Page 33 - 1988.Millard.North

·Omaha, Past and Present

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0 moho .. . The city meant dif- entertainment. The Orpheum Theatre ·

left a large impression on those that
ferent things to different people. saw it, and on August twenty-fifth the
It was named after the Omaha In- ballet dancer and actor Mikhail Bar- : ·,
dians and first began as a trading post. yshnikov visited it. The Civic Auditorium
In 1854, Omaha contained twenty left memories of seniors graduating, the .
homes, two shacks that served as ho- Circus, concerts and car and home I
tels, and a few saloons and stores. Then shows .
in 1860 a gold rush to California brought Rosenblatt Stadium, the home of I
several miners through Omaha and a the Royals was expanded to hold the
few settled here. Omaha also was the crowds that the College World Series
capital of Nebraska for a few years until brought in, and across the street the
it was moved to Lincoln . Henry Doorly Zoo was an interesting
Omaha was the Indian word for place to visit. These attractions made I
" above all others on a stream" The city Omaha a unique place.
soon lived up to its name by becoming Also unique were the shopping
the "crossroads of the nation" be- malls . Westroads and Crossroads were
cause of the Omaha Union Station that only a few of the places where that
was a major passenger railroad until "perfect sweater" could be found.
1971. The city grew and flourished. In Although the downtown area of- 1
the 1880's the stockyards and packing fered a wide selection of things, its sub-
houses brought new settlers to the area urb, Millard, offered several things also.
and added wealth to the city. The Millard Four Theatre provided
:n later years as the city expanded, movies for ninety-nine cents. A wide
the downtown area began to dwindle. variety of restaurants could be found,
Omaha worked to improve its down- like House of Hunan and Valentinos.
town by deeming up the Old Market, Burger King and Taco Bell were always
adding Central Park Mall, and increas- around if a quick meal was wanted. Mil-
ing activities in the area. lard Days occurred in the summer and
The Old Market offered a variety a public library offered easy access to ·
of shops and restaurants. Spaghetti information.
Works, Scribbles, and the Great Wall Although many students felt that .
were just a few of the popular restau- Omaha had little to offer, the memories :
rants available. Central Park Mall had made here would mean something dif- · ... ·
a pond with ducks, slides, and even of- ferent to each person. The people, the
fered a place to roller skate.ln the win- places, the spirit, left Omaha "above :· ·
ter the pond was used for ice skating. all others on a stream." _/ ·
The downtown area also provided -Melinda Absher-

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