USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 19
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DOUGLAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, OMAHA
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
John Latenser, Architect
$ 50,000.00
Building Contract
822,571.00
Plumbing and Heating
69,562.00
Electric Wiring
11,262.00
Elevators
28,420.00
Vacuum System 3,200.00
Grading Courthouse Grounds
13,096.69
Clock System
1,924.00
Burglar Alarm System
800.00
Mail Chutes
765.00
Hydraulic Ash Hoist
890.00
Sundry Extras
2,136.51
Miscellaneous Expenses
2,878.26
Total cost
$1,007,505.46
The amount derived from the sale of the courthouse bonds and accumulations was $1,017,497.92, so that when the building was finished there was a balance of $9.992.46, which was transferred to the county general fund. The new court- house was occupied by the various courts and county officials on October 1, 1912. It is one of the most practical courthouses in the United States, the principal object of the architect apparently having been, to design a building for use rather than show. The outside walls are of Indiana oolitic limestone (commonly called Bedford stone), with very little ornament, creating a building that gives the im- pression of solidity, and beautiful in its simplicity. On the Harney Street side. where the building stands flush with the street, it is-six stories in height, while on the side fronting Farnam Street the height is but five stories. Between the courthouse and Farnam Street is a neat lawn, with circular walks from the north- cast and northwest corners of the square to the main entrance. These walks are bordered by stone copings and provided with electroliers. In the interior the halls and corridors are fitted with mosaic floors and marble wainscotings. The main, second and third floors are occupied by the several county offices, the fourth Hoor by the court rooms, and on the top floor is the county jail. Easy marble stairways and four elevators afford the means of ascent or descent to the differ- ent floors. The offices are finished in hard wood and fire proof vaults have been provided for the preservation of the county records.
TIIE POSTOFFICE
In connection with the Federal Building, a history of the Omaha postoffice may be appropriate. Early in the spring of 1854. before the Town of Omaha had been platted. application was inade to the postoffice department to establish an office on the west side of the Missouri River, opposite Council Bluffs, the new office to be known as "Omaha City." A petition, duly prepared and signed by a number of those who expected to take up their residence in Nebraska, was forwarded to Bernhart Henn, then a member of Congress from Iowa, who was instrumental in securing the establishment of the postoffice. On the day he
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
received the notice from the postoffice that the petition had been granted, he wrote to Dr. J. D. Test, of Council Bluffs, as follows :
"Washington City, May 6, 1854.
"Dr. Test :- Yours of the Ioth ultimo, relative to Omaha City postoffice has been received. I got the office established today and had A. D. Jones appointed postmaster.
"Yours truly,
"BERNHART HENN."
It seems that Mr. Jones had also written to Congressman Henn regarding the establishment of a mail route from Council Bluffs to the new office at Omaha City. On the same day that Mr. Henn wrote to Doctor Test he also wrote to Mr. Jones, the letter being the first ever directed to "Omaha City, Nebraska." The letter was as follows:
"Washington City, May 6, 1854.
"A. D. Jones, Esq., "Omaha City, Neb. Ter.
Dear Sir :- Yours of the 15th ultimo has been received, but as the post route bill has already received final action, I can not carry out your suggestion as to the route from Council Bluffs to Omaha City at this session. Perhaps, however, it is not necessary, as it is already covered by the route I had established last Congress from Council Bluffs to Fort Laramie, and although said route has not been let, you may get that part put in operation by petitioning the depart- ment to do so; which course I would suggest be adopted at once. If you do so, send me the petition directed to Fairfield and I will forward it.
"Yours truly,
"BERNHART HENN."
Although this letter bears date of May 6, 1854, twenty-four days before President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, it will be noticed that it was addressed to Mr. Jones at "Omaha City, Neb. Ter.," though at that time the city consisted mainly of hazel brush thickets and tall grass, and the territory had not been established. So certain, however, was Mr. Henn of the passage of the bill then under consideration that he anticipated it by more than three weeks.
The petition to place Omaha City on the Council Bluffs & Fort Laramie mail route evidently failed to secure the official approval of the postoffice department. for a little later Mr. Jones was instructed to employ some one to carry the mail and pay him "out of the proceeds of the office." As the proceeds did not offer sufficient inducement to any one to undertake the work, Mr. Jones became mail carrier "ex-officio." In March, 1916, Paul B. Burleigh presented to the public library a painting in oil of "Omaha's First Postoffice." From the title one would expect to see some kind of a building, but not so. The painting presents a view of Omaha in 1855-one log cabin, a few tents and a small clearing amid the forest trees. The "postoffice" is Mr. Jones himself, standing in the foreground in the act of taking a letter from his hat to hand to a woodman with an ax in his hand, who has paused in his labors long enough to welcome the mail carrier and receive his mail. The picture was painted by Mr. Jones and presented to Mr. Burleigh, who in turn presented it to the public library.
For a short time the postoffice was then kept in the grocery of William
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
Clancy, known as the "Big Six," which is said to have been the third building ever erected upon the Omaha town site. It was a shanty-like structure of cotton- wood boards banked with sod and stood on the north side of Chicago Street between Thirteenth and Fourteenth. Here Mr. Jones was wont to "hand out the mail" on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, after the arrival of the stage. On January 12, 1855, David Lindley was appointed postmaster and kept the office for a little while in a small house on Thirteenth Street, directly in the rear of the Douglas House, of which he was the proprietor. He served but eighteen days, when he was succeeded by Lawrence H. Frank. William W. Wyman, editor and publisher of the Omaha Times, was appointed postmaster on June 25, 1855, and removed the office to the first floor of his brick building on the northwest corner of Thirteenth and Douglas streets, the upper floor being used as the publication office of the Times. The office was next located on the northeast corner of Fourteenth and Farnam streets. From there it was taken to a room in the Academy of Music, on Douglas Street, and when Joel T. Griffin was made post- master in 1871 he removed the office to the first floor of the A. J. Simpson Block, on the west side of Fourteenth Street between Dodge and Douglas. The follow- ing year Casper E. Yost was appointed postmaster and took the office to the Creighton Block, on Fifteenth Street, where it remained until removed to the building erected for the purpose at the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Dodge streets. A list of the postmasters is given later on in this chapter.
THE FIRST BUILDING
For more than fifteen years after the postoffice was established it had no permanent quarters, each successive postmaster removing it to such location as suited his convenience. The first building erected by the United States Govern- ment for postoffice purposes in Omaha, was commenced in 1870 and completed in 1874, at a cost of $300,000. As already stated, it is located on the southwest corner of Fifteenth and Dodge streets and is now known as the Army Building, in which are located the military headquarters of the Department of the Platte Casper E. Yost was the first postmaster to officiate in this building, which at the time it was completed was thought to be sufficient to answer Omaha's demands for mail service for years to come. But before fifteen years had passed, it became apparent that the growth of the city made necessary better facilities for handling the mails and a movement was started for a new building, which, after the usual formalities and delay, culminated in the
PRESENT POSTOFFICE
On January 21, 1889, President Cleveland approved a bill appropriating $1,200,000 for a new postoffice building and site, the latter to cost not more than $400,000 and the secretary of the treasury was not to approve any plan for a building that would cost over $800,000. The passage of this measure was due to the combined efforts of Senator Charles F. Manderson and Congressman John A. McShane, the former a republican and the latter a democrat. Numerous sites were offered, but the block bounded by Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Dodge and Capitol Avenue was finally selected and the property was appraised by a board
1:38
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
appointed by Judge E. S. Dundy, of the United States District Court. The valuation agreed upon by the appraisers was slightly under the $400,000 allowed by the bill and was accepted by the property holders. President Cleveland's wife 'was the owner of some of the property.
At the next session of Congress, Senator Manderson tried to have the appro- priation increased to $2,000,000. A bill to that effect passed the Senate, but failed in the House. Work was commenced on the foundation in the spring of 1892 by O. J. King, who had been awarded the contract. The building, according to the original plan, was located on the east side of the grounds, so that if an additional appropriation could be obtained the structure could be extended toward Seven- teenth Street without making any changes. This was what followed, appropria- tions being made from time to time until the building in its present form was com- pleted. The first part-the eastern portion-was completed in 1898, and the entire structure was finished in 1906, at a cost of $1,938,506.69, exclusive of the price paid for the ground upon which it is located, but including the furnishings.
The walls of the hasement and first story are of St. Cloud granite, all above that being of sandstone. The main entrance is on Douglas Street, through five massive arches, over the center of which rises a tower 190 feet high, with a large clock showing a dial on each of the four sides. There are also entrances on Dodge Street and Capitol Avenue, the Seventeenth Street side being used for the reception and departure of mails. The postmaster's office is in the northeast corner ; the money order department in the southeast corner; facing the main entrance are the private boxes, nearly two thousand in number; the general delivery is on the north side, facing the Capitol Avenue corridor ; south of the private boxes in the main corridor are the windows for the sale of postage stamps and the parcels post department, and the registry division is located on the corri- dor next to Dodge Street. The upper stories are devoted to the customs and internal revenue offices, the United States Court, etc.
At the close of the year 1915 there were 404 people employed in the Omaha postoffice. The first carriers were put on in 1874, when the first postoffice build- ing was ready for occupancy. Four were then appointed. In 1915 there were 167, while the office force of seven people in 1874 has grown to 192. The receipts of the office in 1855-the first full year after its establishment-amounted to $76.21. The receipts for 1915 were $1,505,259.71. These figures show the growth of Omaha in a general way, but especially in its importance as a mail distributing center.
LIST OF POSTMASTERS
Following is a list of the postmasters from the time the office was established to April, 1916, with the date of appointment of each: Alfred D. Jones, May 5, 1854; David Lindley, January 12, 1855; L. H. Frank, January 30, 1855; W. W. Wyman, June 25. 1855; T. H. Robertson, November 9, 1857; Charles W. Ham- ilton, March 3, 1859; W. W. Wyman, April 19, 1859; George R. Smith, April 18, 1861 ; John H. Kellom, July 11, 1870; Joel T. Griffin, May 23, 1871 ; Casper E. Yost, July 2, 1872; Thomas F. Hall, March 16, 1877; Charles K. Coutant, July 9, 1883; C. V. Gallagher, March 30, 1887; T. S. Clarkson, October 1, 1890; Euclid Martin, February 12, 1895; Joseph Crow, March 11, 1899; Henry E.
DE
UNITED STATES FEDERAL BUILDING AND POSTOFFICE, OMAHA
139
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
Palmer, January 22, 1904; B. F. Thomas (date of appointment not learned) ; John C. Wharton, March 27, 1912. On April 14, 1871, the name of the office was changed from Omaha City to Omaha.
THE CITY HALL
About 1880 the necessity for some permanent quarters for the city offices began to be recognized. The question of a city hall was discussed for several months and at the city election in 1882 the selection of a site was left to a vote of the people. Of the several locations under consideration, a majority of the votes were in favor of the lot at the northeast corner of Eighteenth and Farnam streets. No immediate action was taken by the city toward the erection of a city hall and after a year or two flattering offers were made by some real estate men for that corner. The question was therefore again submitted to the people at the spring election in 1889, when the majority of the voters reaffirmed the result of the former election.
Charles F. Beindorff was then employed to make plans, bids were advertised for, and the contract was awarded to John F. Coots, of Detroit, Mich., who had built the Douglas County courthouse only a short time before. Between March 1, 1888, and February 1, 1892, bonds were sold to the amount of $527,- 082.03 and the school board appropriated $20,000 additional toward the erection and completion of the building. The corner stone was laid on Thursday, June 19, 1890, by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Nebraska, which happened to be in session in Omaha at the time. A large concourse of people gathered to witness the ceremonies, and upon the platform were eight ex-mayors of Omaha-A. J. Poppleton, George Armstrong, B. E. B. Kennedy, Charles H. Brown, Joseph H. Millard, Champion S. Chase, James E. Boyd and William J. Broatch. When everything was ready, Mayor R. C. Cushing delivered the following address :
"Fellow citizens of Omaha, Gentlemen of the Common Council and of the Masonic Fraternity : We are assembled today to deposit a block of enduring granite stone which will, we trust, uphold years after all present shall have departed, a fabric devoted to our city's business.
"To its sealed recesses we confide such evidences of our city's present size and prosperity as may serve to interest the busy populace of some future genera- tion, when these firm walls shall have crumbled and the secrets of this corner stone shall have been brought to light.
"The pyramids and sphinx of the Nile tell today an Egyptian tale better than the ashes of the great Alexandrian library. The ruins of our ancient cities, for instance, the Coliseum of Rome, speak louder in the descriptive than the scribes of that day. Therefore, it is altogether fitting that such memorials of our day should be entrusted to the strong guardianship of stone.
"Here and there, even at this time, as our hills are leveled, or our founda- tions laid, the busy spade of the workman exhumes from their long forgotten grave, Indian relics, some domestic utensil, or some weapon of war, upon which we gaze with absorbing interest as the sole histories of nations long vanished. In their rugged outlines we may venture to read something of their wars, their daily pursuits, and their homes, which, but for these recovered implements of stone, would have remained a blank forever.
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
"To the people of some long distant day, we offer a more legible story, and one which we believe is more in accord with the spirit of the present age. From this recess, hereafter, will be taken no weapon of death, no evidence of barbaric wars, but tokens only of peace and prosperity, which have hitherto blessed the city, and which we devoutly hope may continue to bless it for ages yet to come.
"Upon this stone now to be placed will rise, we hope, a structure which will be an honor to our city and a satisfaction to its inhabitants. Within its walls, we trust that no ignoble motive, no corrupt suggestion, may ever find a place, and that it may be not only an edifice for the transaction of the city's business affairs, but also a temple of integrity, justice and patriotism. And may the figure which the architect has designed for its summit look down for many years upon a com- munity happy, united, prosperous, honest and charitable.
"To you, gentlemen of the Masonic Fraternity, I now extend my most hearty thanks for your interest in the occasion, and turn over this block to be fitted in its place by your skillful and experienced hands."
The stone was then placed in position according to Masonic rites and usages, and the work of raising the superstructure went forward. Several years passed before the city hall was ready for use, the last transaction connected with it, as shown by the records, taking place on December 18, 1900, when $10.11 of the con- struction and equipment fund was turned into the general fund. The total cost of the building and furnishings was $547,765.65.
The walls of the basement and first story are of granite, those of the second, third, fourth and fifth stories of sandstone. A flight of marble steps leads from the main entrances on Farnam and Eighteenth streets into a central hall or court, around which are arranged the various city offices, council chamber, rooms for the board of education, etc. At the southwest corner is a tower which rises to a height of nearly two hundred feet.
THE AUDITORIUM
The large convention hall known as the auditorium, located at the southeast corner of Fifteenth and Howard streets, was the outgrowth of a series of band concerts given during the months of July, August and September, 1900, in a large tent at the corner of Fourteenth and Capitol Avenue, where the "Billy Sun- day Tabernacle" was afterward erected. The net proceeds of these concerts amounted to about ten thousand dollars and the question arose as to what should be done with the money. One of the needs of Omaha at that time was a hall large enough to accommodate great conventions. In the fall of 1900 F. E. San- born, A. Hospe, Fred F. Paffenrath, H. S. Weller, J. S. White and a few others incorporated the Auditorium Company, with a capital stock of $300,000, the money derived from the band concerts becoming the nucleus. Later the capital stock was increased to $500,000, of which $300,000 was preferred stock. Stock sales went on for a year, other funds being rasied by entertainment of various descriptions. In the early part of 1901 a mid-winter fair was held in the building now occupied by the Baum Iron Works, under the management of J. M. Gillan. Goods exhibited at the fair were given at its close to the Auditorium Company to be disposed of and the proceeds turned into the stock fund.
Toward the close of the year 1902 there was a reorganization, when F. A.
THE ARMY BUILDING, OMAHA Formerly the Federal Building and Postoffice
THE AUDITORIUM, OMAHA
141
OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
Nash, Arthur C. Smith, T. C. Byrne, T. J. Mahoney, Joseph Hayden, Frank Car- penter, W. M. Burgess, F. H. Davis, F. T. Hamilton, H. J. Penfold, Charles D. Beaton and some others became actively interested in the movement to erect an auditorium. F. A. Nash was elected president and held that position until the time of his death in 1914. Early in 1903 J. M. Gillan was elected secretary and the following year was made manager. Mr. Nash and Mr. Gillan devoted a great deal of time and energy to the work and bore the greater share of the arduous burden of handling the complex problem of carrying the undertaking through several years of financial adversity.
Shortly after the reorganization, the lot at the southeast corner of Fifteenth and Howard streets was purchased for $55,000 and contracts were let to different parties for the erection of the building. Schall & Company were awarded the con- tract for the stone work; Rocheford & Gould, the brick work; Paxton & Bierling, the iron work; Henry Hamann, the carpenter work, and there were some minor contracts, painting, glazing, plumbing, electric wiring, etc., which brought the total cost of the building up to $220,000.
The auditorium was opened on June 7, 1904, although not fully completed, by Innes' band in a series of concerts lasting three weeks. Some of the attrac- tions, conventions and entertainments offered in the auditorium were the four very successful horse shows, the first of which was in the fall of 1904, the other three following annually in succession. These shows were visited by horsemen from all parts of the United States and some came from Canada. Sarah Bern- hardt, the celebrated French actress, played Camille here to a large and apprecia- tive audience. Two electrical shows, the first in the fall of 1908 and the second a year later, were largely attended. The latter was opened by wireless from Fort Omaha by William H. Taft, then President of the United States, and during the progress of the exhibition Mr. Milner, of the Union Pacific Raliroad, turned the lights on and off by wireless, the first time in history that such a feat was accom- plished. The New York Metropolitan Opera Company gave two performances in the auditorium in the year 1905, presenting Parsifal and Lucia, and the proceeds amounted to $19,000. Among the prominent people who have delivered addresses in the building may be mentioned W. H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, General Booth, of the Salvation Army, Senator Tillman, of South Caro- lina, Booker T. Washington and Lieutenant Shackelford, the English explorer. Conventions of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Shriners, and the democratic state convention have been held in the building, and the annual automobile show has become a regular feature.
In the erection of the auditorium the projectors found it necessary to give a mortgage of $100,000 to raise funds to complete the edifice. While the roller skating continued to be a popular amusement, dividends on the stock and interest on the mortgage were paid regularly, but after a few years interest in skating ceased and the company began to experience difficulty in meeting obligations. Early in 1915 negotiations for the transfer of the property to the city were com- menced. The result was that in July the city purchased the property for $150,- 000, the final transfer being made on August 2, 1915.
All in all, the City of Omaha is as well provided with public buildings as most cities of its class. The same holds true of Douglas County. Besides the struc-
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
Nash, Arthur C. Smith, T. C. Byrne, T. J. Mahoney, Joseph Hayden, Frank Car- penter, W. M. Burgess, F. H. Davis, F. T. Hamilton, H. J. Penfold, Charles D. Beaton and some others became actively interested in the movement to erect an auditorium. F. A. Nash was elected president and held that position until the time of his death in 1914. Early in 1903 J. M. Gillan was elected secretary and the following year was made manager. Mr. Nash and Mr. Gillan devoted a great deal of time and energy to the work and bore the greater share of the arduous burden of handling the complex problem of carrying the undertaking through several years of financial adversity.
Shortly after the reorganization, the lot at the southeast corner of Fifteenth and Howard streets was purchased for $55,000 and contracts were let to different parties for the erection of the building. Schall & Company were awarded the con- tract for the stone work; Rocheford & Gould, the brick work; Paxton & Bierling, the iron work; Henry Hamann, the carpenter work, and there were some minor contracts, painting, glazing, plumbing, electric wiring, etc., which brought the total cost of the building up to $220,000.
The auditorium was opened on June 7, 1904, although not fully completed, by Innes' band in a series of concerts lasting three weeks. Some of the attrac- tions, conventions and entertainments offered in the auditorium were the four very successful horse shows, the first of which was in the fall of 1904, the other three following annually in succession. These shows were visited by horsemen from all parts of the United States and some came from Canada. Sarah Bern- hardt, the celebrated French actress, played Camille here to a large and apprecia- tive audience. Two electrical shows, the first in the fall of 1908 and the second a year later, were largely attended. The latter was opened by wireless from Fort Omaha by William H. Taft, then President of the United States, and during the progress of the exhibition Mr. Milner, of the Union Pacific Raliroad, turned the lights on and off by wireless, the first time in history that such a feat was accom- plished. The New York Metropolitan Opera Company gave two performances in the auditorium in the year 1905, presenting Parsifal and Lucia, and the proceeds amounted to $19,000. Among the prominent people who have delivered addresses in the building may be mentioned W. H. Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, General Booth, of the Salvation Army, Senator Tillman, of South Caro- lina, Booker T. Washington and Lieutenant Shackelford, the English explorer. Conventions of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Shriners, and the democratic state convention have been held in the building, and the annual automobile show has become a regular feature.
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