The City of Omaha was incorporated in 1857. Active promotion by early settlers and businessmen resulted in the city serving as the territorial capital for 13 years. As Omaha developed, it became Nebraska’s largest city. Transportation, communications and agriculture contributed to the city’s growth. By the 1870s, development began to occur within the area now known as Destination Midtown. Development in the area typically occurred along street or transit corridors, from east to west. Land for Hanscom Park was donated to the City during this decade, and Creighton University was founded in 1878.
Growth came to the area at a much faster rate during the 1880s. In 1880, Bishop James O’Conner purchased 12 acres of land for the Academy of the Sacred Heart (a girl’s academy) at 36th and Burt streets. Operated by a society of religious women, construction of the school began in February 1882. At the same time, many of Omaha’s elite began to move to the hills west of downtown.
This was facilitated by the expansion of the horse railway, which reached 32nd and Cuming streets in 1883. Omaha’s electric railway was initiated in 1887, the Belt Line Railroad was completed in 1888 and the streetcar reached 40th and Cuming streets in 1889. Significant structures built within Midtown during this decade included the Mercer House, the E.W. Nash House, the Douglas County Hospital, Mason Terrace-Von Closter Residence, the Yates House and the Charles Turner House.
Growth continued during the 1890s, albeit at a much slower rate than what occurred during the 1880s. Significant structures constructed during the 1890s included the Garneau/Kilpatrick House, Hicks Terrace, the Guy Barton House, the Offutt/Yost House, the Wattles House, Cudahy House and the Normandie Apartments. Two schools, Columbian and Saunders, were constructed during the 1890s, and the land for Turner Park was donated in 1897.
Following the Trans-Mississippi Exposition of 1898, the pace of development picked up in Omaha and Midtown during the 1900s. In 1902, several electric rail companies merged to form the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway Company, which expanded to serve the Cathedral area via the Farnam and Cuming streetcar lines. The same year, the West Central Boulevard, which connected Hanscom Park and Bemis Park, was completed. The Field Club was founded in 1902, First Baptist Church was constructed in 1903 and Kountze Memorial Lutheran Church was constructed in 1904. In 1907, construction began on Temple Israel and the cornerstone was laid for St. Cecilia Cathedral. Mutual of Omaha was founded in 1909, and land for the University of Nebraska Medical Center was purchased along 42nd Street. Significant apartments and homes constructed during the 1900s included the Unitah Apartments, the Clarinda Apartments, the Havens House, the Kirkendall House, the Joslyn House, the Gallagher House, the Brandeis-Millard House, the Epeneter House, the Storz House, the McLaughlin House, the Reinhold Busch House, the English/Kennedy House, the Breckenridge-Gordon House and the Mary Reed House.
The decade of the 1910s experienced a substantial amount of new institutional, commercial and residential development within the Midtown area. Several buildings were constructed on the site of the present-day University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medical Center campus, while several commercial buildings were constructed nearby at the intersection of 40th and Farnam streets. Automobile Row on Farnam Street was established during the course of this decade, as was the famous Blackstone Hotel to the west. At the far west edge of the Midtown (48th and Leavenworth streets), the Omaha Steel Works was constructed in 1919. Both Yates School and Park School were constructed during the decade, and several churches, including First Unitarian, First Presbyterian and First Central Congregational were constructed. St. Cecilia Cathedral opened for services, but the church itself was far from complete. Significant apartment buildings constructed during the 1910s included the West Farnam Apartments, the Knickerbocker Apartments, the Page Apartments, the Colbert Apartments, the Melrose Apartments, the St. Regis Apartments and the Tadousec Apartments, while significant homes included the Bradford-Pettis House, the McDonald House, the Edgar Higgins House, the Louis Nash House, the Arthur Metz House, the Charles Metz House, the Forster House and the Barmettler House.
Growth and development of the area continued during the 1920s and 1930s, although it was on more of an infill basis as growth expanded beyond the Midtown boundaries. Technical High School, Jackson School, St. Peter’s Catholic Church and the Austin Apartments were constructed in the 1920s, and the Woodmen Circle Building (Mutual of Omaha) and Saddle Creek Road overpass were constructed in the 1930s.