Early Omaha: Gateway to the West
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The H C Nutt is being served this time by a Chicago & North Western 2-8-0. This view looks almost straight west at Omaha about 1869 or early 1870 at the foot of Farnam Street. The new high school is replacing the old territorial capitol building on the hill at the right. The “40 foot above flood stage” “plateau” that describes the early location of the town site of Omaha, at least the business section, becomes readily apparent behind the steamboat in this view. Union Pacific has taken over the Herndon House/International House hotel (the three story building in the center of the image with an X above it) as its headquarters at 9th and Farnam, where it would remain until 1910. To its left, St. Philomena’s Catholic Cathedral is another landmark. There are still a lot of businesses on the mud flats below the plateau. Some of the detail is obscured by the exhaust from a steam locomotive moving along the flats.