Omaha has sought to preserve its
historic landmarks for more than 50 years. The first city report on historical sites written in 1959, and the first buildings in the city were listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings in the 1960s. The demolition of the
Old Post Office in 1966, along with the
Old City Hall the next year, were rallying points for preservationists in the city. Omaha developed a comprehensive plan for landmark preservation in 1980. Some years, the demands of changing business in
Downtown Omaha have overridden the desires of preservationists to maintain historic structures. In 1989, all 24 buildings of the area's "
Jobbers Canyon" were demolished, representing the highest number of buildings lost at one time that were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places to date. The
Christian Specht Building is the only extant building with a
cast-iron facade known in Nebraska today, and one of the few built in the state. The
Burlington Train Station, also a downtown historic landmark, sat empty for more than thirty years and was stripped of much of its historical grandeur. In 2006 a group of developers began renovating the building for mixed-use, which will include residential condos. Not all of the buildings lost are deemed significant; the
Omaha Auditorium, designed by noted and prolific local architect
John Latenser, Sr., was almost universally panned for its gaudy and half-completed construction. In
North Omaha, the historic
Strehlow Terrace apartments have been renamed "Chambers Court" in honor of locally renowned
Nebraska Legislator Ernie Chambers. Fort Omaha, an
Indian War-era
supply depot for the
United States Army, has been re-purposed as a
local community college. In April 2001 the
Nebraska Methodist Health System purchased the
Indian Hills Theater on West Dodge Road and. In June it announced plans to demolish the theater and replace it with a
parking lot. Indian Hills was the last drum-shaped, three-projector
Cinerama theater in the United States. Despite grassroots formation of the Indian Hills Preservation Society, letters of support from
Charlton Heston,
Janet Leigh and
Kirk Douglas, and the unanimous vote of the Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission finding that the theater should be declared a Landmark of the City of Omaha, in August 2001 the building was demolished.
City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission The first comprehensive preservation ordinance in Nebraska was adopted by the
Omaha City Council in 1977. The commission was created after the demolition of the
Old Post Office, when the pro-preservation organization
Landmarks, Inc. advocated its creation. As of 2007, more than 90 buildings and structures in Omaha have received federal historic preservation tax incentives, and have been listed by the City of Omaha as Certified Historic Rehabs. ==National recognition==