The Old Market in a New Light

The Old Market is one of Omaha's best-known hot spots.  Its brick streets and buildings create an inviting atmosphere for many unique shops, local art galleries, great restaurants, and live music.  You can go for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage or get your caricature drawn by an artist on the street.  The Gene Leahy Mall and the Heartland of America Park provide beautiful places to relax or go for a walk.  You can even take a gondola ride on the lagoon.

But as I learned this past week, the Market hasn't always been this way.  It's gone through several evolutions over time.  In fact, forty years ago it was a ghost town of empty buildings with a high crime rate.  It's come a long way since then.  But how did it begin?

In Omaha's early days, it was a farmer's market.  The ghost signage on the buildings reflects this early business.

The cast iron grates and doors on the ground near many buildings in the Market cover old cellars that were used to store produce before there was refrigeration.

Bill Paxton was a successful entrepreneur involved in many businesses.  One of his companies created the iron grate above.  Take a look as you walk around the Market.  You'll see his name all over.

Most of the buildings were constructed of brick, which is strong and fire resistant but doesn't allow for large windows to be put in.  Since the area was a produce market, stores needed large windows to display their goods and attract customers.  The solution was to use cast iron for the building fronts.  Cast iron is also very strong and made it possible to have large, colorful displays.

If you look closely, you can still find banana hooks in some of the original ceilings.  Unloading bananas from rail cars used to be one of the most dangerous jobs you could get since eight-legged passengers often hitched a ride up from South America.

The Upstream Brewery is housed in the old fire station.  The large windows in front used to be doors for fire carriages.  In one of life's great ironies, the third floor of the station was destroyed by - you guessed it - a fire.  The firemen were sitting outside when it happened and didn't know until someone came running to tell them.  

"A fire?  Where?" they asked.  

Boy, were they surprised.  

The top story was never rebuilt.

One of the most beautiful places in the Old Market used to be nothing more than an alley between two buildings.  Add a skylight and lots of beautiful plants, and you have the Passageway.

The Passageway has two levels with art galleries, restaurants, and other shops.  It's also a popular spot for taking senior pictures.

Another great place for photos is the Burlington Place.

Built in 1879, the top floors served as headquarters for the Burlington and Missouri River Railroads.  The first floor was used by a wholesale grocer.  Thomas Kimball was asked to renovate the building in 1899.  He took out the center of the building, installed a skylight, and put in a floor of glass bricks to allow light into the basement.

The elevator and the ironwork were also Kimball's doing. 

The railroad vacated the building in 1966, and it sat empty until 1983, when it was restored for use as office space.

 It's wonderful to see how old things can be made new again.