Douglas County Courthouse (Omaha)
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| Douglas County Courthouse | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Omaha, NE |
| Built/Founded: | 1912 |
| Architect: | John Latenser, Sr. |
| Architectural style(s): | French Renaissance Revival |
| Added to NRHP: | October 11, 1979 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 79003683 [1] |
| Governing body: | Public |
The present Douglas County Courthouse is located at 1700 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Notable events at the courthouse include two lynchings and the city's first Civil Rights Era sit-in protest. Five years after it was opened the building was almost destroyed by mob violence.
The 1912 building was designed in the French Renaissance Revival style by local architect John Latenser, Sr.. Decorative stonework covers the structure's exterior, and the building serves as a prominent landmark in Downtown Omaha.[2]
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[edit] Original courthouse
Three years after the city was founded in 1854, on March 18, 1857 the City of Omaha built a jail and courthouse in an area known as Washington Square. It bounded by 15th, 16th, Douglas and Farnam streets. The original courthouse in Douglas County, with a council room and mayor’s court room, several offices and jail cells, was opened January 4, 1858. [3]
[edit] Second courthouse
The original building was found to be too small as early as 1869. The current site, a block between 17th, 18th, Farnam and Harney Streets, became available in 1878, and in 1879, a jail was built on the southwest corner of this lot. A completely new courthouse was opened on May 28, 1885.
A 112 x 130 foot-wide building, outer walls were covered with sandstone and the inner walls were brick. The dome was iron and sheet metal that was sanded and painted to resemble stone, and was crowned by a 10-foot statue of Justice. Marble tiled hallways and elaborate wrought iron staircases went throughout the building. [4]
The lynching of Joe Coe occurred outside of the Courthouse in 1891. Ten thousand spectators watched as Coe was dragged from his cell and hung from streetcar cables at the corner of 18th and Harney.
In 1913 the Creighton University School of Law in Omaha acquired the bench from the second courthouse. Circular marks on its top surface are still apparent from the installation of gas lamps in the 1880s.
[edit] Present courthouse
John Latenser, a locally important architect, was hired to design a replacement building in 1908. It was opened October 1, 1912. Built south of the old courthouse, the new building is six stories tall along Harney Street and five stories along Farnam. While the exterior walls are covered with unembellished Bedford stone, the interior halls have mosaic floors and marble wainscotings. Hardwood covers the interior of most offices, and vaults preserve county records. There are county offices on the main floor, second and third floors, and courtrooms on the fourth floor. The Douglas County Jail is on the fifth floor. [5]
In 1919 a mob of 20,000 rioters overtook the Courthouse seeking to lynch an African American worker named Willy Brown. After lynching him and the city's mayor, who escaped alive, members of the Omaha Race Riot of 1919 swarmed towards the city's black quarter to attempt to burn it down. They were stopped by soldiers from Fort Omaha.[6]
In 1948 a group of members from a local civil rights group called the DePorres Club held the city's first sit-in at a restaurant in the building. When the group arrived, the owner told them that white customers would stop coming into the restaurant if blacks were served. In response, the 30 members of the group stayed until the owner agreed to allow African American patrons.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ National Register of Historic Places Listings. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2007-03-30).
- ^ "Nebraska National Register Sites in Douglas County", Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 10/12/07.
- ^ Sullivan, L. (2003) "Douglas County Courthouse", Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 10/12/07.
- ^ Sullivan, L. (2003) "Douglas County Courthouse", Omaha Public Library. Retrieved 10/12/07.
- ^ Wakeley, Arthur. (1917) Omaha: The Gate City and Douglas County Nebraska. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p 131-33.
- ^ Luebke, F.C. (1995) Nebraska: An Illustrated History. University of Nebraska Press. p 246.
- ^ Graves, S. (2004) Black history strong at Creighton, The Creightonian Online. 83(18).
