Gifford Park is a historic neighborhood in midtown Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. It is roughly bounded by the North Freeway on the east, North 38th Street on the west, Dodge Street on the south and Cuming Street on the north. Its namesake park was added to the City parks network in 1916. The neighborhood is bounded by several historic neighborhoods, including

Bemis Park The Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District is located in North Omaha, Nebraska. Situated from Cuming Street to Hawthorne Avenue, Glenwood Avenue to 33rd Street, Bemis Park was annexed into Omaha in 1887, and developed from 1889-1922. The district w ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, and the Near North Side.

History

The land that comprises Gifford Park was part of one of the first claims in Omaha City, made by the first

mayor of Omaha This is a list of mayors of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. List of mayors See also * Government of Omaha * History of Omaha References {{Omaha Omaha * Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municip ...

Jesse Lowe Jesse Lowe (March 11, 1814 – April 3, 1868) was the first mayor of Omaha, Nebraska, serving for one year from March 5, 1857 to March 2, 1858. An important real estate agent in the early city, Lowe is credited with naming the city after the Omah ...

. The community is named after Harold Gifford, who donated the property that became Gifford Park at 35th and Davenport Streets to the City of Omaha in 1912 for a neighborhood park. It was added to the city park system in 1916. The area of 33rd and California was a busy commercial center in the 1920s and 1930s. The area included grocery stores, an upholstery shop, dentist, a delicatessen, tavern, bakery, theatre, barber shop, and a variety store. Other businesses in the area included a filling station, ice house, the California Beauty School, garage, butcher shop and drug store. Several schools served the community. They included Yates Elementary School at 3260 Davenport Street, Tech High School at North 30th and Cuming Street, and the Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart at North 36th and Burt Streets. The neighborhood was greatly damaged during the Easter Tornado of 1913. Several houses and buildings in the area, including Ducshene Academy, were greatly damaged.

Present

The neighborhood is the location of a twenty-year-old and highly active

neighborhood association A neighborhood association (NA) is a group of residents or property owners who advocate to organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues. Some neighborhood associations in the United States ...

committed to preserving and uplifting the community. Several ongoing improvement projects aim to beautify the neighborhood, particularly by renovating the park.(nd
Gifford Park/Elwood Park
Omaha By Design. Retrieved 6/21/07. Today the Gifford Park is , including a playground, ball field, two tennis courts, walking paths and a shelter area.

References

External links

Map of the neighborhoodGifford Park Neighborhood Scan
University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Gifford Park Neighborhood Association

Bibliography

*Truhlsen, S. (1999) "Harold Gifford Sr., M.D. Omaha's premier turn of the century ophthalmologist." ''Documenta Ophthalmologica. 99''(3), November. pp. 237–245. {{coord, 41, 15, 53, N, 95, 57, 42, W, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-NE Neighborhoods in Omaha, Nebraska History of Midtown Omaha, Nebraska Historic districts in Omaha, Nebraska