Kountze Park (Omaha, Nebraska) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kountze Park |
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|---|---|
| Type | Municipal (Omaha) |
| Location | North Omaha |
| Area | 11 acres (45,000 m2) |
| Created | 1889 |
| Status | Open all year |
Kountze Park is a fun public park located in North Omaha, Nebraska, in the United States. You can find it at 1920 Pinkney Street, right in the Kountze Place neighborhood. This park is super important because it was once the exciting location of a huge event called the Trans-Mississippi Exposition back in 1898.
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What Can You Do at Kountze Park?
Kountze Park is a great place to visit! It's located between 19th Street on the east and 20th Street on the west. Pinkney Street borders it on the south, and Pratt Street is on the north. The park has lots of cool things to do. You can enjoy a water park, a playground, and courts for basketball and tennis. There's also a pavilion, which is a covered area for gatherings. During the summer, the City of Omaha Parks and Recreation Department runs a special program here.
The Story of Kountze Park
Kountze Park has an interesting past. Long ago, this area was a wide, flat piece of land. It was located between the towns of Omaha and Saratoga in the Nebraska Territory. The land originally belonged to a banker named Herman Kountze.
Kountze Park and the Big Fair of 1898
The most famous event in the park's history was the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1898. This was a huge fair that brought people from all over to Omaha. When the organizers were looking for a big space for the fair, Herman Kountze made a very generous offer. He offered 11 acres of land for $15,000. He also donated an extra $5,000 worth of land for what would become this park.
The fairgrounds quickly transformed. They were filled with amazing buildings, wide boulevards, and a beautiful lagoon. This lagoon was almost half a mile long! It was lit up by the newest technology of the time: electric lights. Imagine how bright and exciting it must have looked at night!
More Fairs and Changes
The year after the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, another fair called the Greater America Exposition was held in the same spot. It used many of the same buildings. But by the end of 1899, all the temporary fair buildings were taken down or moved away.
In the years that followed, the lagoon was filled in with dirt. The land was leveled to create Kountze Park as we know it today. A middle- and upper-class community grew around the park, connecting Near North Omaha with Saratoga. A small pond, a leftover from the original lagoon, stayed in the park for a while. However, it was also filled in with dirt in 1953.
Kountze Park Today
In 1980, something cool happened during construction for a new sewer in Kountze Park. A worker found several pieces of a building from the old Exposition! People tried to find more artifacts, but they weren't successful. Today, only a few plaster pieces from the Exposition buildings remain as historical treasures.
In 1998, Kountze Park got many improvements. New playground equipment was installed, trees were planted, and a historical marker was put up. This marker helps everyone remember the amazing Trans-Mississippi Exposition that once took place right here.
