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Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a large industrial and warehouse area comprising 24 buildings located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, US. It was roughly bound by Farnam Street on the north, South Eighth Street on the east, Jackson Street on the south, and South Tenth Street on the west. In 1989, all 24 buildings in Jobbers Canyon were demolished, representing the largest National Register historic district loss to date.


About

The development of Jobber's Canyon mirrored Omaha's emergence as a central hub in the United States transportation system of the late 19th century and early 20th century. As the "Gateway to the West" serving several historic trails the Canyon housed several warehouses, grocers, and other dry goods
outfitter An outfitter is a shop or person that sells specialized clothes (an '' outfit'' is a set of clothing). More specifically, it is a company or individual who provides or deals in equipment and supplies for the pursuit of certain activities. In North ...
s for merchants throughout the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, particularly those along the Great Platte River Road. Railroad entrepreneurs, land speculators, and merchants built Jobbers Canyon from the 1870s onward. After
George Francis Train George Francis Train (March 24, 1829 – January 18, 1904) was an American entrepreneur who organized the clipper ship line that sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco; he also organized the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier in th ...
landed the Union Pacific and
Credit Foncier of America Credit Foncier of America was a late 19th-century financing and real estate company in Omaha, Nebraska. The company existed primarily to promote the townsites along the Union Pacific Railroad, and was incorporated by a special act of the Nebraska ...
in Omaha, the city quickly turned into a transportation hub. Fruit and vegetable wholesalers,
meatpacker The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
s, and all sorts of supply people created a range of businesses, building almost 24 densely congested buildings in a seven-block by three-block area in downtown Omaha. At its peak, Jobbers Canyon had more than of office, warehouse, industrial and shipping space.Gratz, R.B. (1996) ''Living City: How America's Cities Are Being Revitalized by Thinking Small in a Big Way.'' John Wiley and Sons. p. 6. Speaking in 1987 about Jobber's Canyon, J. Jackson Walter, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said, "The warehouse district, to the best of my knowledge, is certainly one of the Middle West's or the nation's finest collection of this sort of buildings."(1987
"Historic district at issue in Omaha,"
''New York Times''. 12/13/87. Retrieved 7/8/07.


Individual properties

All of Omaha's largest and most notable
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
and mercantile businesses built massive warehouse structures in the area by the early 20th century. Six- and seven-story red brick buildings filled with
jobbing house Jobber, in merchandising, can be synonymous with " wholesaler", "distributor", or "intermediary". A business which buys goods and bulk products from importers, other wholesalers, or manufacturers, and then sells to retailers, was historically call ...
s towered over red brick streets, creating a canyon-like feeling and leading to the area becoming called "Jobber's Canyon". The brick-surfaced South Ninth Street was an important streetscape in the city, with brick and cobblestone streets, railroad spur lines, loading docks, and dock canopies all contributing to the character of Jobbers Canyon.(nd
"Jobbers Canyon".
Mountain Lumber Company. Retrieved 7/8/07.
The area included the Kingman Implement Company building, also called the U.S. Tire building, located at 923 Farnam Street. It was built in 1900 as a six-story brick Renaissance Revival style structure. Kingman was a wholesale distributor of farm implements and vehicles. The Fairbanks, Morse and Company building at 923 Farnam Street was six stories tall. It was designed in 1907 by Omaha architects Fisher and Lawrie. In 1907 Fairbanks, Morse and Company was the largest manufacturer of gasoline, kerosene, and crude oil engines in the United States. In 1906, architect Charles Cleves designed a six-story building for the U.S. Supply Company, which distributed of wholesale steam, water and plumbing supplies. The Dempster Building was a five-story Renaissance Revival-style warehouse designed by Omaha architect John Latenser, Sr. in 1902. The Dempster Mill Manufacturing Company started as a small retail pump and windmill shop in 1880 and eventually grew to become a major manufacturer of windmills and farm implements. Architects Fisher & Lawrie designed another six-story red brick warehouse structure in 1900 for the Lee-Glass-Andreesen Hardware Company, which originated in 1880 as Lee, Fried & Co. They were wholesalers of hardware, cutlery and tinware. The eight-story Creighton Block was built for
John A. Creighton John Andrew Creighton (October 15, 1831 – February 7, 1907) was a pioneer businessman and philanthropist in Omaha, Nebraska who founded Creighton University. The younger brother of Edward Creighton, John was responsible for a variety of instituti ...
to house the Byrne and Hammer Dry Goods Company. The most ornate building in Jobbers Canyon, this Renaissance Revival-style structure was designed by architect Charles Cleves. Today the Greenhouse Apartments at 900 Farnam Street are the only building left from the original Jobbers Canyon. The
Nash Block The Nash Block, also known as the McKesson-Robbins Warehouse and currently as The Greenhouse, is located at 902-912 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by Thomas R. Kimball and built in 1907, the building is the last remnant of Downtown Om ...
at 902 Farnam Street was designed by Thomas R. Kimball and built in 1907.


Demolition

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
-related industries have always been important to Omaha's workforce. In addition to the
meat industry The meat industry are the people and companies engaged in modern industrialized livestock agriculture for the production, packing, preservation and marketing of meat (in contrast to dairy products, wool, etc.). In economics, the meat industry i ...
, major employers have included the Kellogg Company and the
Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to beco ...
, which produces frozen
Swanson Swanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American and Hong Kong markets. The former "Swanson Company" was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, where it developed improvements of the frozen dinner. The TV dinner b ...
and LeMenu products in Omaha. Exercising its influence, industry giant
ConAgra Conagra Brands, Inc. (formerly ConAgra Foods) is an American consumer packaged goods holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Conagra makes and sells products under various brand names that are available in supermarkets, restauran ...
transformed the skyline by demolishing Jobber's Canyon in 1989. Its world headquarters sat on of the former historic district for the next 26 years. At the time Charles M. Harper,
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of ConAgra, was asked about the district, and responded saying it was "some big, ugly red brick buildings". ConAgra's campus created almost of office space. Critics charged that the city was being "held hostage" by ConAgra, and that the city should not have to choose between its corporations and its historical legacies. At the time Omaha's then-planning director, Marty Shukert, said it was more important to keep the city's downtown core healthy than to keep the historic district. "This development may not be a large thing to a city with multiple corporate headquarters and a large development industry," he said. "In a relatively small community like this, the effects of a growing, national corporation echo throughout the economy."


Trial

People for Responsible Omaha Urban Development (PROUD), with the National Trust for Historic Preservation as an intervening plaintiff, sued the Interstate Commerce Commission, the National Park Service and the Army Corps of Engineers in order to stop the demolition. The lawsuit alleged that the federal agencies failed to comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...
and the
National Historic Preservation Act The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA; Public Law 89-665; 54 U.S.C. 300101 ''et seq.'') is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America. The act created the National Register of Historic ...
. The trial began in May 1988, and the district court immediately denied plaintiffs' request to stop demolition. The district court later ruled in favor of defendants on the merits, with a court of appeals affirming the district court decision in a brief opinion. The
court of appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
granted a partial stay of demolition during the appeals at a time when five buildings remained standing in the district. The injunction was later dissolved, and ultimately, all 24 buildings in the National Register-listed historic district were demolished, and the adjacent corporate campus was completed in 1992.


Legacy

Two historic districts listed on the National Register currently border the former Jobbers Canyon site. They include the Old Market Historic District, which was listed in 1979; and the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, which was listed in 1996. The Union Station, Burlington Train Station and Bemis Bag Company Building are all nearby buildings that have been included on the Register individually, reflecting the area's significance. The National Park Service officially delisted the non-existent Jobbers Canyon Historic District in 2002. In 2005 a restaurant called "Jobber's Canyon" opened in the Old Market, but later closed. Some critics charge that Omaha's dual losses of Jobbers Canyon and the
Union Stockyards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a centra ...
represent a blatant disregard for the city's working-class history. In 2015, ConAgra moved its headquarters to Chicago and cut 1,500 of the 2,700 jobs at the Omaha offices.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Nebraska __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Douglas County, Nebraska. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Douglas County, Neb ...
*
Transportation in Omaha Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska, includes most major modes, such as pedestrian, bicycle, automobile, bus, train and airplane. While early transportation consisted of ferries, stagecoaches, steamboats, street railroads, and railroads, the city' ...
* Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District * Old Market Historic District * Warehouses in Omaha MPS


References


Bibliography

* (2004) ''Omaha Since World War II: The Changing Face of the City'' (DVD). UNO Television.


External links


Picture of downtown Omaha
circa 1946, including the Jobbers Canyon in center.
Slideshow of 3-dimensional model of Jobber's Canyon with present Greenhouse Apartments (former Nash Building) in detail. (This is a work in progress).
{{Coord, 41, 15, 21, N, 95, 55, 38, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-NE History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska Demolished buildings and structures in Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska Former National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Warehouse districts of the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1989