Jobbers Canyon Historic District facts for kids
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Jobbers Canyon Historic District
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Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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A view of the canyon.
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| Location | Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the south, and South Tenth Street on the west, Downtown Omaha, Nebraska |
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| Built | 1920 |
| Architect | John Latenser; Et al. |
| Architectural style | Renaissance, Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 86003408 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 1979 |
| Removed from NRHP | March 26, 2002 |
The Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large area in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. It was home to 24 industrial buildings and warehouses. The district was roughly located between Farnam Street, South Eighth Street, Jackson Street, and South Tenth Street. In 1989, all 24 buildings in Jobbers Canyon were torn down. This was the biggest loss of a historic district in the United States up to that time.
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Omaha's Historic Warehouse District
The Jobbers Canyon area grew as Omaha became a major transportation center in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Omaha was known as the "Gateway to the West." It served many historic trails. The Canyon had many warehouses, grocery stores, and other supply businesses. These places provided goods for merchants across the Old West.
Railroad builders, land investors, and merchants started building Jobbers Canyon in the 1870s. When the Union Pacific Railroad came to Omaha, the city quickly became a busy transportation hub. Businesses that sold fruits, vegetables, and meat, along with many other suppliers, set up shop here. They built about 24 buildings close together in a seven-block by three-block area. At its busiest, Jobbers Canyon had over 1,700,000 square feet of space. This space was used for offices, warehouses, factories, and shipping.
In 1987, J. Jackson Walter, who led the National Trust for Historic Preservation, spoke about Jobbers Canyon. He said it was "certainly one of the Middle West's or the nation's finest collection of this sort of buildings."
Important Buildings in the Canyon
By the early 1900s, Omaha's biggest wholesale and trade businesses built huge warehouses here. Six- and seven-story red brick buildings filled with "jobbing houses" stood tall. A jobbing house is a business that buys goods in bulk and sells them to smaller stores. These tall buildings made the streets feel like a deep canyon. This is how the area got its name, "Jobber's Canyon."
South Ninth Street was an important street in the city. It had brick and cobblestone streets. There were also railroad tracks, loading docks, and canopies for loading. All these features gave Jobbers Canyon its special look.
Some important buildings included:
- The Kingman Implement Company building at 923 Farnam Street. It was built in 1900. It was a six-story brick building in the Renaissance Revival style. Kingman sold farm tools and vehicles.
- The Fairbanks, Morse and Company building at 923 Farnam Street. It was six stories tall. Architects Fisher and Lawrie designed it in 1907. Fairbanks, Morse and Company was the largest maker of gasoline and oil engines in the U.S. at that time.
- The U.S. Supply Company building at 901 Farnam Street. Charles Cleves designed this six-story building in 1906. It sold plumbing and steam supplies.
- The Dempster Building was a five-story warehouse. John Latenser, Sr. designed it in 1902. The Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company started small. It grew to be a major maker of windmills and farm tools.
- The Lee-Glass-Andreesen Hardware Company building. Fisher & Lawrie designed this six-story warehouse in 1900. This company sold hardware and tools.
- The eight-story Creighton Block. This building was for the Byrne and Hammer Dry Goods Company. It was the most decorated building in Jobbers Canyon. Charles Cleves designed it.
Today, the Greenhouse Apartments at 900 Farnam Street is the only building left from the original Jobbers Canyon. The Nash Block at 902 Farnam Street was designed by Thomas R. Kimball and built in 1907.
| Jobber's Canyon buildings | Address | Built | Demolished | Notes |
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| U.S. Supply Co. | 901 Farnam Street | 1906 | 1989 | |
| Kingman Implement Co. | 923 Farnam Street | 1900 | 1989 | |
| Harding Cream Co. | 802-810 Harney Street | 1904 | 1989 | |
| H.J. Lee warehouse | 822 Harney Street | 1900 | 1989 | |
| Fairbanks, Morse and Co. | 902 Harney Street | 1907 | 1989 | |
| Dempster | 908 Harney Street | 1902 | 1989 | |
| Crane Co. then Nogg Brothers Paper Co. | 323 South Tenth Street | 1905 | 1989 | Bought by Nogg in 1966 |
| Carpenter Paper Co. | 815 Harney Street | 1906 | 1989 | Top floor remodeled in 1928 |
| John Deere Plow Co. | 402 South Ninth Street | 1908 | 1989 | Largest structure in the district |
| Creighton Block | 824 Howard Street | 1905 | 1989 | |
| Rector and Wilhelmy Co. | 523 South Tenth Street | 1889 | 1989 | |
| Richardson | 902 Jackson Street | 1891 | 1989 | |
| D. H. Food Co. | 823 Howard Street | 1901 | 1989 | |
| J.I. Case Plow Works | 814 Jackson Street | 1913 | 1989 | |
| Trimble Brothers | 802 Jackson Street | 1920 | 1989 | |
| American Radiator Co. | 417 South Tenth Street | 1905 | 1989 | |
| John Day Co. | 401 South Tenth Street | c. 1892 | 1989 | Remodeled 1932 |
| Brunswick-Balke-Collender | 407 South Tenth Street | c. 1888 | 1989 | |
| Nash Block | 902 Farnam Street | 1907 | – | Only remaining building; divided into residential apartments |
| Omaha Cold Storage Co. | 809 Farnam Street | 1913 | 1989 | |
| Lee-Coit-Andreesen Hardware Co. | 815 Farnam Street | 1916 | 1989 |
The Demolition of Jobbers Canyon
Industries related to agriculture have always been important to Omaha. Major companies like Kellogg Company and Campbell Soup Company have had large operations there. In 1989, a big food company called ConAgra decided to build its world headquarters in downtown Omaha. To do this, they tore down all of Jobbers Canyon.
ConAgra's new headquarters covered 30 acres where the historic district once stood. The company moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2015. Charles M. Harper, the head of ConAgra at the time, called the buildings "some big, ugly red brick buildings." ConAgra's campus created almost 300,000 square feet of office space.
Some people felt that the city was being forced to choose between its businesses and its history. Marty Shukert, Omaha's planning director at the time, said it was more important to keep the city's downtown healthy. He believed that a growing company like ConAgra had a big impact on Omaha's economy.
Legal Battle to Save the Buildings
A group called People for Responsible Omaha Urban Development (PROUD) teamed up with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They sued several government agencies to try and stop the demolition. They argued that the agencies did not follow laws meant to protect the environment and historic places.
The trial started in May 1988. The court quickly said no to stopping the demolition. Later, the court ruled in favor of the agencies. An appeals court agreed with this decision.
During the appeals process, a court did temporarily stop the demolition. At that time, five buildings were still standing. But the stop order was later removed. In the end, all 24 buildings in the historic district were torn down. ConAgra's new campus was finished in 1992.
Jobbers Canyon's Legacy
Today, two other historic districts are next to where Jobbers Canyon used to be. These are the Old Market Historic District and the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District. Other nearby buildings, like the Union Station and the Bemis Bag Company Building, are also listed as historic. This shows how important the area was.
The National Park Service officially removed Jobbers Canyon from the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. This was because the district no longer existed. In 2005, a restaurant named "Jobber's Canyon" opened in the Old Market, but it later closed. Some people believe that losing Jobbers Canyon and the Union Stockyards shows that Omaha did not care enough about its history related to working-class people.
