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The Magnolia Hotel, formerly the Sheraton Omaha, was originally constructed as the Aquila Court Building,"Magnolia Hotel"
. Retrieved 9/30/07.
and is located at 1615 Howard Street in
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. Built in 1923, it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1974.


About

Designed by architectural firm Holabird and Roach for capitalists Chester and Raymond Cook of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, the Aquila Court Building was built in a "U" shape and designed after the
Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The faces of George and Aquila Cook were emblazoned on the front of the building. A mixed-use building from its inception, the building's interior courtyard featured extensive landscape gardening. The original garden design resembled an Italian formal garden with stone paths, pools with
goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...
, canals and numerous plants. A four-story building, the original design included court-level commercial space and studio apartments, as well as office space. The building has undergone several major renovations. In 1972 the gardens were removed and completely covered with
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
slabs and fountains. In 1996 the building was renovated by the Sheraton corporation and in 2006 by the Magnolia Hotels chain."Backgrounder Management Company"
Retrieved 9/30/07.


See also

*
Landmarks in Omaha This article covers Omaha Landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Nation ...


References


External links


Magnolia Hotels official website

Magazine article with original floor plans (1928)
{{NRHP Omaha Residential buildings completed in 1923 Omaha Landmarks National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska Hotels in Omaha, Nebraska Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Hotel buildings completed in 1923 Hotels established in 1923