Omaha Heritage Preservation

As widely reported in Omaha, the former Broadview Hotel—also known as Trimble Castle—was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 2026. The designation recognizes its importance to community’s African American heritage: the hotel was listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book, offering safe lodging to Black travelers during segregation. It was also recognized for its concrete block architecture.

Located at 2060 Florence Boulevard, the house was built in 1909 for Max and Flora Burkenroad by the Omaha Concrete Stone Company. The owner of the company, Frank Whipperman, was a passionate advocate for concrete block construction. In 1907 he completed one of Omaha’s first all–concrete block buildings, Pearl Memorial Methodist Church, where he served on the board. That same year he built a prize-winning concrete block residence for Dr. R. E. Lamoreaux at 1330 South 33rd Street, designed by noted architect Frederick A. Henninger.

While these early projects used a relatively modest range of block forms, the Burkenroad residence was far more ambitious. Designed by architect Joseph P. Guth, it incorporated roughly 40 different shapes and sizes—an extraordinary display of the material’s versatility.

Concrete block had been available since the mid-19th century, but its popularity surged after the advent of the rotary kiln around the turn of the twentieth-century made cement more reliable and affordable. In 1900, Harmon S. Palmer patented the first cast-iron concrete block machine, sparking a nationwide boom. Hand-operated machines with interchangeable molds allowed builders to imitate “quarry-faced” stone and produce everything from sills and lintels to columns and cornices. Companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Co. even sold block-making equipment by mail order, fueling the rapid spread of this innovative building technology.

Beginning in 1980, the City Planning Department began a systematic survey of Omaha’s historic properties—a vital effort to document the buildings that shaped the city’s identity. In the decades since, however, thousands of those recorded structures have disappeared. Nearly 500 alone were lost in the Downtown, Jefferson Square, and Columbus Park neighborhoods, erasing entire layers of Omaha’s architectural story.

Among them was Natelson’s at 1517 Douglas Street, demolished around 1981 to clear the site for the new Parkfair Mall. The building itself dated to 1928 and was constructed for the Brandeis Investment Company, a powerhouse in downtown development at the time. Brandeis owned or assisted in building eleven prominent downtown structures, including the Medical Arts Building, the Fontenelle Hotel, and the Rialto Theater—projects that helped define Omaha’s commercial core.

Yet even Natelson’s represented a cycle of change. Its construction required the demolition of earlier buildings, including the original structure at 1517 Douglas Street, home to the Silk Shop, a retailer specializing in silk yard goods. The Silk Shop became the first tenant of Brandeis’ new building but remained only a year. In 1928, Natelson’s, a luxury women’s fashionwear company, took over the space, bringing a new chapter of retail life to Douglas Street—one that would endure for more than five decades before the wrecking ball returned once again.

Founded by R.W. Natelson, the fashion store occupied the entire five stories with the first three floors as dedicated showrooms. The building was designed by architect George Prinz in the Romanesque Revival style. The storefront, which was likely added in the 1930s, was Streamline Modern with deep curved glass showcase windows for the display of fashion. Though only 22 feet wide, a three-story high neon sign made the building notable and visible.

Discover more lost downtown building on the Historic Preservation Viewer.
https://apps.dcgis.org/vertigisstudio/web/?app=c5ace5261b10474b8c731390de9f4a2d

The stately Craftsman house at 5116 Burt Street carries with it a family story worthy of a novel. The house was commissioned on 1908 by George Joslyn as a gift to his widowed sister, Jennie Spence, after the passing of her husband William H. Spence. Spence was the vice president of the Defiance Starch Company, who died unexpectedly at just 49 years old.

Jennie’s daughter, Jessie Brain, and Jessie’s husband John were close by—quite literally—living right next door at 5114 Burt Street. To design Jennie’s home, Joslyn enlisted noted Omaha architect and friend John McDonald, and the house was completed in 1909.
But the real drama came in 1924. At age 65, Jennie shocked Omaha’s high society by running off with her 46-year-old (the Omaha Daily News reported he was only 38) chauffeur, Frank McHenry, marrying him in Chicago, and then setting off together on a months-long tour of the eastern United States. The scandal left Omaha’s social circles—especially Jennie’s sister-in-law, Sarah Joslyn—utterly scandalized.

Not long after, in 1925, Jessie and John Brain sold their neighboring home and decamped for a newly built house at 734 North 57th Street. Jennie and Frank remained married and continued to live at 5116 Burt Street until Jennie’s death in 1936, closing a particularly colorful chapter in the Burt Street household saga.

Calling all history buffs! Ever wonder what Omaha looked like decades ago? The Omaha Historic Preservation Viewer is a digital time machine. This GIS tool features every photo and historic survey record collected by the City since 1980.

Pro tip: Toggle the "Non-extant" layer to see thousands of lost buildings and landmarks, or use the "Background" layer to overlay historic maps and aerials over the city we know today.

Certified Local Government (CLG) grant funding was used to create a new Omaha Heritage Preservation website, replacing the old site which was over 10 years old. The new website features a more user friendly appearance and interface, improved information regarding historic review, processes and procedures, additional digital resources, online applications and much more. Check it out!