Here are some photos I took during a construction tour of the FNB tower back in 2002. The last one is from a later date when I got to go to the offices on the top floor.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings" ...and then they were gone.
Amazing photos...thanks for posting. As I have mentioned before, if anyone is mad at the pace of development of north downtown, take a look at these photos and you can see how much of a wasteland that area was in the 90's. Asarco was still present as well.
Most of Asarco was already gone by then. I'm not sure if the stuff to the north was theirs too. It might have been part of the old Omaha Dock that was south of the Aaron Ferrer scap metal yard along the river, where Gallup built.
It is pretty amazing how much the area has been transformed. Still a ways to go, but the most difficult work is done.
He said "They are some big, ugly red brick buildings" ...and then they were gone.
Wow! Great to see those -- including the "blank slate" of North Downtown. I was living in Southern California when the new skyscraper was announced, but was living in Denver by the time it was being erected. I came back to Omaha for Christmas in 2001(ish), and saw the skeleton, I remember. Omaha's changed a lot since then. I can remember driving from Denver to Omaha back then, and Omaha just felt more stagnant, or behind Denver, or old-looking, or something, back then. Now, it feels like a "little Denver" to me -- just as sharp & progressive & trendy. I'm so pleased with the changes in Omaha.
I can get pushed out because I'm "too much" for some. Then, an observer of me comes suddenly swooping in to "fill my shoes." People are always more accepting of the new one, because their feathers aren't truly ruffled by them. (Yawn) I can count on it every time.