Points of Interest

Over nine acres of rolling hills provide the backdrop for this Midtown park. Two tennis courts, walking trails, picnic areas and shelters, and plenty of open space make Bemis Park a valued community attraction.

Home to the public art sculpture “Parent and Child,” Clarkson Park is a small neighborhood park with benches and playground equipment. It provides a close and intimate leisure opportunity.

With over nine acres of space, Columbus Park and the Columbus Park Community Center offer a number of opportunities for recreation including a ball field, playground equipment, picnic areas and a shelter, and a community center with a gym, pool tables and weight-lifting equipment.

Creighton’s Lied Art Gallery hosts exhibitions of fine art created by student, local, national and international artists each academic year.

This 12 acre neighborhood park features a playground, tennis courts, paths, shelters and 12 horseshoe pits. The Dewey Park Tennis Center recently converted three aging hard courts to Har-Tru courts with a modified HydroCourt irrigation system. This is the first public “clay-court” facility in Nebraska.

One of Omaha’s oldest country clubs and golf courses, Field Club of Omaha was founded in 1898 as the Omaha Cricket Association. Offering a number of amenities including an 18-hole golf course, pro shop, clubhouse, restaurant and outdoor pool, Field Club's rich heritage is the result of more than a century of dedicated members and personnel along with great neighborhood and community support.

This scenic and tree-lined 1.7 mile pathway runs through the heart of Midtown Omaha, connecting the Field Club and Blackstone neighborhoods.

Bright geometric shapes, abstract human figures and ultramodern digital prints fill this storefront gallery of contemporary art. Owned by Bob Rogers, the gallery is named for both its original address and year of founding and showcases artists from New York to Japan. It is one of the most noted galleries in the Midwest, but its primary focus is regional. Ranging from sculpture to two-dimensional work, the art is always cutting edge. (Source: www.northwestern.edu/magazine)

This memorial commemorates the Omaha birth site of Leslie King, Jr., who later became Gerald R. Ford, Jr., the thirty-eighth president of the United States. The birth site was dedicated in 1977. It features a colonnade and rose garden modeled after those found at the White House, presidential mementos and a structure that resembles a portion of the original Victorian house destroyed by fire in 1971. The City of Omaha manages the birth site and gardens. The gardens are open to the public daily from morning until dusk and are also available for private rental.

Adjacent to the Gerald R. Ford Birth Site and Gardens is the Gerald R. Ford Conservation Center. It was founded in 1995 as the newest division of the Nebraska State Historical Society - a regional conservation center for the care of cultural materials. The Ford Conservation Center houses state-of-the-art technical laboratories for the examination, evaluation and specialized conservation treatment of ceramics, glass, metals, ethnographic materials, archeological materials, wooden artifacts, works of art on paper, photographs, documents, archival materials, books and some paintings and textiles. The Center also contains an exhibit of Ford memorabilia. (Source: www.nebraskahistory.org)

The 5.6-acre Gifford Park was added to the city park system in 1916. Dr. Harold Gifford, Sr. donated the land that now includes a playground, ball field, two tennis courts, walking paths and a shelter area. The Gifford Park Neighborhood Association offers free tennis lessons to neighborhood youth each August. Tennis racquets and balls are provided for each lesson.

One of the oldest parks in Omaha, historic Hanscom Park was donated to the city by Andrew J. Hanscom and James Megeath in 1872. This 50-acre park contains a variety of amenities that make it appealing to visitors. The sports facilities include a small neighborhood ball field, soccer field, a basketball court, two tennis courts, eight indoor tennis courts and swimming pool. There are also playgrounds, picnic areas, shelters, a pavilion (available for rent), paths and open space located on park grounds. A unique gazebo and floral displays serve as other attractions in this park.

As Nebraska’s largest and most distinguished art museum, Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha has served as the premier center for visual art since opening in 1931. Joslyn features an encyclopedic collection of work from antiquity to the present, with an emphasis on 19th- and 20th- century European and American art. Highlights of the permanent collection include works by Lorenzo di Credi, El Greco, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Hart Benton. American masters such as Grant Wood, Jackson Pollock, Dale Chihuly and George Segal are also represented. Joslyn Art Museum presents a variety of concerts throughout the year, from jazz and blues to holiday fare.

Jazz on the Green is recognized as one of the most popular free summer events in Omaha. In 2006, over 45,000 attended this series of outdoor jazz concerts. Jazz on the Green features some of the best local, regional and national jazz musicians in two-hour concerts held on Joslyn's east lawn and the grand staircase leading to the museum's main entrance.

The Joslyn’s First Friday JAM is held on the first Friday of the month from October to April, this jam session offers a diverse line-up of leading regional jazz, blues and alternative groups, along with light fare and libations. It's the coolest place to be after work!

Holiday Under Glass is held weekdays in December; this concert series features holiday music performed over the lunch hour in the glass atrium.

The Castle was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was designated as an Omaha Landmark Historic Structure in 1979. Completed in 1903, it was the home of businessman George Joslyn and his wife Sarah. The century-old estate was and remains one of Nebraska's most remarkable private residences. The Friends of Joslyn Castle invite you to tour this remarkable residence and travel back in time to an era of superb craftsmanship and decorative opulence.

Tours are available every first and third Sunday of the month at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Private tours and rental are available.

A significant neighborhood gathering place for an afternoon game of soccer or community fair, the 4.5-acre Leavenworth Park features a playground, volleyball court, ball field, large green space, and picnic area and shelters.

No larger than a city block, the Park East Park offers a family-oriented recreation opportunity with its colorful playground and benches.

Almost five acres in size, Schroeder-Vogel Park borders Midtown on the western end with amenities including a playground, basketball court, and picnic areas and shelters.

Founded in October of 1993, The Shelterbelt Theatre, known for its intimate setting, is an exciting performance space where audience members are never more than 15 feet away from the stage. Drawing on the talents of local writers, actors, directors, musicians, artists and technicians, the theatre has been able to carve a unique niche in the Omaha theatre scene.

Located on the highest hill in Omaha, the historic Saint Cecilia Cathedral can be seen for miles around. Begun in 1905 and consecrated in 1959, the cathedral is the master work of renowned architect, Thomas Rogers Kimball. Ranked among the ten largest cathedrals in the United States at the time of its completion, the structure is 255 feet long, 158 feet wide and 222 feet high. The architectural style of the building is Spanish Renaissance Revival. At the start of the century, the decision to employ this style represented a bold departure from the familiar European Gothic. Thomas Kimball justified his choice because of the very early influence of Spain and Mexico on the region and the fact that it was once part of the missionary area subject to the See of Santiago, Cuba.

The cathedral parish flourishes to the present day, consisting of more than 1,600 households. In hospitality as mother church of the archdiocese, the cathedral serves the needs of its parishioners and those of the city through wide ranging programs, including a primary school and retreat center. (Source: www.stceciliacathedral.org)

Currently under construction, an expanded and revitalized Turner Park will serve as the anchor for Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, a $300 million mixed-use urban development. The development will comprise seven buildings with approximately one million square feet of leasable space for restaurants, retailers and entertainment venues as well as 600 residential units including condominiums and apartments. With more than seven acres of green space, the community-focused Turner Park will host activities such as farmers’ markets, art fairs and neighborhood festivals when it is completed in late 2009. (Source: www.midtowncrossing.com)