Nebraska Then and Now

When looking at pictures of historical buildings in Nebraska Memories I’m always surprised at how many buildings and places I recognize. Many of these buildings have been around for 100 years and are still being used today. Over the years, as I’ve traveled across the state, I’ve tried to take pictures of some of these historical buildings because I thought it would be fun to see how much or how little these buildings have changed. As I’ve taken pictures of these buildings there are a few things that I have noticed. First of all there is a lot less clutter in the historical photos. Today many of the pictures I’ve taken are full of stop lights, street signs, and electrical lines. Also it appears that we have planted a lot of trees over the past 100 or so years. I like trees. I think it’s great we have planted so many but it really makes it hard to take a picture of a building when it is surrounded by trees. The last thing I’ve noticed as I’ve looked at the old photos is angle from which the photos were taken from. The photographers were either able to stand further away from the buildings or they had access to a neighboring building and took the picture out the window or from the rooftop. Also you can only move so far back when you are standing on a street corner in downtown Omaha surrounded by tall buildings. I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures to see how some of these buildings have and have not changed over the years. Click on an old picture to learn more about the building. Click on the new picture to see a larger version of the new picture. Flat Iron Building – 17th, St. Mary’s, Howard, and 18th Streets, Omaha
Omaha Public Library – 19th and Harney Streets, Omaha
Little Building – 11th and O Streets, Lincoln  
Omaha High School – 20th and Dodge St, Omaha
Mitchell High School – 19th Ave and 18th St, Mitchell
Exterior of Glidden Paints building – 31st and Leavenworth St, Omaha
Public Library, Schuyler, Nebr. – E 10th and C Streets, Schuyler
Post office, South Omaha, Neb. – S 24th and M Streets, Omaha
Donley Stahl Building – 13th and N Street, Lincoln
Carnegie Library, Ashland – N 15th and Boyd Streets, Ashland
Pavilion at Miller Park – Millier Park Drive, Omaha
Keeline Building – 17th & Harney Streets, Omaha
Sharp Building – 13th and N Street, Lincoln
Security Mutual Building – 12th and O Streets, Lincoln
First National Bank – 16th and Farnam Streets, Omaha
Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials. Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information, contact Devra Dragos, Technology & Access Services Director.