Gene Leahy Mall Remodel

[nativeomahan]

Does Midtown Crossing have as many events.

Typically one concert per week during the summer. The Turner Park crowds typically park in chairs or on picnic blankets. I’ve never witnessed a concert at the Leahy Mall so I have no idea what their crowds look like.

[Athomsfere]

Does Midtown Crossing have as many events.

Stinson does their Summer Concert Series. Not sure if that's more or less. But seems like more.

But outside of the concerts, I'd say that grass get's less daily traffic.

[Brad]

Playing with a new lens last night. 10mm

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20241206881A1437.jpg

[almighty_tuna]

I wondered about that!! The close-up shot of the parking garage/tower in the MOO thread was way wider than I remember you taking, and it didn't have the curve of a fisheye, which I didn't remember you having either. Congrats on the new hardware! I'm looking forward to your sky photos with it.

[skinzfan23]

Great shot!

[Omaha Cowboy]

Awesome pic Brad! …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[WorldStreet]

Playing with a new lens last night. 10mm

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20241206881A1437.jpg

The joy of playing with a new 10mm lens from Gene Leahy Mall during the holiday season. Christmas came early for you. Thanks for sharing the results.

[Brad]

I wondered about that!! The close-up shot of the parking garage/tower in the MOO thread was way wider than I remember you taking, and it didn't have the curve of a fisheye, which I didn't remember you having either. Congrats on the new hardware! I'm looking forward to your sky photos with it.

Thanks! I would borrow Mike's 15mm fish eye from time to time. The fish eye works great in ballparks and arenas but I was excited when Canon announced the 10-20 without the fisheye effect. Should be good in Urban Areas, some architecture applications and some landscape settings. The verdict is still out inside the arena.

Great shot!

Thanks!

Awesome pic Brad! …

Thanks!

The joy of playing with a new 10mm lens from Gene Leahy Mall during the holiday season. Christmas came early for you. Thanks for sharing the results.

Thanks, cant wait to test it more.

[remline]

Canon announced the 10-20 without the fisheye effect

It is news to me that it is possible to have such a wide-angle lens without fisheye. How does that work?

[skinzfan23]

According to Grow Omaha, the Riverfront parks have seen 2.3 million visitors and may reach 2.8 million by the end of the year. That is a 50% increase from 2024.

Still think with numbers like those, there should be quite a few more brick and mortar retail/restaurants down there.

[Jins123]

According to Grow Omaha, the Riverfront parks have seen 2.3 million visitors and may reach 2.8 million by the end of the year. That is a 50% increase from 2024.

Still think with numbers like those, there should be quite a few more brick and mortar retail/restaurants down there.

A few empty bays @ Brickline could fill up

That Mexican brunch place across the street opened this year (Flora) and is good and popular too

[Brad]

Remember one of the reasons people wanted to re-do the old mall was because they felt "unsafe" because people couldn't see in there from the sidewalk? LOL

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[Garrett]

The new mall is definitely still significantly more permeable than the old one though. A straight on view on the adjacent sidewalk would be a decently open view every few feet. You had to peer into the old mall, you can just look into this one.

[Louie]

The new mall is definitely still significantly more permeable than the old one though. A straight on view on the adjacent sidewalk would be a decently open view every few feet. You had to peer into the old mall, you can just look into this one.

Additionally, in time the base of the tree foliage will rise and open up that line of sight again.

[GenX]

The new mall is definitely still significantly more permeable than the old one though. A straight on view on the adjacent sidewalk would be a decently open view every few feet. You had to peer into the old mall, you can just look into this one.

Additionally, in time the base of the tree foliage will rise and open up that line of sight again.

Trimming the trees and bushes would make a world of difference.

[nebport5]

The new mall is definitely still significantly more permeable than the old one though. A straight on view on the adjacent sidewalk would be a decently open view every few feet. You had to peer into the old mall, you can just look into this one.

Additionally, in time the base of the tree foliage will rise and open up that line of sight again.

Very true. The issue with the old version I thought had more to do with the retaining walls and topography sloping down obscuring potential nefarious types. The new version also has theme park like security. Trimming the small trees now wouldn't be ideal with how hot it has been.

[stadsborgare]

I think the biggest issue with the old park was that it was nice to look at, but then what? The new version is so much more usable, with concerts, festivals, a lawn for playing games, playground, the water thing where kids can play in it...

The old park looked nice, but the new park is the one that gets USED.

Also there's not much opportunity for nefarious types to lurk around or even sleep when the park is always flooded with people.

[Brad]

My post about the Safety was tongue-in-cheek. I was just surprised how much the trees have grown already.

Here is a photo from the same day, inside the park. It is quite the oasis.

881A3797.jpg

[nativeomahan]

A few pics from this morning.

[Renovator2559]

Nice camera angles!

[thenewguy]

it really does look great with a couple years of growth

[remline]

A few pics from this morning.

Really neat, creative photos. Thanks for posting!

[Brad]

The RiverFront Celebrates Ten Million Visitors Since Opening in 2022

Ten million visitors in just over four years— that’s 10 million moments of connection,
celebration, and discovery at The RiverFront, marking an extraordinary milestone since the
beloved downtown Omaha park reopened following its historic transformation.

Since the reopening of Gene Leahy Mall on July 1, 2022, and Heartland of America Park and
Lewis & Clark Landing on August 18, 2023, The RiverFront has hosted over 3,000 events,
most of them free and open to the public.

[skinzfan23]

This place and the transformation has truly been amazing to see and so wonderful for the city of Omaha!

[Renovator2559]

This place and the transformation has truly been amazing to see and so wonderful for the city of Omaha!

The Tulsa doesn't even compare to our Riverfront.
Honestly theirs is a waste of money in Tulsa.
It just doesn't have the foot traffic no matter how crowded with benches their riverfront is.

Omaha really hot the right targets to make this successful

[Linkin5]

This place and the transformation has truly been amazing to see and so wonderful for the city of Omaha!

The Tulsa doesn't even compare to our Riverfront.
Honestly theirs is a waste of money in Tulsa.
It just doesn't have the foot traffic no matter how crowded with benches their riverfront is.

Omaha really hot the right targets to make this successful

Did Tulsa win an urban park award over Omaha or something? I don’t understand the connection.

[thenewguy]

This place and the transformation has truly been amazing to see and so wonderful for the city of Omaha!

The Tulsa doesn't even compare to our Riverfront.
Honestly theirs is a waste of money in Tulsa.
It just doesn't have the foot traffic no matter how crowded with benches their riverfront is.

Omaha really hot the right targets to make this successful

Did Tulsa win an urban park award over Omaha or something? I don’t understand the connection.

According to google, they are the cat's pajamas:

Copilot Search Branding

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Tulsa Riverfront Award Recognition
The Tulsa riverfront park that has earned multiple national awards is the Gathering Place, which was named USA Today’s “Best City Park” for 2024 and 2026, and has received numerous other honors for design, family attractions, and community impact

Key Awards and Recognition
USA Today – Best City Park (2024, 2026)

American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) – Honor Award: General Design (2026)

TulsaPeople Magazine – A‑List Best Park, Best Family Fun

TulsaKids Magazine – Family Favorites, Favorite Local Attraction, Favorite Local Park

Oklahoma Travel Industry Association Redbud Awards – Multiple categories including Best Social Media Campaign, Outstanding Event, and Best Partnership with Public Service Company of Oklahoma

National Geographic – Featured among Top 100 Unexpected Travel Destinations

ISSA – Spotless Spaces competition finalist for facility excellence

About the Gathering Place
The Gathering Place is a 64–66.5 acre public park along the Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma

It offers:

A 7.5‑acre adventure play garden

Gardens, prairies, and water features

Williams Lodge and ONEOK Boathouse cultural hubs

Free access for all ages, with extensive programs and events

Why It’s Award‑Winning
The park’s design, by LVF Landscape Architects, and its community focus have earned praise for:

Inclusive, world‑class amenities

Sustainable, accessible operations

Cultural and educational programming

Community engagement and event hosting

[Renovator2559]

This place and the transformation has truly been amazing to see and so wonderful for the city of Omaha!

The Tulsa doesn't even compare to our Riverfront.
Honestly theirs is a waste of money in Tulsa.
It just doesn't have the foot traffic no matter how crowded with benches their riverfront is.

Omaha really hot the right targets to make this successful

Did Tulsa win an urban park award over Omaha or something? I don’t understand the connection.

Yes the Tulsa Riverfront did win multiple awards US 10 best readers award and Architecture and Urban Design. As well as best City park. I discussed on this on the Tulsa Riverfront Park, since I had plenty of time to visit multiple times. Both Riverfronts were built around the same time.

The Omaha Riverfront may not get an award because it's in two states, as opposed to the Tulsa Riverfront which is in one state.

Since the Tulsa Riverfront is in a neighborhood and far away from downtown, it cannot have the level of foot traffic that the Omaha riverfront has.

Closing the parks early in Tulsa, where closing begins at 7pm and parks are boarded up at 9pm, also reduces foot traffic.

Is a good idea to visit the Tulsa Riverfront to appreciate how great the Omaha riverfront is.

[almighty_tuna]

I hear that if you turn off the lights and say "Tulsa" three times, Renovator appears

[Omaha Cowboy]

4 years ago in June 2022, I posted this comment in this thread-

“3 to 5 years from now, Omaha’s downtown will be the envy of most all of its peer cities in that 1 to 1.5 million metropolitan population range..if it isn’t kind of already.”..

4 plus years ago later and I solidly stand by this comment..The park redevelopment has been the driving catalyst imo..

And for some hysterical entertainment, go back to posts on this thread from 2019 and especially 2020..

What a comedy that turned out to be..and an embarrassment to a certain poster we called a “sidewalk supervisor” amongst other things LOL…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[Greg S]

4 years ago in June 2022, I posted this comment in this thread-

“3 to 5 years from now, Omaha’s downtown will be the envy of most all of its peer cities in that 1 to 1.5 million metropolitan population range..if it isn’t kind of already.”..

4 plus years ago later and I solidly stand by this comment..The park redevelopment has been the driving catalyst imo..

And for some hysterical entertainment, go back to posts on this thread from 2019 and especially 2020..

What a comedy that turned out to be..and an embarrassment to a certain poster we called a “sidewalk supervisor” amongst other things LOL…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

I went back and read some. The one big thing we never got that was in some early drawings and discussed a bunch was the hi rise residential tower. That actually seems to be one of the things we've hoped for elsewhere downtown that we never get close to getting (along with the even more discussed downtown grocery store).

I wonder what ever happened to GrandpaaSmucker.....

[thenewguy]

it's been rewarding to see what an utter disappointment the parks have been. Should have just left the river and all the homeless encampments everywhere.

[Renovator2559]

I hear that if you turn off the lights and say "Tulsa" three times, Renovator appears

It's called our peer City, plus it's too similar in what we do, of course it will be mentioned

[Omaha Cowboy]

4 years ago in June 2022, I posted this comment in this thread-

“3 to 5 years from now, Omaha’s downtown will be the envy of most all of its peer cities in that 1 to 1.5 million metropolitan population range..if it isn’t kind of already.”..

4 plus years ago later and I solidly stand by this comment..The park redevelopment has been the driving catalyst imo..

And for some hysterical entertainment, go back to posts on this thread from 2019 and especially 2020..

What a comedy that turned out to be..and an embarrassment to a certain poster we called a “sidewalk supervisor” amongst other things LOL…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

I wonder what ever happened to GrandpaaSmucker.....

You know, Brad and I have discussed that several times. ‘Ol Smucker seemed to dissapear around 2021..

The other one is our whining “sidewalk supervisor” Critic..who disappeared from this forum literally right after the 2020 Presidential election on November 4th 2020..

I’d love to get his take today, 10 million visitors later, of the massive pile of dirt the GLM is LOL…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[thenewguy]

maybe he was a poster from a peer city and was trying to dump on what we had goin so he felt better about where he was

[TitosBuritoBarn]

My theory is that GrandpaSmucker has passed away, perhaps from covid. He seemed to enjoy pasting too much to just up and disappear randomly and he did not seem like the type to get a Covid vaccine nor one to have a particularly healthy immune system.

[Louie]

My theory is that GrandpaSmucker has passed away, perhaps from covid. He seemed to enjoy pasting too much to just up and disappear randomly and he did not seem like the type to get a Covid vaccine nor one to have a particularly healthy immune system.

I kind of suspected the same

[Erik]

My theory is that GrandpaSmucker has passed away, perhaps from covid. He seemed to enjoy pasting too much to just up and disappear randomly and he did not seem like the type to get a Covid vaccine nor one to have a particularly healthy immune system.

Same thing happened on Huskersoline (not sure if its still a site). Two posters who said they wont take the jab just dissappeared. One was confirmed to have succumbed from it.

I chose to edit out certain words to keep my post level.

[BRoss]

You know, Brad and I have discussed that several times. ‘Ol Smucker seemed to dissapear around 2021..

The other one is our whining “sidewalk supervisor” Critic..who disappeared from this forum literally right after the 2020 Presidential election on November 4th 2020..

There's been a number of characters on here over the years. It was always surprising when they just suddenly disappeared...although maybe some less so than others.

[Garrett]

I feel like we need a thread for “Old Heads discuss disappeared members” because I still sometimes wonder whatever happened to StreetsofOmaha after he left after an umpteenth urban vs suburban thread