Automobile Row was a

commercial district A commercial district or commercial zone is any part of a city or town in which the primary land use is commercial activities ( shops, offices, theaters, restaurants and so on), as opposed to a residential neighbourhood, an industrial zone, or ...

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 so ...

. Early reports place the location of the strip as extending Eighteenth to Twenty-first Street along Farnam, while contemporary accounts place it from 20th to roughly 26th Street. The row featured dealers, garages, and parts stores.

History

Auto rows Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), a ...

developed in numerous US cities shortly after 1900 as car companies sought to create districts where the sale and repair of cars could become an easy urban shopping experience. Described as a "country tributary," Omaha's Farnam Street was the location of Automobile Row from the outset of car sales in Omaha. It was noted as "one of the best lots to choose from ever assembled between Chicago and San Francisco." With "five exclusive dealerships" in 1906, the strip was the prime location for car sales in Omaha. Omaha Hupmobile building N center 1

At its peak, as many as 60 different makes of automobiles were sold and repaired on Automobile Row. Current brands that formerly had showrooms on Automobile Row included

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, and

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...

. Other marques with showrooms there that have since dissolved include Hudson,

Hupmobile Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908. History Founding In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, f ...

, and

Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial truck ...

. Currently, several car-related businesses stand along this stretch, although no dealers are still there. Several of the buildings have been considered for inclusion 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 artist ...

, including the

Peerless Motor Company The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps" Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrowthe company was known for bui ...

at 2562 Harney Street and the

Hupmobile Building The Hupmobile Building is located at 2523 Farnam Street in Midtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1917 on the city's historic Auto Row, the building was an early Hupmobile dealership. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. ...

at 2523 Farnam Street. Today, the street is the location of "the only

dealership left in the U.S. today." There were many events on Automobile Row supported by the Omaha Autodealers Show Association. They included an annual "garage show" and carnival that was noted for its

incandescent lightbulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxid ...

s and the draw of car dealers. A national journal for car dealers reported that, "The promise of bumper crops in the state is leading all of the automobile men to predict record sales this fall."(1919
Automotive industries
Volume 27. p 501. Retrieved March 26, 2010.

References

External links

Historic photo
of Automobile Row {{OmahaTransport History of Omaha, Nebraska Retailing in Omaha, Nebraska Transportation in Omaha, Nebraska Auto rows

History

See also

References

External links