Bluffs Gets First Residential National Historic District

[icejammer]

Finally got this through. Tried like 20-25 years ago to get it listed as such (according to my sources, that's before my time in the neighborhood) and was not approved at the time. Unfortunate, as several properties in this area could have used the designation to stop their deterioration. Anyway, better late than never.

Preserving its history

Jeff has a gallery that has some of the houses in this neighborhood...

A look

[Calibraskan]

Icejammer:
Great pictures!! It looks like there are some very substantial historical homes in this area. Is there any kind of description/history/walking tour type information available?...and/or for those of us who are deficient in C.B. geography, could you post a map or decription of where the neighborhood is located??

Unrelated: Do you know where the lot(s) are located that President Lincoln owned at the time he selected C.B./Omaha as the eastern railroad terminous? This seems to be one of those obscure historical stories that few people know about, but would at least make for an intriguing historical marker. Maybe its already marked?

[icejammer]

Calibraskan, thanks, but credit for the photos belong to someone else.

There has been a walking tour of historic homes, but I'm not sure if that program is still going on or not. Check with the Council Bluffs Historic Preservation Alliance (website = http://www.cbhpa.com/)

Let's see if this map will work....
Corner of 3rd Street and Willow
This should get you in the neighborhood. Another neighborhood with large historic homes is along South 8th Street, south of Broadway, but it also has more than it's share of decay as well, but also some beautifully restored homes.

I'm not sure where the land that 'Honest' Abe owned was. I've heard the story, but I can't remember seeing anything anywhere about it.

[Calibraskan]

Icejammmer:
Got it...thanks. I'll check out both areas. I've got a lot of catching up to do to familiarize myself with the C.B. area.
A couple of months ago I had some time to kill with a rental car while waiting for someone else to come in on a later flight, and ended up driving around downtown and to the Lewis and Clark Monument (Great view of the airport!!) It seems way to few Omahans know what's next door!....other than the Casinos and what appears to be the least attractive yet most visable stretch of (W. Broadway?) town.

[icejammer]

other than the Casinos and what appears to be the least attractive yet most visable stretch of (W. Broadway?) town.

Yep, sadly, that's the only image of CB that a whole lot of people have, including people who come into CB looking to possibly develop something - W. Broadway is a huge turnoff. Kind of reminds me of when I first moved here and was trying to explain to some co-workers where I lived, going through the list of attractions as a starting point, when finally one interjected "Just tell us how far is it from the strip club."

[icejammer]

Looks like the second historic neighborhood designation may not be far behind the first:

Neighborhood group seeks historic photographs

The Lincoln-Fairview Neighborhood is reaching out to anyone who may have old photographs of homes or monuments in the district.

This area, bounded roughly by Oakland Avenue, Kanesville Boulevard, North First Street and Fairview Cemetery, is now under consideration to be the city's second Historic District.

Homes in the area were first built from the mid 1800s; most homes in the neighborhood are close to or more than 100 years old. Architectural styles range from Italianate to Richarsonian Romanesque, Queen Anne to Greek Revival, with many variations in between.

The G.H. Champ House, photographed in 1887, is still located today on Fletcher Avenue in the Lincoln Fairview neighborhood.

[icejammer]

Only took two years!  From today's Nonpareil:

The Fairview-Lincoln Neighborhood is invited to attend a gathering this Sunday to celebrate receiving historic status through the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"We'll be receiving the certificate honoring that and recognizing that on the 19th of May during a ceremony at the State Historical Society," said Nadine Keith, a resident of Oakland Avenue for more than 30 years.

The Oakland Avenue Neighborhood Association, an incorporated nonprofit organization that has been arranging community activities in the area for around seven years, filed the application to receive historic status.

The district includes the area between Oakland Avenue and North First Street and from Kanesville Boulevard to Fairview Cemetery.

An event to celebrate the achievement is Sunday at Community of Christ, 116 W. Kanesville Blvd., from 4 to 6 p.m.

[icejammer]

Looks like we'll be trying to get the fourth historic district in CB recognized:

Council gives go-ahead on ‘historic’ designation for South Eighth Street

The Council Bluffs City Council gave the go-ahead Monday evening to start the process of making South Eighth Street a historical district.

Local preservation advocates are seeking to have the South Eighth Street neighborhood, just south of Broadway, listed as a National Historic Residential District because of the large number of old homes in the area. . .