Things that have changed since I left Omaha

[Guest]

Oops---that Super Bee was a Dodge.


vroom vroom

[Bosco55David]

St. Vincent's Retirement Home. My great uncle lived there in the 1970s. I did volunteer work there back then. Closed in the late 1980s or early 1990s I think and torn down a few years later.

Lots of memories of the place. It was pretty big. Six or seven stories.

Finally! Someone who remembers. :mrgreen:

Do you remember if there was in fact a tornado siren on, or near that property? I know the sirens were very loud at my house (41st and Ames) and I seem to remember it being located at this facility.

[Pat-in-Omaha]

St. Vincent's Retirement Home. My great uncle lived there in the 1970s. I did volunteer work there back then. Closed in the late 1980s or early 1990s I think and torn down a few years later.

Lots of memories of the place. It was pretty big. Six or seven stories.

My Great Uncle and Great Aunt lived there around 1966. It was a huge place.
When my mom was visiting with them I would go down the hall to the sitting area and watch Batman on TV.

[larimore61]

The "hospital" in question on Ames Ave. was in fact the St. Vincent Home (retirement facility) which was located at 45th and Ames. This was a large facility with beautiful grounds that spanned from 45th to 47th streets, and Ames all the way to Fowler (two blocks to the north). The covered stairs that were right on Ames were a part of the St. Vincent facility and we used to play there as kids. We called it The Shady Rest. The bar/restaurant located next to St. Vincent's was called the Parkside Lounge in the 50s and 60s. In the early 70s my uncle (Paul Saner) bought this lounge/restaurant and renamed it Saner's Lounge. He was pretty progressive as the bar owner because in the early 80s he used to let punk and new wave bands perform there. Saner's Lounge was located on the northeast corner of 45th and Ames. As I recall he had some neat neon lights in the windows. BTW the tornado siren for the neighborhood was located atop the St. Vincent Home. It used to be tested every third Saturday morning in the spring and summer months as I recall. Does anybody remember the Standard Oil gas station that used to be located at the intersection of Ames Ave. and Fontenelle Blvd? My dad used to gas up his 1959 Ford there when we were kids. The gas station was torn down around 1970 when Ames Ave was widened from two to four lanes.

[larimore61]

St. Vincent's Retirement Home. My great uncle lived there in the 1970s. I did volunteer work there back then. Closed in the late 1980s or early 1990s I think and torn down a few years later.

Lots of memories of the place. It was pretty big. Six or seven stories.

My Great Uncle and Great Aunt lived there around 1966. It was a huge place.
When my mom was visiting with them I would go down the hall to the sitting area and watch Batman on TV.

In the mid-60s my older sister and I would make necklaces and bracelets out of colored uncooked elbow macaroni (using food coloring) and then take them to the St. Vincent Home and give them out to the residents. We also used to make necklaces out of buckeyes (horse chestnuts) that grew on a big tree right in front of the St. Vincent Home right off of the circular drive. We also would take these necklaces to the home to give out to residents. We were such nerdy kids! One thing I also recall about the home was that the nuns who worked there used to get out their golf clubs and practice putting on the east side of the facility in the summers. We used to hang around and chase after the golf balls for them, dragging them out of bushes etc. That was such a beautiful facility. The grounds were extremely well landscaped. BTW I grew up on 43rd and Larimore right off of Fontenelle Blvd.

[GRANDPASMUCKER]

I ate at that A&W next door to St Vincents about 500 times. They sold KFC chicken and it was the best in the world. KFC chicken bought anywhere else was just not the same. And the 4th of July fireworks shows at Fontenelle Park were fantastic. At the end of the fireworks show for the finale they would blow up the island. When they moved the fireworks shows to Rosenblatt it was never the same.

[ireybob]

I remember Saner's (for more reasons than one) I Saw "Bump Fuzz" perform there in about 1982. I was a punk kid from North O, and it was a cool spot while it lasted. So happy somebody else remembers it !

[nativeomahan]

This is the year for me and some of my friends (and all of my high school classmates) to celebrate our BIG high school reunion. A couple of my friends who long ago moved away from Omaha are coming back in May for the big weekend. They wanted to visit some of our old haunts, bars and restaurants and other places we spent a lot of time in back in the 1970s and 80’s, before they relocated. I said “heck yes, let’s take a spin around Omaha and CB and stop at a bunch of those places.”
Then I sat down and thought of a list of over a dozen of our favorite hangouts.
Precisely none of them exist today, at least at the same location and with the same family ownership as back when we were in high school and college in the 1970s and into the 1980s.
None.
Zero.
Little King on West Center Rd. - Gone
Paltani’s - Gone
Marchio’s - Gone
Caniglia’s on 7th St. - Gone
Mr. C’s- Gone
ALL of the other Caniglia’s restaurants - Gone
Anthony’s - Gone
Ross’ - Gone
The Sparetime - Gone
The Ranch Bowl - Gone
Val’s - Gone
Pizza Keg - Gone
The Bluejay Bar - Gone
Bob Gibson’s on 30th - Gone
The Marylebone - Gone
Piccolo Pete’s - Gone
Scribbles - Gone
Gallagher’s - Gone
The BBC - Gone
Coco’s - Gone
The Steamshed - Gone
The Neon Goose - Gone
The Sidewalk Cafe - Gone
Firmature’s Gas Lamp - Gone
The Firehouse - Gone
Churchill’s - Gone
Michaels II - Gone
Cafe di Copia - Gone
Grisanti’s - Gone
Cliff’s Chicken - Gone
The Hilltop House - Gone
The Hitchin Post - Gone
The Crossroads Mall - Gone
Cinema Center - Gone
The Indian Hills theater - Gone
Even places we tried to forget, like The Joker and Only Chance Saloon - Gone
All the area Drive-In theatres - Gone
The Spaghetti Works and Trini’s still exist, but we never spent time there.
Johnny’s and Cascio’s are still around but we never spent much time in either place.
I guess we will have our memories. And the knowledge that our clique outlasted all of these one time Omaha landmarks.

[nebugeater]

I didn't grow up in Omaha, but about 60 miles away, so I didn't frequent places here that often.
That being said, you still now have me depressed.

[Greg S]

This is the year for me and some of my friends (and all of my high school classmates) to celebrate our BIG high school reunion. A couple of my friends who long ago moved away from Omaha are coming back in May for the big weekend. They wanted to visit some of our old haunts, bars and restaurants and other places we spent a lot of time in back in the 1970s and 80’s, before they relocated. I said “heck yes, let’s take a spin around Omaha and CB and stop at a bunch of those places.”
Then I sat down and thought of a list of over a dozen of our favorite hangouts.
Precisely none of them exist today, at least at the same location and with the same family ownership as back when we were in high school and college in the 1970s and into the 1980s.
None.
Zero.
Little King on West Center Rd. - Gone
Paltani’s - Gone
Marchio’s - Gone
Caniglia’s on 7th St. - Gone
Mr. C’s- Gone
ALL of the other Caniglia’s restaurants - Gone
Anthony’s - Gone
Ross’ - Gone
The Sparetime - Gone
The Ranch Bowl - Gone
Val’s - Gone
Pizza Keg - Gone
The Bluejay Bar - Gone
Bob Gibson’s on 30th - Gone
The Marylebone - Gone
Piccolo Pete’s - Gone
Scribbles - Gone
Gallagher’s - Gone
The BBC - Gone
Coco’s - Gone
The Steamshed - Gone
The Neon Goose - Gone
The Sidewalk Cafe - Gone
Firmature’s Gas Lamp - Gone
The Firehouse - Gone
Churchill’s - Gone
Michaels II - Gone
Cafe di Copia - Gone
Grisanti’s - Gone
Cliff’s Chicken - Gone
The Hilltop House - Gone
The Hitchin Post - Gone
The Crossroads Mall - Gone
Cinema Center - Gone
The Indian Hills theater - Gone
Even places we tried to forget, like The Joker and Only Chance Saloon - Gone
All the area Drive-In theatres - Gone
The Spaghetti Works and Trini’s still exist, but we never spent time there.
Johnny’s and Cascio’s are still around but we never spent much time in either place.
I guess we will have our memories. And the knowledge that our clique outlasted all of these one time Omaha landmarks.

I am of a similar age it appears. Here are some others based on your list that are still around are:

Bronco's
Barrett's
Westroads
Cascio's
Gorat's
Harold's
Surfside Club
Homer's
Sgt Feffer's
Goldbergs
Green Onion
Holiday
Interlude
Johnny's Cafe
Brother Sebastians
The Drover
The Homy Inn
Darby's Tavern
Jerichos
Big Fred's
Sortino's
Bagel Bin
Mister Toads
Billy Froggs
Dubliner
La Casa

Just a quick list I came up with.

[nativeomahan]

A long list, but other than Bronco’s and Big Fred’s none of our old gang spent any time at the other places. I don’t see much point in visiting Homer’s unless we would be high. Westroads has changed way too much from the 1980s to hold much significance.