that parallels the arched window looking into Nouvelle Eve. Thus, customers in either establishment can look through the arches in the center of the entire Mercer Building from Howard Street to the north alley. Lambrecht Glass Studios created the Adam and Eve cutouts that grace the wall of the restroom alcove, a feature replicated from the original M’s Pub.

parallel to the east entrance walkway to the 420 Building. The north half of the Mercer Building (pre-1952 fire) had stood on that parcel. The 420 Building HOA consented to a nine-foot easement to permit construction of the addition, as well as the elimination of part of the canopy leading to its entrance that extend over the new addition and to moving the canopy’s column foundations off Mercer property. Kip Squire redesigned smaller footings that no longer intruded on the Mercer lot.

Material samples.

Bob Peters, Mark Mercer, and his attorney worked with the 420 Building condominium owners to allow the erection of the north addition. When Mercer created the 420 Homeowners Association (420 HOA), he retained a sixteen-foot tract outside the north wall of the Mercer Building, located 68

Thiele Geotech Inc. examined the north addition plot “to identify the general soil and ground water conditions underlying the site; to evaluate engineering properties of the existing soils; to provide earthwork and site preparation recommendations; and to recommend design criteria and parameters for foundations and other earth supported improvements.” The study included “a soil boring, laboratory testing and engineering analysis” of a plot scheduled to support a single story, approximately 16 x 60 foot, wood-framed structure, “lightly loaded with maximum continuous wall loads of 1 kip [1000 lbs.] per lineal foot.” Geotech determined that the “site consisted of several feet of generally coarse grained, man placed fill overlying soft clay terrace alluvium.” Moreover, at a depth of “approximately 9 to 11 feet below grade” it encountered construction debris, probably from demolition following the 1952 fire. The study discussed two site preparations—“over excavation, and a raft or mat foundation.”

The first recommendation entailed excavating beyond the dimensions of the addition and replacing it “with controlled structural fill or supporting the addition on helical piles extending to a suitable bearing surface.”

The second, and chosen solution, consisted 69

of pouring a ten-inch reinforced walls, which reflected materials used concrete slab (a raft or mat). on the existing canopies of the Old Market. The Landmarks Commission, Lund Ross built the north addition with building code-required, fire- the Urban Design Review Board, and treated wood and Lonnie Kates the 420 Building HOA sanctioned coordinated placement of the the north addition. However, they utility lines through the confined did stipulate that wood latticework, space between the ceiling and the similar to the pre-fire design, structure’s roof. Bowen’s design screen the mechanical equipment used metal panels for the exterior located on the roof of the addition.

M’s Pub north addition c. 2017.

Finishing touches to the reconstruction of M’s Pub included a new sidewalk from 11th and Howard north to the entrance to the 420 Building. Lund Ross maintained the historic Old Market look by acquiring existing red sandstone curb slabs from the city, which collects and stores them when its crews rework old streets. The contractor also rebuilt and reinforced the east canopy the full length of M’s and about one-half of Nouvelle Eve’s frontage; the city mandated that it exactly mirror the original. Lund Ross also installed matching replacement lights and infrared heating units above the outdoor seating area. The Landmarks Commission and the Urban Design Review Board also weighed in on the design of the twelve-foot wide openair dining area, resulting in black metal tables and chairs in a fenced enclosure that matched the original design. Omaha Neon Sign Company fabricated the stenciled M’s logo on film that was applied to the entry window, as well as the round exterior sign, incorporating the iconic M’s brand, designed

by Bowen and suspended from the canopy.

The “Magical Place” on 11th Street was now ready to reopen for business.

Exterior Sign

“The

“Magical

Place” on 11th Street was now ready to reopen for business.

70

7 The Grande Dame Returns “There are two pictures of M s Pub. ’

The one that’s in your head, and the one that now exists in the Old Market, right where it left off. It’s the things that are exactly the same, after the fire that destroyed the restaurant almost two years ago, that strike deepest.

71

Articles in the Omaha World-Herald on November 2, 2016 and January 8, 2017 announced the goal of a June opening for M’s Pub. However, an exceedingly wet spring, and the multiple inspections and mandatory permit requests, impeded restoration. The minutes of a May 24, 2017 Mercer team meeting revealed, “Weather issues are slowing progress on exterior work. 3.75 inches of rain last week.” By the onset of summer, however, the weather cleared and a steadier pace of construction ensued. Subsequently, on July 28, 2017, the Omaha World-Herald reported a deja vu incident. Excavators struck the new gas line to M’s Pub that MUD had installed the previous week. This time, however, a significantly improved result unfolded. Workers notified MUD at 9:42 a.m. and an MUD crew closed

the line at 9:50 a.m. and repaired the pipe. No substantial delays interrupted progress during the summer and fall, and the “restaurant that served as a de facto living room for the Old Market” reopened 22 months after the explosion and fire that had destroyed it.

On Sunday, October 29, 2017, Ann Mellen staged a soft opening for loyal patrons of the old M’s Pub. She proclaimed, “It’s a dream come true— again.” Asked why she wanted to rebuild exactly as before, Mellen argued, “It had been one-of-a-kind, it was warm and cozy, the mirrors seemingly added size and allowed seeing people all over the establishment, it was the ambiance, thus it had to be exactly the same.” In her article on October 30, 2017, Omaha 72

World-Herald food reporter Sarah Baker Hansen wrote, “There are two pictures of M’s Pub. The one that’s in your head, and the one that now exists in the Old Market, right where it left off. It’s the things that are exactly the same, after the fire that destroyed the restaurant almost two years ago, that strike deepest.”

Hanson also reported recognizing former staff members and patrons. Marta Keller returned as restaurant manager and Bobby Mekiney as head chef; both had regularly attended Mercer team meetings and made helpful suggestions.

According to Hansen, Mekiney “recreated the menu with a few new touches. And the specials menu, which will launch with the opening Wednesday, will be entirely new.”

Mellen held a second soft opening on Monday, which feted the firefighters who fought the blaze. Hansen concluded her review, quoting Greg Mazzuca, a former bartender at M’s, who stated, “It’s exciting.

Magical. Seriously.”

73

View from exterior.

“It’s exciting.

Magical. Seriously.

Hooray!

M’s Pub has reopened.

I am so happy that Ann Mellen decided to rebuild and reopen. It is a wonderful thing for the Old Market, for me, and I hope and believe for Ann also. Reopening was not a sure thing and only Ann could have really done it. Other Old Market businesses would not have been anywhere the same without M’s Pub, had it not reopened in the same location. After the explosion on January 9, 2016, the resulting fire and water damage, and the sad and stressful months that followed, it is not just a ray of hope but a resounding success.

Thank you Ann. Mark Mercer, April, 2018

74

75

The Public Pulse: You Can Go Home Again “It looks exactly the same!” I hear this around me as each newly arrived person is seated while gazing wide-eyed at the interior of M’s Pub, craning like contortionists to compare memory to the now (“M’s Pub is abuzz once again,“ Nov. 1 World-Herald).

It’s all there, the black and glass, marble and brass. Mirrors reflecting not only light but faces, some deep in conversation or laughing, while others seem bewildered by the time-machine aspect of this transformation from burned husk to sparkling solid, seeming to wonder if maybe they’ve been out of town this entire time or perhaps it was just a bad dream.

All that was old is new again, especially the floor. Gone are the spongy spots and uneven boards that caused us to use sugar packets to shim up the furniture, so I was oddly comforted when my chair wobbled.

But would the pear martini taste as sweet? It was as delightful as before we wandered the desert these last 20 months debating where to go because no place else is like M’s.

Thanks to the grace of the owner, it is once again familiar and consistent and comforting.

Like home.

You were wrong, Thomas Wolfe. I’m sure I’m not the only one glad for that.

Omaha World-Herald

Left: Interior view looking west.

76

Interior view looking east.

Open – Again! M’s Pub – 422 S 11th St M’s triumphantly returned after a grueling rebuild, and Omaha has welcomed Ann Mellen back with open arms and empty bellies. The rebuild paid highest respect to the memories Omaha built at the establishment, and replicated most of the decor, maintained as much of the staff and menu as possible, and never for a moment lost the heart that made M’s home for decades.

Omaha World-Herald

77

Left: Interior view looking south.

Right: Interior view looking north at entrance.

78

M’S PUB blew up in the middle of the day a timely time as most were away then in the cold the fire hoses rained down until only a hulk remained hollowed by a fire wounded and hurt the fine lady where warmth prevailed now frozen in a cape of ice but with Mary now at rest her Pub will live on in loving hands with cheer and comfort.

George Haecker (BVH Architecture) Omaha – October, 2017

Right: View from exterior (Looking west)

79

80

”I’m trying to think if there is another place like it.

I don’t think so. Not that has that kind of history.

You can’t replicate it.”

81

Jim Trebbien, retired dean of Metropolitan Community College Culinary Arts Program (2016)

“It’s unfathomable that there would be an Old Market without M’s. I called it a ‘forever restaurant.’ “ Paul Kulik, Old Market chef and restaurateur (2016)

82

Epilogue Little did I know in 1980 that I would still be here at M’s Pub in 2018. In the beginning, I only worked here to keep the books for my parents while I worked another job. I had just moved back to Omaha and lived with my parents.

In the first three months I grew to love M’s Pub and knew that it was what I wanted to do even though I graduated in Journalism from UNL. One morning I asked my father if I could quit my job and work at M’s full-time. He said, “Definitely not.” So, I quit that afternoon–and I’m still here [at M’s.]

I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

I love Omaha, the Old Market, and especially M’s Pub. Or “The Pub,” as founding owner, Mary Vogel,

83

affectionately called it. By working with Mary for a few years, I came to learn and share her love for M’s. M’s is not just a pub–it is an incredibly beautiful, unique space. With its white walls, abundant mirrors, soft lighting, and high ceilings I felt happy and welcome every time I walked through the front door. I hope others feel the same as well.

Many customers have come through the front door all these years, and most I will never forget! Starting with the Slime Dogs. The group of 20-30 that would meet weekly, standing around the bar laughing non-stop for sooo many years.

Sadly, many of them are gone. M’s is for everybody–all walks of life.

Someone in a T-shirt and shorts can be seated next to a guy in a suit or woman in a beautiful dress. And it doesn’t matter. I could go on and on how that was Mary Vogel’s wish–that all were welcome no matter who they were. That feeling is carried on to this day. This is what makes M’s the special place that it is.

When the fire in January, 2016 tried to put an end to M’s, it almost did. It took me six months to realize I could not live without my restaurant– nor could Omaha or the Old Market. So many fun times and great memories were made at M’s Pub. It’s life could not be over...too many special times, great food and drink were still to be had. Not to mention

putting back together our M’s family.

So many of the employees of M’s worked here for many years. When that happened, we became a family.

We worked hard, played hard, cared for each other hard. Not all could come back to work at M’s, but when they visit, they always tell me it’s “like coming home.”

We started building and reopened on November 1, 2017. The building process seemed effortless, thanks to architect Gary Bowen, contractor Larry Lundquist and his team, especially Lonnie Kates. They rebuilt the walls to protect us. As for rebuilding the “heart” of M’s, It could not have been done without chef James (Bobby) Mekiney and general

manager Marta Keller. I can’t thank them enough for their knowledge, love of M’s Pub, and support. Also I have to thank my long-time best friend Dean Winans, who gave me the strength and support needed to re-open M’s.

Rebuilding was the best decision of my life. We all have a “home” again.

Ann Mellen, Owner, April, 2018

84

Acknowledgements & Credits Participants in the reconstruction of the Mercer Building and M’s Pub include the following:

BUILDING OWNER: Mercer Management Co. OWNER’S CONSULTANT: Robert Peters M’S PUB OWNERS: Ann Mellen Marta Keller Bobby Mekiney CITY OF OMAHA: Jay Davis: Assistant Director, Planning Department Jed Moulton: Urban Design Review Trina Westman: Landmarks Commission

BVH ARCHITECTURE: Gary Bowen, FAIA, Project Manager Ken Kirkpatrick, Project Coordinator BVH CONSULTANTS: Steven Kelley, Forensic Analysis Kip Squire PE, TD2: Structural Engineering Chris Reed PE, Morrissey Engineering Scott Vesely PE, Morrissey Engineering Gabe Cordell PE, Morrissey Engineering LUND ROSS CONSTRUCTORS: Larry Lundquist, Project manager Lonnie Kates, Superintendent Pat Thompson Allen Lundy Jim Weeks

85

David Chavez Jack Postalwait Dave Woods

SUBCONTRACTORS: Peitzmeier Demolition Fager Excavating T.R. Construction, LLC Mark Markuson III Construction Davis Erection NES Construction Company Drey Roofing Universal Flooring, Inc PML Construction, Inc. City Glass Company, Inc. Lambrecht Art Glass, Inc. Universal Terrazzo & Tile, Inc. Pearson’s Painting Titanium Fire Sprinkler Co. Nebraska Plumbing Inc.

MATERIAL SUPPLIERS: Hockenbergs: Fixtures and Furniture GMS Werks: Stonework Drake Williams Steel: Reinforcing Steel Specialty Fabricating Co.: Railings, Columns Builder’s Supply Co, Inc.: Framing materials Kay-Dee of Omaha: Bar and Kitchen walls Metal Door and Hardware Co.: HM doors Chicago Lumber Co.: Windows

EPCO Ltd. Inc.: Toilet Accessories

Standard Heating and Air Conditioning D & J Electric

86