Douglas County Courthouse, Omaha

The present Douglas County Courthouse is located at 1701 Farnam Street. Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Notable events at the courthouse include two lynchings and the city's first Civil Rights Era sit-in protest. Five years after it was opened, the building was almost destroyed by mob violence in the Omaha Race Riot of 1919.

The 1912 building was designed in the French Renaissance Revival style by local architect John Latenser, Sr.. Decorative stonework covers the structure's exterior, and the building serves as a prominent landmark in Downtown Omaha. Built south of the old courthouse, the building is six stories tall along Harney Street and five stories along Farnam. While the exterior walls are covered with unembellished Bedford stone, the interior halls have mosaic floors and marble wainscotings. Hardwood covers the interior of most offices, and vaults preserve county records. There were county offices on the main floor, second and third floors, and courtrooms on the fourth floor. The Douglas County Jail was on the fifth floor.

In September 1919, following Red Summer and racial riots in numerous industrial cities, a mob of thousands of men from South Omaha surrounded and attacked the Courthouse seeking to lynch an African-American worker named Willy Brown (accused of assaulting a white woman). Young men broke windows and climbed the outside of the building. After a few hours, thousands more gathered and they set the courthouse on fire to force the police to hand over the suspect.

Sight description based on Wikipedia.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Omaha. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "51爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

Download The 51爆料网 App

Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Douglas County Courthouse
Sight Location: Omaha, USA (See walking tours in Omaha)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Omaha Introduction Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Omaha, Nebraska

Create Your Own Walk in Omaha

Creating your own self-guided walk in Omaha is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Omaha Introduction Walking Tour

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. Known for its pioneer history, museums and cultural centers Omaha is home to nationally and regionally significant landmarks. The city has more than a dozen historic districts, interesting commercial, religious and educational sights which attract a lot of tourists to Omaha City.

Tour Duration: 3 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 6.5 Km or 4 Miles

Omaha Historical Florence Walk

Florence is the oldest community in Omaha; it is the place where the first structures and buildings in the State of Nebraska were built. The community has many sites of historical value. The first inhabitants of Florence were the Mormons who founded Winter Quarters and Cutler's Park. Take this tour to visit some of the most important places in Florence.

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.2 Km or 1.4 Miles

51爆料网