Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District
History
George Bemis's Bemis Land Company platted this exclusive subdivision in 1889. His namesake park was part of Omaha's parks and boulevard system, and the neighborhood's tree-lined streets were the first in Omaha to be laid out according to topography rather than the grid pattern used throughout the rest of the city.
The Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District is notable for its mix of late nineteenth and early twentieth century homes. Architecture in Bemis Park includes Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts and Neo-Classical style buildings as well as vernacular structures. The district includes a park donated to the city by the subdivision's developer George Bemis and designed as a part of the then developing Omaha parks and boulevard system.
The neighborhood was devastated by the Easter Day Tornado of 1913. According to one report, "This beautiful section of Omaha had been completely ruined. The pretty homes that adorned the graceful winding driveways were beyond redemption. The trees had been broken off short at the base, and many of them were even uprooted. One great home had been turned turtle onto the roof of the house adjoining it on the east."
In the 1940s, Bemis Park was home to workers from the new Mutual of Omaha headquarters, teachers at the nearby Tech High School, or employees of the Methodist Hospital.
According to the City of Omaha, the proposed Bemis Park Residential Historic District is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic properties
| Historic properties in Bemis Park in alphabetical order | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Address | Built | Notes | ||
| George Payne House | 3602 Lincoln Boulevard | 1908 | Dutch Colonial Revival architecture | ||
| Porter-Thomsen House | 3426 Lincoln Boulevard | 1902 | Georgian Revival architecture | ||
| Zabriskie House | 3524 Hawthorne Avenue | 1889 | Considered one of the finest Queen Anne style houses in Omaha. | ||
See also
External links
- "A History of the Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District" by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com
- Period photos of Bemis Park from the 1913 tornado.
- Story of the 1913 tornado's effect on Bemis Park.
References
- ^ "Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission – List of Landmarks". Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2013-03-03.
- ^ (nd) "Annexation-Growth Page," Archived 2007-09-12 at the Wayback Machine Omaha Public Schools. Retrieved 7/16/07.
- ^ (nd) Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District Archived March 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. City of Omaha Historical Landmarks Preservation Commission. Retrieved 5/29/07.
- ^ Russell, T. (1913) Chapter 21: The Omaha Tornado. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine The Story of Great Flood and Cyclone Disasters. Retrieved 5/29/07.
- ^ Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2003) Reconnaissance Survey of Selected Neighborhoods in Central Omaha, Nebraska: Nebraska Historic Buildings Survey. Prepared from the City of Omaha, Omaha City Planning Department, Omaha Certified Local Government, and Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 5/29/07.