Sponsored by:
Since 1917, Bankers Trust has been a leading financial institution for commercial and consumer banking services. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with $7.5 billion in assets, Bankers Trust is the state’s largest privately held community bank. Bankers Trust has operated a loan production office in Omaha since 2008 and opened its first full-service branch in 2025. Visit Bankers Trust at the corner of 192nd and Dodge to see how we can make a difference for all your personal and commercial banking needs.
Burlington Place at Gene Leahy Mall
Just two buildings were saved when the city embarked on its plan to build Central Park Mall. The first is the former Nash Block at 9th & Farnam Street, a holdover from Jobbers Canyon. The second is the former Burlington Headquarters Building just one block west....
How Gene Leahy Mall Transformed Downtown Omaha
By the early 1970s, downtown Omaha was suffering as businesses abandoned the urban core for the suburbs, or left the city altogether. That led Mayor Gene Leahy to launch an ambitious plan to "return to the river." The goal was to turn a gritty and neglected area...
The Last Remnant of Jobbers Canyon
Of the dozens of buildings that once made up the Jobbers Canyon Historic District, only one still stands. The McKesson-Robbins Warehouse, tucked within Gene Leahy Mall, was spared while the rest were bulldozed. Located at 900 Farnam Street, the warehouse was built for...
The Rise and Fall of Jobbers Canyon
The largest destruction of a historic district in the country occurred in Omaha nearly four decades ago. The area was known as Jobbers Canyon. The industrial district was formed after Council Bluffs was designated the eastern terminus for the transcontinental railroad...
The Paxton Omaha’s Art Deco Landmark
Located on the southwest corner of 14th & Farnam Street, across from the newly rising Mutual of Omaha headquarters tower, is an Art Deco structure that was once one of the city's grandest hotels: The Paxton. It was named after William A. Paxton, who helped raise...
The Surviving Twin Tower
Amidst the streetcar construction, where Farnam Street intersects Turner Boulevard, is a building with a 1960s aesthetic that dates back more than 100 years. The building was constructed by the Western Motor Car Company in 1919. The company was founded by Charles...
The East Omaha Swing Bridge
Built in 1893 by the Omaha Bridge and Terminal Railway Company, the historic East Omaha Bridge connected Omaha and Council Bluffs for rail service. After a second swing span was added in 1904 following a shift in the Missouri River’s navigation channel, it became the largest swing bridge in the world…
The History of Omaha’s Oldest Park
Omaha’s oldest park was founded more than 150 years ago. Prior to that, the city had only one other park, Jefferson Square at 16th & Chicago Street, which consisted of a single block. Noting the lack of green space in the rapidly growing 18-year-old city, Andrew Hanscom and James Megeath donated 57…
The Christian Specht Building
One of Omaha’s most well-known historic buildings bears the name Specht. Located across from the Gene Leahy Mall, the building was constructed by Christian Specht for his Western Cornice Works. Born in Germany in 1847, Christian Specht arrived in Baltimore at the age of 18. From there, he is said to have walked to Cincinnati…
The Hotel Indigo Building in Downtown Omaha
Having been constructed just as the city embarked on its ambitious project to lower the steep hill from 17th to 22nd along Dodge Street, El Beudor (present day Hotel Indigo) required significant reconfiguration before opening its doors to its first tenants. Located...
The Cornish Mansion in Little Italy
One of Omaha’s most recognizable residences belonged to Colonel Joel Northrup Cornish, a man whose grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War and who was himself commissioned as a colonel by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. Born in New York in 1828,...
From Aquila Court to Magnolia Hotel
Adjacent to the emerging Flatiron District, the building now known as the Magnolia Hotel first opened as Aquila Court in 1924. Built by brothers Chester and Raymond Cook, it was envisioned as an elegant multi-use destination that combined offices and apartments with...
Sponsored by:
Since 1917, Bankers Trust has been a leading financial institution for commercial and consumer banking services. Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with $7.5 billion in assets, Bankers Trust is the state’s largest privately held community bank. Bankers Trust has operated a loan production office in Omaha since 2008 and opened its first full-service branch in 2025. Visit Bankers Trust at the corner of 192nd and Dodge to see how we can make a difference for all your personal and commercial banking needs.
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