The Elsasser Bakery is a building at 1802 and 1804 Vinton Street in

South Omaha South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase, the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Unio ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, USA. The building was constructed in 1923 for the William L. Elsasser Bakery. The Elsasser name is carved into a stone panel at the top of the red brick building. The building was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2006 as part of the admission of the

Vinton Street Commercial Historic District The Vinton Street Commercial Historic District is located along Vinton Street between Elm Street on the west and South 17th Street on the east in south Omaha, Nebraska. This district is located adjacent to Sheelytown, a residential neighborhoo ...

. The building's main occupant is currently the River City Saloon.

History

The Elsasser family were bakers from the town of Vaihingen in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. After arriving in Omaha in the early 1880s, the family patriarch, Christian G. Elsasser, opened the first Elsasser family bakery at 709 Leavenworth Street. The bakery was appropriately named The Leavenworth Street Bakery and appears in the 1883 ''Wolfe's Omaha City Directory''. In 1887, Christian's son, William Ludwig Elsasser, established the W. L. Elsasser Bakery at 2014 South 19th Street. Around the late 1890s, William moved the bakery to 2416 South 19th Street. In 1904, the bakery operation was moved to its final location at 1802 Vinton Street. At the time, the building was a wood-frame structure previously occupied by another bakery. William Elsasser's family conveniently moved to a two-story home behind the bakery at 2706 South 18th Street. When William L. Elsasser died unexpectedly on July 27, 1914, his widow, Susanna, continued to run the bakery with the assistance of other family members. Under her direction in 1923 the current brick building was built. The general contractor was Frederick W. Rice, a relative of the family.Frame, Bob, and Chad Moffett. Retrieved March 14, 2014. After Susanna Elsasser died in 1926, her sons William J. and Carl L. Elsasser took over bakery operations. Their' running of the bakery was relatively short-lived. The last listing for the bakery in the city directories was 1931. By 1940, the bakery had been converted to a bar. Currently, the main occupant of the building is the River City Saloon. The Elsasser Bakery building is a two-story red brick commercial

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

building. In addition to the Elsasser name carved into a stone panel at the top of the building, other decorative aspects of the building include a stone-capped

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

roof, brick banding, window hoods and stone sills. The center window on the second story is bricked in. When the Elsasser Bakery was in operation there was a large front awning imprinted with "1802 Elsasser's Bakery". The Elsasser Bakery was a neighborhood bakery serving the residents surrounding it. The bakery's specialties were Vienna and German

rye bread Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat f ...

. During a Food Administration hearing on the price of bread, Elsasser's Bakery reported total sales in December 1917 of $2,140, with the retail price of a loaf of bread set at 9 cents. The value of the plant and the equipment was estimated at $2,500. The Elsasser family was known throughout Omaha for its large, annual family reunions. The first was held on November 1, 1913, across the street from the bakery at Miller's Hall at 1724 Vinton Street. A stained glass window as a memorial to William L. Elsasser was installed by the Elsasser family on the south wall of the sanctuary of Cross Lutheran Church at 3101 South 20th Street.

Gallery

File:Elsasser_Bakery,_2416_South_19th_Street,_Omaha,_Nebraska.jpg, Elsasser Bakery, 2416 South 19th Street File:Elsasser_Bakery_Basement,_Omaha,_Nebraska.jpg, Baking bread in the basement of the Elsasser Bakery File:William_Elsasser_leaning_on_the_counter_of_his_bakery,_Elsasser_Bakery,_1802_Vinton_Street,_Omaha,_Nebraska.jpg, William Elsasser inside his 1802 Vinton Street bakery File:Elsasser Bakery Truck, Omaha, Nebraska.jpg, Elsasser Bakery truck File:Walter Elsasser, left, in front of the Elsasser Bakery Awning, 1802 Vinton Street, Omaha, Nebraska.jpg, Elsasser Bakery awning File:William Elsasser, of the Elsasser Bakery, Family Home at 2706 South 18th Street, Omaha, Nebraska.jpg, Elsasser family home, 2706 South 18th Street

References

{{NRHP Omaha National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska History of Omaha, Nebraska History of South Omaha, Nebraska Commercial buildings completed in 1923 Landmarks in South Omaha, Nebraska Bakeries of the United States German-American culture in Omaha, Nebraska Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska 1923 establishments in Nebraska

History

Gallery

See also

References