Sunday, February 14, 2016

Happy Valentine's Day!

Was love in the air for you today? 
Here in Omaha, the skies were gray but it was a delightful change to have temps in the 30s. It won't be long before spring is back! We celebrated Valentine's Day the way many of you probably did:  reading the paper, drinking coffee, going to church (me), eating lunch, and then attending a panel discussion presented by the Douglas County Historical Society about the demolition of Jobbers' Canyon. Nothing says "romance" like a small auditorium of history buffs, right?

Being an Omaha native and an architect, Scott has always had a keen interest in the demise of our historic warehouse district. It was brutally destroyed in the late 1980s after ConAgra strong-armed the City of Omaha into making the riverfront area available for their new headquarters. With the recent news that ConAgra will soon be moving its headquarters to Chicago, interest in the now long-gone district has been renewed.
In all, 22 buildings comprising 1.7 million sq. ft. of space were demolished to make way for ConAgra's campus. 
The panel of today's presentation included three men that lead the fight against the demolition, including architect George Haecker, attorney Ed Fogarty, and retired city planner Lynn Meyer. Mr. Meyer was responsible for documenting the structures and his astounding collection of photographs is available to view on the City's Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission website. I encourage you to browse the gallery of photos (two of which are shown above) and consider what you can do to promote the conservation of Omaha history through the rehabilitation and repurpose of historic structures. 

Scott and I have done our best to conserve what was here before we took the reins of noTTafarm. We treasure the history of the homesteaders that tamed the prairie for the generations to follow, and hope to be good stewards of our 10 acres for years to come.
Stay Tuned for Our Next Adventure!

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