Minne Lusa Residential Historic District
Houses on Bauman Avenue
Minne Lusa is located in Nebraska
Minne Lusa
Minne Lusa is located in the United States
Minne Lusa
LocationOmaha, Nebraska
Coordinates41°15′54″N 95°59′24″W / 41.265°N 95.990°W / 41.265; -95.990
ArchitectEverett Dodd
Architectural styleLate 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements
NRHP reference No.14000178[1]
Added to NRHPApril 25, 2014

The Minne Lusa Residential Historic District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is included on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the National Park Service, it is an "example of a substantial, affordable single-family residential development within the city limits that was platted, developed and constructed by a single firm between 1915 and 1941."[2] The neighborhood is filled with bungalows, Craftsman, and other styles that were popular in the era. There are 540 properties in the neighborhood that contribute to the historic district, the other 167 do not. Minne Lusa Boulevard is a contributing structure.[2]

The district's boundaries are Vane Street on the north and Redick Avenue on the south; North 24th Street on the east and North 30th Street on the west.[3] It is located just north of the Miller Park neighborhood, and just south of Florence and includes all of the area originally known as the Minne Lusa Addition.

History

According to the Omaha Public Library, "Minne Lusa" comes from a Native American word of unknown origins that means "clear water".[4] The Minne Lusa Pumping Station was built at the Florence Water Works north of the area in 1899.[5] Presumably the neighborhood, established 17 years later, took its name from that.[2]

The Minne Lusa neighborhood was first platted by Charles Martin in 1916, and by 1923 was a completed development.[6] Southeast of the newly annexed community of Florence, Minne Lusa was touted as the "largest addition ever platted in Omaha." It included 800 lots on 33 blocks. Lot prices ranged from $450 to $1,000. Minne Lusa Boulevard bisected the subdivision and meandered north from Miller Park. Most homes reflected craftsman bungalow and period revival architectural styles. In general, larger homes were constructed on lots fronting Minne Lusa Boulevard while more modest homes were constructed along cross streets.[3]

One of the primary designers of the development was Everett S. Dodds, a prominent Omaha architect.

Minne Lusa grew at about the same time that automobiles were becoming affordable in the middle class. Nearly every original home in the neighborhood was built with a garage or had one added soon after.[2] The first steel-frame house in the area, on Iowa Street just north of the district, was built by Henry Neef.[7] That house, the Henry B. Neef House, was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in September 2010.

Notable buildings not contributing

Several buildings are located within the geographic boundaries of the district but not considered as contributing to the historic district due to their significant alterations.[2] The original Minne Lusa School was opened as Fort School in 1916. It was moved and rebuilt, opening in 1924 in its current location. The school was updated in 1955, and completed another renovation in 1997.[8]

Another local landmark called the Viking Ship is, according to a local neighborhood group, "a building of distinctive architecture at the corner of Minne Lusa Boulevard and Redick Avenue... [it has] been known at different times as the Prettiest Mile Club, Hayden House, and the Birchwood Club."[9] It is said to be the oldest building in the neighborhood.[10] The Hayden House eventually took turns moving from the Viking Ship to Eppley Airfield,[11] and was to the Union Station in downtown Omaha. Today it is a fully restored art deco icon that sits in the Durham Western Heritage Museum.[12]

The area is home to the former Minne Lusa Theater, a one-screen neighborhood movie house that opened in the mid-1930s along North 30th Street. It seated 400. The theater closed sometime in the mid 50s.[13]

Minne Lusa Water Works

The Metropolitan Utilities District operates a huge system at the Florence Water Works to filter Missouri River water. The Minne Lusa Pumping Station, demolished by the city in the 1960s, was a massive building of Warrensburg sandstone with a central tower rising four stories over an arched entrance. Designed by Omaha architects, it was built in 1889 in a classical style reflecting the influence of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition. This building contained the high service pump and boilers, and sent the filtered water to city water mains for the entire city of Omaha.[14][15]

Crime

In July 2015, a reporter for the Omaha World Herald identified the area containing Miller Park as "a thoroughfare for gun violence" after a 12-year-old boy was involved in a deadly shooting there.[16][17]

In February of that year, police officer Kerrie Orozco, an active community member and volunteer who coached softball in the Minne Lusa/Miller Park neighborhood,[18] had also been shot and killed during a gun fight with "a convicted felon and known gang member" [19] at an intersection 2 blocks west of Minne Lusa blvd.

In 2017, the Miller Park/Minne Lusa area was ranked as having the second highest rate of homicides and other violent crimes out of 81 Omaha neighborhoods.[20] Examples include a shooting at the corner of Minne Lusa and Vane that July,[21] and a gunfight that took place in front of the elementary school.[22]

In August 2020, residents reported to WOWT-6 News that multiple vehicles had windows shot out.[23] However, "people who live in Minne Lusa say for the most part their neighborhood is a safe and quiet one," and the Omaha Police Department stated that they had not seen a trend of increased vandalism in the area.[23]

Another shooting occurred on August 19, 2021, on the far side of the neighborhood's Miller Park, in which car windows were shot out "near an Omaha public school." Two occupants of the vehicle were injured.[24]

In July 2023, a father was gunned down in front of his children next door to Minne Lusa elementary during a gun fight in which more than 25 rounds were fired. Several rounds entered the bedroom where several children from a nearby home were watching the fight through a window.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Weekly list of actions taken on properties: 4/21/14 through 4/25/14". National Park Service. May 2, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jennifer Honebrink (November 2013). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Minne Lusa Residential Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Mead and Hunt. (2007) Renaissance survey of parts of North Omaha[usurped]. Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 4/21/08.
  4. ↑ (nd) Sources of Street Names Archived 2007-10-21 at the Wayback Machine. Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 6/12/07.
  5. ↑ Federal Writer's Project. (1938) Omaha: A Guide to the City and Environs. Works Progress Administration.
  6. ↑ (2007) Minne Lusa. Historic Florence Foundation. Retrieved 6/11/07.
  7. ↑ KETV. (2006) Minne Lusa Neighborhood Small, Packed With History Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6/11/07.
  8. ↑ (nd) Minne Lusa Elementary School. Historic Florence Foundation. Retrieved 6/11/07.
  9. ↑ (2006) History of Miller Park/Minne Lusa Neighborhood Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ KETV. (2006)
  11. ↑ Hayden House postcard from Eppley Airfield
  12. ↑ Hayden House Restaurant Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine at Union Station
  13. ↑ (nd) Minne Lusa Theater. Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 6/11/07.
  14. ↑ Federal Writer's Project. (1938).
  15. ↑ Historic postcard of the Minne Lusa Water Works
  16. ↑ "People Were So Stunned That a 12-Year-Old Could Have Been Possibly Holding a Gun". thetrace.org. July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Police continue search for 12-year-old suspect in Miller Park shooting". ketv.com. July 13, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  18. ↑ "First pitch thrown at Kerrie Orozco Memorial Ballfield". www.ketv.com. June 27, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Kerrie Orozco's Killing: Police Radio Captures Omaha Officer's Fatal Shooting". nbcnews.com. May 22, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Crime in the Miller Park neighborhood - Omaha Crime Report". omahacrimereport.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Minne Lusa and Vane shooting". news.yahoo.com. July 10, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Neighbors in Minne Lusa area scramble as gunfire rings out". omaha.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  23. 1 2 "North Omaha neighbors worry vandalism will lead to worse". wowt.com. August 26, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Two shot overnight near Omaha school". wowt.com. August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  25. ↑ "'Just senseless, senseless violence': Omaha father killed in shootout in front of his children". ketv.com. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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