The Jefferson Square Story

   
Research combined by Shylah B., Eli G., Chris P., and Carlo S. 

The Jefferson Square Neighborhood is bounded by I-480 on the south side, Burt St. on the north, 15th street on the east, and highway 75 on the west. Jefferson Square was founded in the 1860s not long after the founding of Omaha itself in 1854. This neighborhood’s peak years were around the 1930s and early 40s. It was a popular neighborhood for immigrants because it was downtown and urban, and it was surrounded by a large industry. There were coal-burning smokestacks and many of Union Pacific’s shops, so it had a large working community. Overall, it was a poor, but very lively neighborhood.

Courtesy of Omaha World Herald, 1955.

The neighborhood’s decline began in the 1960s, when I-480 was built through it. The rise of car culture fueled Omaha’s decision to begin construction. It is also likely that a rise in sub urbanization, contributed to the construction of I-480, which gave affluent white families access to downtown Omaha from their homes, .The highway became a barrier for people who already lived in the neighborhood—in fact it pushed a lot of them out.

The bulk of what is actually Jefferson Square remains deserted. There is a jewelry pawn shop and a pastry shop still running from the heyday of Jefferson Square, but most of what still stands is vacant. These vacant buildings give us a glimpse of an otherwise invisible neighborhood.

Courtesy of Omaha World Herald, 1955.

Currently, the surrounding area is in a state of rapid change, related to the redevelopment fueled by the construction of TD Ameritrade Park, the home of the College World Series. As growth around the stadium has expanded, the old Jefferson Square Park neighborhood is showing signs of revitalization. The big question is whether that renewal will honor the rich and diverse history of the area and benefit a broad range of Omahans, or just more affluent members of the community.

An interview with Mr. Edouardo Zendejas who talks about his time living in the Jefferson Square neighborhood in the 1960’s, before it was displaced by the construction of Interstate 480.

Jefferson Square Park was located at 1604 Chicago St. In its very early years, it was a thriving park filled with trees, flowers, benches, and people. The park was created in 1865, at the end of the Civil War. It was one of the first city parks in Omaha. It stretched for only one block. In the 1950s and 1960s, the indigenous community, living in nearby hotels, gathered in the park.  While the construction of I-480 contributed to the decline of the neighborhood and the complete demolition of Jefferson Park, the park itself was suffering long before that. It became known to locals as “Hobo Park”, which was due to the large number of homeless people who congregated in the area, drinking and smoking.  By the end, it was not your typical park where kids played and families spent time. In 1967 the city voted unanimously to demolish the park in place of Interstate 480. The construction began in March 1969, when bulldozers and dirt piles quickly took the place of the park. What’s left of “Hobo Park” today has been converted into a parking lot. Looking south, there is a view of Downtown Omaha. Today, the Double Tree Hotel stands southeast of where Jefferson Park was. The surrounding area has new apartment buildings and chic restaurants.

This artifact is a newspaper article by the Omaha World Herald written on March 18, 1969. It discusses the destruction of Jefferson Square Park. During the last years of the park, it was mostly occupied by bums, which are who we know as homeless people today. This artifact tells us about how homeless people moved out of the park and to other places after the construction of I-480 began. It tells us the beginning, peak, and the downfall of Jefferson Square Park. The park was completely overwhelmed by an influx of homeless individuals, which made it an undesirable location for anyone else living in the area. Jefferson Square Park was described by our interviewee, Mr. Zendejas, as a place not intended for children. This artifact confirmed that statement because it tells about the constant violence that occurred at night. This artifact can be used as evidence for the decline of the park and the gradual destruction of it. (Photo Courtesy of the Omaha World-Herald).

Photo Courtesy of Durham Photo Archive

The Park Hotel was located on the corner of 15th & Cass. It was built in 1912 as a three- story hotel with room for about 32 people. The rooms could cost as low as $1.50 per night. For that reason, this hotel, and many others in the neighborhood, were popular for transient populations. People could come and go as they wanted, and they could stay for a cheap price. The neighborhood itself became a place where a lot of Native Americans moved to during Relocation, a 1956 United States law that encouraged (and forced) Native Americans to leave their Indian reservations and to assimilate to the general population in urban areas. These hotels weren’t particularly “nice”, which is most likely due to neglectful hotel owners exploiting a poor, ethnic population. Based on a news article written in a November 1968 issue of the Omaha World Herald, a fire broke out in one of the rooms inside of the Park Hotel. This fire was allegedly caused by a cigarette thrown into a 4-foot-pile of trash inside one of the hotel’s rooms. In December 1968, the Park Hotel was deemed unfit for human habitation—it was torn down in 1970. One block down from the Park Hotel on 15th & Chicago was a 3.5 story building known first as The Chicago Hotel, and then later as the Chicago Apartments. The building was gutted by a fire on January 31, 1960. It was completely torn down shortly after the fire.

Today, a parking lot sits in the place of the Park Hotel. Next door to this lot is a cross-fit gym and across the street on 16th & Cass is a pastry shop. While most of its neighboring buildings have become either vacant or demolished, major development continues north on 15th street. That area has become home to brand new apartment buildings and upscale hotels. The reason for this development could be closely tied to the College World Series and TD Ameritrade being home to the College World Series. TD Ameritrade is only a half mile from where both the Park and Chicago Hotels once stood.

This structure, located at 1518 Cass Street is an example of a vacant building which gives us a glimpse of an earlier, more vibrant, Jefferson Park Neighborhood.  Constructed in 1911, this three-story white building was used as laundry facility called Truax Laundry.  From 1938 to 1959, the building  was the home of the On Leong Tong, a social organization for Omaha's early Chinese and Chinese-American community.

Founded in 1912, the On Leong Tong provided  Omaha's small Chinese immigrant community a place to worship, gather for holidays, gamble on games like mah jong and the lottery, and feel connected to each other. Tong is a  word meaning "to bring together."There were very few places that welcomed Chinese immigrants at the time, so the the community decided to come together in their own place involving their culture and traditions.

Photo Courtesy of Durham Photo Archive

A lot of people (those of different ethnicities in particular) who were not welcomed in other parts of Omaha, were welcomed into the Jefferson Square area. For this reason, it was a diverse, albeit poor, neighborhood. It is unknown exactly why the area turned into what it currently is, but we can speculate that the construction of I-480 was a major influence. However, the On Leong house disbanded years before construction began, so what did happen to the Chinese community in Omaha? Some sources say that as children of Chinese immigrants became assimilated, they felt less connected to their immigrant background, and more connected to their Omaha, Nebraskan one and began to move to other areas of the city.

Carlo (Jefferson Park)

Carlo’s idea involved utilizing the space, which is currently a parking lot, as food truck lot. He came up with this idea because it was a creative way to bring people into the neighborhood.

Christian & Elijah (Park Hotel)

These two talked about ways to help the current population of people who live in the Jefferson Square neighborhood. For them, a gas station would fulfill a dire need. The closest gas station is small, with only two pumps, and so Christian & Elijah thought to build a combination of a general store and gas station, which they would call “Snacks & Gas.” They talked about including up to ten pumps, and easy ways for vehicles to enter and exit, so there is no congestion at the pumps.

Shylah (1518 Cass St.)

Similar to Christian and Elijah, Shylah wanted to bring a service to the people who currently live in the Jefferson Square neighborhood. As we walked around, and even drove beyond the neighborhood, we immediately noticed a lack of grocery stores. For this reason, Shylah wants to utilize the currently vacant building to open a grocery store. Her grocery store would put an emphasis on local produce and goods. Shylah thinks a grocery store is a great way to revitalize the neighborhood in a way that caters not only to one-time-visitors, but to Omaha’s community as well.