Vintage Omaha

VINTAGE OMAHA

VINTAGE OMAHA

(left) Frank De Bernardo enjoys his lunch break on Oct. 28, 1967, on top of the Woodmen Tower during its construction. After three years of construction, 16,000 cubic yards of concrete and 8,000 tons of steel, the 30-story building designed by Leo A Daly architects opened April 4, 1969.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

(title page) Children in line at Ashland Park for the polio vaccine in May 1954.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

(front cover) Lunch time pedestrian traffic at 15th and Farnam Streets in July 1946. Businesses included the Paxton Hotel, Harkert House, Gold’s, Drexel Shoes and Metropolitan Drug. While the businesses have changed, all of the buildings remain standing.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

(back cover, left) Shoppers had convenient access to stores like Goldstein Chapmans and Brandeis at Crossroads Mall in June 1971.

Robert Paskach/Omaha World-Herald

(back cover, top right) The waiting room seating at Omaha Municipal Airport was at a premium on Jan. 14, 1959 due to fog delays.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

(back cover, bottom right) Water was a hot commodity on June 21, 1968.

Neighbors Vicki Vacek, 5, and Matt Johnson, 4, found the best way to beat the 93 degree heat – sitting under a sprinkler while eating ice cream bars.

Robert Paskach/Omaha World-Herald Copyright 2019 Omaha World-Herald.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher, the Omaha World-Herald.

Omaha World-Herald 1314 Douglas St. Omaha, NE 68102-1811 omaha.com | owhstore.com First Edition ISBN: 978-1-7322317-8-8 Printed by Walsworth Publishing Co.

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SEVEN STORIES ABOVE 13th and Douglas Streets a windowless store room holds hundreds of thousands of images representing Omaha’s photographic history.

This book unearthed a sampling of those images filed away in manila envelopes since appearing in newsprint years ago. You won’t find the photos in this collection in your typical time capsule though. We purposely did not choose the dramatic, front-page, historymaking photographs you’re used to seeing from photojournalists. Instead we looked for the everyday images that make up Omaha’s official biography.

If you’ve been around long enough, some of this history is your own. You’ll recognize the neighborhoods and intersections like 16th and Vinton seen on the opposite page, or 90th and Dodge when it was still a two-lane road. Or your parents may have told you about some of the things you are seeing for the first time, like the Brandeis windows at Christmas time, Northrup-Jones’ coin box, the Golden Spike Celebration or Sprite Night at Peony Park.

This book is a candid, inspired portrait of Omaha told through the lenses of the countless feet-on-the-street photographers from the city’s hometown newspaper. Enjoy these photos brought back to print again.

Kristine Gerber, Editor Omaha World-Herald Books Looking west at 16th and Vinton Streets in 1955.

On the block Caniglia’s manufactured eight different varieties of frozen pizza, Ferd’s Bake shop created decorated cakes for every occasion and the Muller Theater entertained families with the latest flick.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

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(facing page) Nine-year-old John Mefford blows a bubble while Leonard Hawkins laces his glove for a bout with Dennis Miller. Hawkins was a longtime boxing trainer who worked with area fighters including Council Bluffs heavyweight Ron Stander. In the fall of 1956, Hawkins and Paul Jefferson opened the City Mission Gym on Monday and Thursday nights to children and a “farm team of Golden Glovers� formed to teach the 7 to 12 year olds self-defense and self-offense.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

(right) Field workers F.W. Hoffman, foreground, A.B. Gladstone and Bill Cook Jr. survey the 17th and Leavenworth Street area in July 1947. Work would continue for three months and then the city would decide whether or not to widen Leavenworth Street at an estimated cost of $400,000.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

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(above)

(facing page)

The Douglas County Jail in 1913 where it was reported modern laundries allowed prisoners to do all of their own washing and drying.

Lower Douglas Street in May 1937, an area “where crooks and ladies prey on the suckers and panhandlers prey on them all.�

Omaha World-Herald Archives

Omaha World-Herald Archives

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(above) Beaton Drug on the southwest corner of 40th and Farnam Streets. Lothrop Pharmacy started serving this corner in 1916 followed by Green Pharmacy in 1925.

Beaton’s took over the midtown location in 1948 to add to its downtown store at 15th and Farnam Street opened in 1894. The 40th and Farnam location featured prescriptions and everyday items plus a soda fountain and coffee shop to enjoy before or after a show at the Admiral Theater across the street. Beaton’s continued at this location (and several others) until June 1998, when the owners got out of the prescription business, turning over all their patient files and inventory to Albertson’s grocery store chain.

John Savage/Omaha World-Herald

(right) Downtown’s nighttime look in March 1972 after a $240,000 commitment by downtown property owners to recapture more of its after-dark appeal and make evening shoppers feel more safe with additional lighting.

The view is from 16th and Douglas Streets looking south.

Sebi Breci/Omaha World-Herald

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A traffic jam at 16th and Douglas Streets in November 1966. A Shrine parade contributed to the traffic tangle.

Rich Janda/Omaha World-Herald

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(above)

(next page)

Shoppers in June 1961 at the Crossroads arcade where 24 stores lined the air conditioned mall anchored by Brandeis and Sears, Roebuck and Co. The mall, on 72nd and Dodge Streets, opened in 1960.

Looking north from 20th and Farnam Streets on Feb. 14, 1939.

Seen on the left from Farnam is The Paramount Theater (which was not operating in 1939), Paramount Radio Shop, The Congress Hotel and Restaurant, The Scottish Rite (just the top is visible) and The Omaha Club. On the right from Farnam was The Trench Liquors, Thomas Riley Cigars, The White Spot restaurant and Goodrich Tires.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

Omaha World-Herald Archives

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Coffee was popular downtown the evening of Nov. 16, 1959, as a cold wave set a new low mark. The mercury reached 3 degrees at 8:30 p.m., and the “near zero� phrase was used again and again as shoppers and others prepared to brave the cold.

Omaha World-Herald Archives

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FOR MORE THAN 130 YEARS, OMAHA WORLD-HERALD PHOTOGRAPHERS HAVE CAPTURED THE CITY’S STORIES – NOT JUST THE FRONT-PAGE, HISTORY-MAKING MOMENTS BUT ALL OF THE STRANGE, COMPELLING, FUNNY, RARE, CHARMING, EVERYDAY IMAGES IN BETWEEN. THIS BOOK IS A CANDID, INSPIRED PORTRAIT OF OMAHA TOLD THROUGH THE LENSES OF ITS PHOTOGRAPHERS.

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