Hello, South 24th Street

When you think about south Omaha, what comes to mind?  Before taking my Geography of the City class, my mental picture was of a mostly run-down area with a large Hispanic concentration.  I wasn't completely wrong.  But I wasn't right, either.

A hundred years ago, South Omaha was a city unto itself - a boom town with three of the top five meat packing plants in the nation drawing workers with the promise of good-paying jobs.  Immigrants of many ethnicities moved into the area.  In fact, South Omaha was growing so fast that it could have annexed Omaha instead of the other way around.  West of the stockyards on 24th, "Sheelytown" was home to many Polish immigrants.  South of the stockyards, Little Bohemia had a large Czech population.  (The Bohemian Cafe is still a popular spot on South 13th Street.)  A Jewish temple was established at Park Avenue and Jackson.  Little Italy developed south of the Burlington building and what's now the Durham Museum.  And many Germans settled the area west of Rosenblatt. 

South Omaha had its own City Hall and Police Court at 24th and O Street.

The Roseland Theater provided entertainment.  It only had one movie screen, but you won't see detail this intricate adorning our modern multi-plexes.

You can see what drew people to the area reflected in the building below - Packers National Bank.  Today, it's an immigration office.  That seems appropriate somehow.

The building below hasn't been as well preserved or restored, but it shows again that intersection of the past and present.  It has a Czech name inscribed on top - J.V. Vacek - but the first floor has been converted into a clothing store.

El Vaquero Imports has transformed this building, giving it a southwest flavor.

A beautification project completed recently gave the sidewalks a pretty amazing new look.  

The community has a positive atmosphere.  Many people of different ages were out and about doing their shopping or enjoying a tasty lunch at El Alamo.  The wait staff at the restaurant was very friendly, and we were able to communicate in spite of their broken English and my very broken Spanish.  Oh - and the Burrito Colorado was incredible!  Pictures don't do food any justice, but I'll put one up anyway.

I was also amazed by the murals lining a series of buildings on N street just east of 24th.  The following photos show sections of the mural. 

One last photo.  This is a small mural on a building across the street from the ones above.

The neighborhood is still in transition, but it's looking good.  I admire all the hard work that's gone into revitalizing the area.  Way to go, South O.