Lumberyard District (Downtown Millard)

[bigredmed1]

Spent a few summers stacking 50lb boxes of nails near by and when not doing that, I was mowing the ditch that ran through the apartment block. The sculpture is ok. When considering that from the mid 1900s to the late 1900s, then only public art in Millard was a statue of a German infantry soldier, it’s a nice add.

[RockHarbor]

Spent a few summers stacking 50lb boxes of nails near by and when not doing that, I was mowing the ditch that ran through the apartment block. The sculpture is ok. When considering that from the mid 1900s to the late 1900s, then only public art in Millard was a statue of a German infantry soldier, it’s a nice add.

Well, I don't 100% like it, and I dont have to 100% like it. Art is objective. Im glad you like it, and all... But, I just don't entirely. I think it was a good & fitting & creative idea, but I dont feel it was a perfect idea, nor executed correctly...

First off, common nails dont have square heads. Roofing nails do, but the square head is much larger and the nail length is shorter. They look like big rusty & hefty railroad spikes to me. It just looks kinda dreary & heavy & industrial to me -- or something -- and I dont feel that matches the style of that project's design. With those jumbo spikes, I think of the hard, back-breaking work of building the western railroad more than I do of a local lumberyard and its lengthy history. I also ask: Are nails, in themselves, a true symbol of a lumberyard? (Nails are used for a lot of things, including hanging pictures on our walls.) I get why they come to mind, though. I also ask: What is a true symbol of a lumberyard beyond a piece of lumber? Nails are probably one of the best items to think about, but that doesnt mean they symbolize a lumberyard perfectly.

With the long horizontal rooflines of those handsome buildings with the hip gables, reminding me of prairie style design, I do feel like they could have come up with something art-wise more fitting & uplifting & stylish than a batch of jumbo, rusty nails looking driven into the ground -- almost looking like a monument to some past tragic sad event, almost like the twisted piece of metal at the Tornado of 1975 monument at that park in the Westgate section of Omaha, or the twisted steel at Ground Zero in New York.

Even having big simple metal letters "LYD", imbedded with patterns of nails or bolts, upright & standing, and staggered, and lit-up at night with spotlights, much like "LAX" in Los Angeles, would have been more fitting for that project's feel, imo.

Anyways, art is always objective, and fun to discuss, imo. I'm glad you like it. I just don't. It is ONLY our solo opinions. No big deal. (And, yes. I'm glad Millard got some new public art.)

[Busguy2010]

They look like big rusty & hefty railroad spikes to me. It just looks kinda dreary & heavy & industrial to me... With those jumbo spikes, I think of the hard, back-breaking work of building the western railroad more than I do of a local lumberyard and its lengthy history. I also ask: Are nails, in themselves, a true symbol of a lumberyard? (Nails are used for a lot of things, including hanging pictures on our walls.) I get why they come to mind, though. I also ask: What is a true symbol of a lumberyard beyond a piece of lumber? Nails are probably one of the best items to think about, but that doesnt mean they symbolize a lumberyard perfectly.

I was the first to say the sculpture looked like a reference to the railroad (spikes) that runs through that land. After further observation, they barely look more like "cut nails"(which don't have any practical use anymore) than they do railroad spikes. look up "cut nails".. I can almost guarantee 90% of people don't know the difference between a cut nail and a common framing nail A framing nail sculpture would look hideous.

Does that matter? No. There are definitely way more essential materials, techniques, and tools being used in a lumberyard than nails... but would any of the general public be able to identify them? Probably not, so naily, railroady spikey things it is.

After further analysis, maybe a tree would have embodied the essence of a lumberyard more effectively.

[bigredmed1]

They were a reference to rail spikes. That line was the original transcontinental railroad. Known in my time as the Old Mainline.

[RockHarbor]

BusGuy2010: I didnt realize you (or anybody else) had talked about the scuplture here, and it doesnt surprise me Im not the only one, along with you, to think "railroad spikes" when you see that artwork. Do you think they are really those "cut nails?" If they are, then they cant be a reference for the railroad then. (However, BigRedMed1, you say they are railroad spikes that do reference the railroad?)

This is one reason I dont entirely like it. I dont expect artwork to always have some clear meaning (Im not sure the "Spoon & Cherry" sculpture in Minny has a precise, clear meaning). Yet, a reference to the railroad doesnt make sense to me in a development that is supposed to celebrate the history of the site (Millard Lumber). Yet, tracks do run right through there, right? And, as I mentioned: Nails dont necessarily represent a lumberyard perfectly. Its like having a sculpture of a large, giant pair of glasses outside a library. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, I would be thinking: "Ok, great job to the artist that created this. But, not everybody puts on glasses to read."

[Busguy2010]

I dont know. I just said it's obviously railroad spikes because of the rail line that went through there, others said its obviously cut nails in reference to the lumberyard name. I guess we'd have to ask the artist.

[RockHarbor]

I dont know. I just said it's obviously railroad spikes because of the rail line that went through there, others said its obviously cut nails in reference to the lumberyard name. I guess we'd have to ask the artist.

True... I wish we could know for sure.

[Coyote]

I dont know. I just said it's obviously railroad spikes because of the rail line that went through there, others said its obviously cut nails in reference to the lumberyard name. I guess we'd have to ask the artist.

From the Lumberyard: The nails were designed by a few people at Lanoha Nursery. They were inspired by the entire area. There is not one specific artist.

[GrandpaaSmucker]

I drive by this 3 or 4 times a week and it does not get looking any better with age. What is with all these metal so called pieces of art that are left to rust and discolor? What is so pretty or beautiful about a pile of rusted metal in the middle of the street? This is an eyesore in its own right I know I got to look at it all the time.

[RockHarbor]

I dont know. I just said it's obviously railroad spikes because of the rail line that went through there, others said its obviously cut nails in reference to the lumberyard name. I guess we'd have to ask the artist.

From the Lumberyard: The nails were designed by a few people at Lanoha Nursery. They were inspired by the entire area. There is not one specific artist.

That makes sense to me because I always felt it had the look like it was designed by somebody/some people that didnt maybe have a fully developed sense of what works, and what doesnt work. (Almost like their expertise may be developed fully w/ landscape design and gardening, but not necessarily sculptural art.) That isnt a criticism, or anything. I just dont think you should hire plant/nursery people to do a sculpture -- and vice versa.

GrandpaSmucker: I chuckle how you say things and spell things out.

[nativeomahan]

I drive by this 3 or 4 times a week and it does not get looking any better with age.

Oh, such low hanging fruit.

[nativeomahan]

I drove by the sculpture/art placement yesterday. It didn’t do much for me one way or the other, however the fact that it engenders so much conversation here tells me that it has already proved its worth.

[nativeomahan]

For the trifecta...
We drove along the new apartment complex yesterday, from “Q” Street to Millard Avenue. And in doing so I initially remarked that all the hundreds of new residents into this neighborhood somehow failed to keep the Millard Roadhouse from closing their doors, despite being located directly across the street. Then, after my husband asked me what I thought the target demographics for the apartments was, and I responded “mostly singles and young couples/roommates between the ages of 25-35” I realized that just about no one in that demographic would ever choose to eat twice at a place like the Millard Roadhouse. If a ramen or sushi or Vietnamese place went in to replace the Roadhouse, however, it could make a killing.

[RockHarbor]

Here's a better picture of it. Part of me likes the splashes of rust against the beige and blues of the building. I think I get what they were going for, and everything, but I'm not sure it quite delivers what they were going for...



Now, on the other hand, I love this: (It's PERFECT, imo. That was exactly the type of font I was thinking about when I pictured a sign that said "LUMBERYARD DISTRICT.") I almost wish they would have focused on putting in that type of sign (fairly big, maybe silvery metal & black, or whatever) within the center of that round-a-bout, a two-sided sign where the faces face the incoming traffic, with the trees placed around it, bright splashes of flowers & grasses & low plants at the base of the big sign, and a spotlight on it at night. Then it would have had the look of cheery, new, uplifting, clean, and a touch of heavy industry -- all at once. The cheery & clean would match those new buildings better, imo, and the metal/silver/black/screws/bolts would tap into the history of the industrial site.

The nails kinda give off a dreary dilapidated feeling, imo, almost like an old board with old rusty nails driven into it -- especially with the big nail bent down. To me, that sculpture would have made much more sense downtown, in a new urban district, where they tore out old rusty railroad tracks and dirty, dilapidated warehouses along the river, or something... (Ultimately: It's not a bad idea, imo. I'm just not sure that is the perfect place to display that kind of creative idea.)

[ScrattyB]

Then, after my husband asked me what I thought the target demographics for the apartments was, and I responded “mostly singles and young couples/roommates between the ages of 25-35”

Just want to make sure we remember how much these things cost...
One bedrooms go for around $1000, while two bedrooms go for around $1300-$1500.

[ChadJK]

Just want to make sure we remember how much these things cost...
One bedrooms go for around $1000, while two bedrooms go for around $1300-$1500.

Seems a little steep when a block in any direction is dumpy old Millard.

[ScrattyB]

Yeah, I had hoped this project would spur more development. I guess that gas station on Q st will be redeveloped but then Millard Road House closed.

This was such a hype and fail. It still has huge potential for a developer with deep pockets.

[GrandpaaSmucker]

I did see that a WIng Stop is opening up in this mall. Yuk! Wings are for old ladys. Worse still another Chiropractor office opened up here. Just what we needed another fake doctor opening an office in a strip mall with the sole intent of using old people on medicare as a way of sucking piles cash out of the government.

[Louie]

I did see that a WIng Stop is opening up in this mall. Yuk! Wings are for old ladys. Worse still another Chiropractor office opened up here. Just what we needed another fake doctor opening an office in a strip mall with the sole intent of using old people on medicare as a way of sucking piles cash out of the government.

I have never associated buffalo wings and old ladies. Is that a thing???

[PWL73316]

I know this guy is basically a contrarian troll, but wings and old ladies is a new one for me too. Especially considering the actual demographic you'll see at any Wingstop.

[ita]

I know this guy is basically a contrarian troll, but wings and old ladies is a new one for me too. Especially considering the actual demographic you'll see at any Wingstop.

Grandpaa might have strong differing opinions from many of the members here, but he's not a contrarian troll. He has his opinions, and voices them strongly. Most times it is in opposition of most in the forum, but just because he is in the minority doesn't mean he is trolling. Also, he has more experience and history with Omaha then a lot of people here; I am guessing, based on some of his shared experiences and stories he provides.

[RockHarbor]

To chime in as well: The Omaha forum needs all types here, to be and stay interesting, imo -- including a character like "GrandpaSmucker!"

[nativeomahan]

Like a black fly in your Chardonnay.

[bigredmed1]

Like a black fly in your Chardonnay.

Protein is good for you.

[iamjacobm]

Single family home being torn down for a 4 unit townhouse development across 134th from this development.

https://planning.cityofomaha.org/images ... ber/16.pdf

[ita]

I drive through here fairly often because I live in Millard. It seems like the apartments are full, but there is almost no activity outside, even pre-pandemic. What is the general vibe/demographic, of this development? Does anyone live here or have friends/family that live in the area that can comment? With the new clinic taking the Millard Roadhouse spot, there should be additional activity, but it just seems like a fairly dead area other than the car traffic that goes through Millard Ave.

[bigredmed1]

It is dead. Of course, that part of Millard was dead in the 1970’s. Right now, is nothing much different. Not really sure why the developers haven’t tried to take this area in a different direction. What you see now is basically what has been there since 1978 or even earlier than that.

[Cermak]

This is a nice infill development for DT Millard, which we can all agree needed a facelift. The foot traffic in the area is low and the area lacks activity. But overall It’s a big improvement from the old lumber yard that occupied the property. The apartments are appealing enough to add an updated feel to the once blighted area.