Early Omaha: Gateway to the West
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FARNAM, 1872

This image, six years later, shows the city’s growth. The photo is looking east down Farnam from where the Grand Central Hotel was located on the southwest corner of 14th & Farnam. The Omaha Horse Railway Company has a track down the middle of Farnam and two cars are seen being pulled east. The original segment of track ran between 9th and 15th Streets and made its first run during Christmas week of 1868. It eventually covered a distance of two miles from the Union Pacific Depot on 9th & Mason on the east, through the business district, to the Territorial Capitol at 20th & Dodge on the west.

The roof top on the right covers the Central Block, located between 13th & 14th, which was built in 1867-68. It was the retail center of Omaha from 1867 through the 1880s and got its name from the Central National Bank that was located in the building. Across the street on the north side of Farnam at the 13th Street intersection is a wholesale crockery shop and a drug store. Henry Pundt Teas and Groceries, was established in 1856, and claimed to be the oldest dealer of groceries in Omaha. The next large building with the “Hide & Leather Store” sign is the Pioneer Block which was the first large brick block built in Omaha. It sits on the north side of Farnam between 11th & 12th Street. An early territorial legislature held its sessions upstairs. The large building at the end of the street at the northeast corner of 9th & Farnam is the former Herndon House / International Hotel. By the 1869 this building was transformed into the Union Pacific Rail Road’s Headquarters and remained the headquarters until they moved into their new headquarters building at 1416 Dodge in the fall of 1911.

The Excelsior: Historical Number. Omaha, Nebraska: Chase Publishing Company. 30 September 1916. Pages 10 and 19.

Becker, H. W. “Omaha: History in Photos – U.P. growth underestimated.” Omaha Sun Newspaper. 26 August 1971.