Last updated: September 19, 2022
Place
North 24th and Lake Streets Historic District
David Calease, NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Along North 24th Street between Ohio Street and Patrick Avenue and Lake Street between 26th Street and 22nd Street
Significance:
Ethnic Heritage (Black); Commerce; Transportation
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places
MANAGED BY:
Private Property Owners
Jewish immigrants referred to North 24th Street as the Miracle Mile; Black Omahans called it the Street of Dreams. Approximately two miles north and slightly west of Omaha’s downtown core, the North 24th and Lake Streets Historic District was constructed in two phases coinciding with the economic boom era of the 1880s and the reconstruction after the 1913 Easter Sunday Tornado. Businesses within the district served the needs of the surrounding residents, providing groceries, clothing, furniture, and hardware, as well as the services of physicians, dentists, lawyers, druggists, and undertakers. Restaurants, bakeries, cigar shops, music venues and theaters also catered the surrounding ethnically diverse community including Scandinavians, Germans, Irish, Eastern European Jews, and African Americans.
Throughout the settlement and development of the area, the cultural value and legacy of the neighborhood has continually evolved, embracing new immigrants from Europe – specifically Eastern Europe – before thriving as the epicenter of the city’s flourishing Black community by the 1910s.
Before the turn of the twentieth century, African Americans settled throughout the city of Omaha. As the city’s African American population grew, many blacks began moving to the Near North Side neighborhood and by 1940, 90 percent of the residents of area were Black. As a result, the area became a vibrant center for countless African American professionals, businesses, and fraternal organizations. The city’s best nightlife took place in the music-venues along North 24th Street. It was also the hardest hit when social unrest and violet urban disturbances broke out beginning in summer 1966.
The North 24th and Lake Streets Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, continuing to serve as the central business district and the heart of Omaha’s Black community. Within the district, the Jewell Building, Webster Telephone Exchange Building, Broomfield Rowhouse, and Omaha Star are individually in the National Register of Historic Places.
Throughout the settlement and development of the area, the cultural value and legacy of the neighborhood has continually evolved, embracing new immigrants from Europe – specifically Eastern Europe – before thriving as the epicenter of the city’s flourishing Black community by the 1910s.
Before the turn of the twentieth century, African Americans settled throughout the city of Omaha. As the city’s African American population grew, many blacks began moving to the Near North Side neighborhood and by 1940, 90 percent of the residents of area were Black. As a result, the area became a vibrant center for countless African American professionals, businesses, and fraternal organizations. The city’s best nightlife took place in the music-venues along North 24th Street. It was also the hardest hit when social unrest and violet urban disturbances broke out beginning in summer 1966.
The North 24th and Lake Streets Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, continuing to serve as the central business district and the heart of Omaha’s Black community. Within the district, the Jewell Building, Webster Telephone Exchange Building, Broomfield Rowhouse, and Omaha Star are individually in the National Register of Historic Places.