Chicago Tribune travel article on Omaha

vauxhall · Post by **vauxhall** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:50 am

This summer, there has been an intermittent series in the Chicago Tribune travel section on what is termed "surprising, but overlooked" medium-sized cities in the midwest. Des Moines was profiled in August and Omaha gets the treatment today. It comes out very positive from where I'm sitting but I'm sure the residents of Omaha want to judge for themselves. There were 5 pictures accompanying the article, one of which was a gorgeous photo of the great hall of the former Union Station. Here is the link, but I believe it requires registration.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/

Asten · Post by **Asten** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:48 am

Excellent. I was hoping they'd get to us after doing des moines. I'll wander out to the porch here in a bit and grab my trib and see if there's anything more than the online one.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 1:15 pm

It was ok. He could have wrote about something else besides bitching about being lost. I don't get the comment from the CVB lady about "it's a big city. It's spread out." I don't get the point in that.

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 4:01 pm

Disappointing.

But I guess pub is pub.

jjjjhskr · Post by **jjjjhskr** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 8:44 pm

It seemed pretty good to me. It hit most of the main spots to visit on a short trip and there was nothing blatantly negative about it.

It would at least get me interested if I read the article and had never been to O!

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 10:50 pm

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:Disappointing.

But I guess pub is pub.

What did you expect him to say? "WOW! This city is AWESOME. Here is my formal resignation. I am packing right now and moving to Omaha."

Seriously, I thought it was a very good piece and highlighted a number of gems that people outside of the area may not know about. Keep in mind they cannot devote a 10 page section to it.

Asten · Post by **Asten** » Sun Sep 24, 2006 11:31 pm

Ah, so I found it in the paper - 3/4 of the front page of the travel section, and the entirety of page 6. THere's some colorful and well done shots, and the layout is pretty nice.

Apologies for the craptacular scanning job - it turns out wrestling a full size paper onto a 8.5x14 scanner takes some effort. And, plus, I'm kinda lazy.

If anyone REALLY wants the ultra big files, (3mb and 11mb), let me know and I'll throw em on rapidshare. Aside from the layout, though, nothing you haven't seen already.

(and BTW - it would be stellar if we could implement a "thumbnail" policy on here. There are times when 15 large images in a post is a bit much

)

Page 1:

Page 6:

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 3:24 am

Some excellent Omaha pub..I especially liked these nuggets:

'"This is a big city, so things are spread out," said a woman tending the Convention and Visitors Bureau office in Old Market. "We had a person in here today who was disappointed there wasn't a shopping mall down here. You have to go way out for that."'..

'I passed a bronze version of the sculpture as I left town and returned to the heavy traffic of Dodge Road. Dodge goes east through the suburbs into Omaha and a downtown with quite a bit to see. Just north of the Old Market district, visitors do find a mall, but not in the mercantile sense.

The Gene Leahy Mall treats pedestrians and bike riders to an elegant swath of parkland surrounding a lagoon and dotted with abstract outdoor sculpture. It's named for a former mayor and gives the area near the Missouri River an elegant punctuation mark.'..

'There (referencing the Old Market), said the booster Web sites and tourist brochures, one could find unique little shops, fine dining, street life, plenty of bars and apartment lofts--most of those housed in former warehouses and factories.'

(I wonder if he's referencing eomaha.com as one of those booster sites

)..

Also realize this piece was found in the Sunday Chicago Tribune..Many more people read this piece than a regular weekday run..Possibly a million more..

I say, overall, well done. And good for Omaha!..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Uffda · Post by **Uffda** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:59 am

(and BTW - it would be stellar if we could implement a "thumbnail" policy on here. There are times when 15 large images in a post is a bit much icon_wink.gif )

I will second that idea and add in setting a size limit on photos in signatures.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:03 am

I don't see what the big deal about Boys Town is. As long as I've lived here I've never been there. I don't see how it's so famous outside of Omaha. Every travel article about Omaha seems to have a Boys Town reference.

praymojo420 · Post by **praymojo420** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:21 am

I guess they've all seen that Father Flannagan movie I never have.

Big E · Post by **Big E** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:30 am

You do realize there's an Academy Award winning movie with possibly two of the most famous actors of all time based entirely on the place, right? I know it's not as contemporary or important as Jackass II, but it's still pretty famous. ;)

-Big E

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:10 am

How do you know what we saw this weekend?

(BTW the movie's hilariious. WAY better than the first one.)

Even if there was a movie about it it's just a home for runaways. It doesn't impact everyday living here. Maybe I just don't get it but I think it would be a waste to visit Boys Town as compared to other places around the city.

joeglow · Post by **joeglow** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 11:57 am

DTO Luv wrote:How do you know what we saw this weekend? (BTW the movie's hilariious. WAY better than the first one.)

Even if there was a movie about it it's just a home for runaways. It doesn't impact everyday living here. Maybe I just don't get it but I think it would be a waste to visit Boys Town as compared to other places around the city.

-That makes it clear you have never been there.

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:04 pm

I've been there several times, and as I've stated in a previous thread, I don't understand why it is marketed as at tourist attraction. What kind of person wants to go look at children who come from a troubled past living a "normal" life?

Sure there was a movie made about it, but the movie was made in 1938, and I gurantee that I am probably one of only 3 or 4 people on this board who has actually seen it. And we're Omaha fanatics! What are the odds that someone from another city has seen that movie? Not very good, in my estimation.

I can't understand the type of morosity it must take to get pleasure out of taking a tourist trip of Boys Town.

And it's just strange because Chicago's gay neighborhood is called Boy's Town.

DTO Luv · Post by **DTO Luv** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:13 pm

Maybe that's what he was looking for.

vauxhall · Post by **vauxhall** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:38 pm

Okay, I'm almost afraid to mention that I live in "Boystown North" or Andersonville as it is really known as. The perspective that I had when I read the article was predominantly positive - and this is someone who really has not seen Omaha. I imagine some other Chicagoans were intrigued as well. I admit I'm a little surprised to see some responders here not feeling too positive about the write-up. A couple of the pictures were absolutely first rate, and it wouldn't be an honest review if it didn't find at least one thing not worth raving about. I think I recall that there will only be 6 cities total in the series, covering the upper midwest, lower midwest, and plains.

OmahaChef · Post by **OmahaChef** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:25 pm

I was so hoping my 500th post would be about something specatular and of the breaking news variety, but here I am in this thread, and I feel compelled to put in my 2 cents worth. Lovers of old movies everywhere have seen "Boystown". It's from the genre of films made popular from the 30's to the 50's and even today that make you feel good about life. I'm not certain about this, but I think the phrase "he's not heavy, he's my brother" came from there somehow. Boystown has a National Research Hospital in Omaha, at Creighton, outreach programs in a number of US cities, and people all over the USofA donate money to further the mission of Boystown, in offering hope to kids from sometimes unimaginable family circumstances. It doesn't have pyrotecnics, glitzy interactive video games of mass destruction, throbbing hip-hop beat or a visitors center with 52 plasma TV screens, but there are actually people all over the US who know of it and support it, and when they pass through here are interested in seeing it in person.

The movie came out years and years before I was born, but as a born and raised east coaster, whose company was acquired by an Omaha company, on my first trip here, the only thing I knew about it was that it was home to Boystown.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 9:54 pm

Thank you for your post O Chef! Boys Town still today pulls its weight.

I saw Creighton play Marquette there in the 60's and got Bob Gibson's autograph at this event in which Marquette payed off the refs and threw the game to them.

I took an electronics class there in HS and learned that "Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly"

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:06 pm

OmahaChef wrote:I was so hoping my 500th post would be about something specatular and of the breaking news variety, but here I am in this thread, and I feel compelled to put in my 2 cents worth. Lovers of old movies everywhere have seen "Boystown". It's from the genre of films made popular from the 30's to the 50's and even today that make you feel good about life. I'm not certain about this, but I think the phrase "he's not heavy, he's my brother" came from there somehow. Boystown has a National Research Hospital in Omaha, at Creighton, outreach programs in a number of US cities, and people all over the USofA donate money to further the mission of Boystown, in offering hope to kids from sometimes unimaginable family circumstances. It doesn't have pyrotecnics, glitzy interactive video games of mass destruction, throbbing hip-hop beat or a visitors center with 52 plasma TV screens, but there are actually people all over the US who know of it and support it, and when they pass through here are interested in seeing it in person.

The movie came out years and years before I was born, but as a born and raised east coaster, whose company was acquired by an Omaha company, on my first trip here, the only thing I knew about it was that it was home to Boystown.

I agree that it's a good movie that makes you feel good about life. (There's also one or two vintage shots of Omaha).

I still don't see the logic in marketing Boys Town to tourists though.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:09 pm

This Boystown issue came up 1 year ago after the Boston Globe wrote a flattering piece on Omaha..Some Omahans at that time were 'baffled' as to why Boystown is mentioned as a tourist destination. This 'attitude' was addressed in this thread exactly 1 year ago:

http://www.eomaha.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... sc&start=0

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

Swift · Post by **Swift** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:11 pm

I was one of those people. I still don't really think it makes any sense, but I suppose this topic has played it self out and we should return to talking about the Chi Tri article.

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 10:33 pm

Swift wrote:I was one of those people. I still don't really think it makes any sense, but I suppose this topic has played it self out and we should return to talking about the Chi Tri article.

If you didn't see it then..And one year later still don't see it..Then most likely you never will. And that's your loss..So I agree. It's a waste of time to continue that specific dialog..

But talk about this nice piece of national pub from the Chicago Tribune continues..

Edit: For those who actually care to educate themselves to the fact that Boys and Girls Town IS a tourist destination of distinction for the Omaha area, see this link:

http://www.girlsandboystown.org/aboutus ... /index.asp

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 10:14 am

I didn't have the benefit of seeing the photos on the online addition, and the scanned images posted here are not showing up for me now.

I was most dissatisfied with the over-emphasis on Boys Town. It took up an undeservingly large chunk of the piece.

There also always that kind-of subversive, ambiguous negativity present in almost all outside travel pieces on Omaha, which is not surprising.

All I was saying, was that I was dissapointed, not that it's not an ok piece. I guess I should have clarified.

OmahaBen · Post by **OmahaBen** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:18 pm

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:There also always that kind-of subversive, ambiguous negativity present in almost all outside travel pieces on Omaha, which is not surprising.

Conspiracy, party of one. Your table's ready.

Asten · Post by **Asten** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 12:55 pm

StreetsOfOmaha wrote:I didn't have the benefit of seeing the photos on the online addition, and the scanned images posted here are not showing up for me now.

That would seem to be on your end... they're showing up fine on my work connection as well as a VNC X-windows box i have access to.

49r · Post by **49r** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:24 am

EVERY city has a warehouse district, fancy restaurants, tall skyscrapers, zoos, baseball stadiums, museums, parks, performing arts centers, and so on.

NOT EVERY city has Boys Town. This is what makes Omaha unique and worth visiting. A city that can display the type of compassion and heart as evidenced by the presence of Boys Town should be proud.

Get off the Trib. An article like this for them would be about the equivalent of the OWH printing a travel piece on Grand Island. Be happy for the press, but don't upset and moan about how they focused too much on one thing or another. The average reader might skim the article, say "that's nice", then move on to the comics, forgetting all about what the dude said about how the Flatiron cafe was surrounded by parking lots.

And I vote for limiting the size of images in sig files, too. (Or at least give me the option to disable viewing them in my preferences)

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 12:02 pm

49r wrote:EVERY city has a warehouse district, fancy restaurants, tall skyscrapers, zoos, baseball stadiums, museums, parks, performing arts centers, and so on.

NOT EVERY city has Boys Town. This is what makes Omaha unique and worth visiting. A city that can display the type of compassion and heart as evidenced by the presence of Boys Town should be proud.

Get off the Trib. An article like this for them would be about the equivalent of the OWH printing a travel piece on Grand Island. Be happy for the press, but don't upset and moan about how they focused too much on one thing or another. The average reader might skim the article, say "that's nice", then move on to the comics, forgetting all about what the dude said about how the Flatiron cafe was surrounded by parking lots.

Well stated..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace

guy4omaha · Post by **guy4omaha** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:17 pm

Great article by the Trib. Very generous to Omaha. I can't find anything to complain about. The Boys Town quandery? The place is deserving. Through Boys Town, collectively we as Omahan's, have made and continue to make this world a better place. Omaha can thank Boys Town for putting the city on the map and in a lot of people's minds.

I should have just stopped by saying ME TOO with the "Well Stated" post above.

Raraavis · Post by **Raraavis** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:01 am

It is a surprisingly good article considering the guy had to stay in the Reddick and eat at Gorat's. That could turn anyone against Omaha.

MTO · Post by **MTO** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 11:13 am

Just love the pub.

Coyote · Post by **Coyote** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:49 pm

Amazingly enough - San Jose's Mercury News picked up the Tribune's story today.

O! for Omaha: a wealth of surprises in a city with a heart

Post by **Omaha Cowboy** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:36 pm

Love for the Big O just keeps on spreading..

Nice find Coyote..

..Ciao..LiO....Peace