Market House (Omaha)

Omaha Market House
General information
Architectural style	Commercial Vernacular
Town or city	Omaha, Nebraska
Country	United States
Construction started	1904
Completed	1904
Demolished	1930
Client	City of Omaha
Design and construction
Architect	Unknown

The Market House was a controversial fresh produce, meat and fish outlet on Capitol Avenue from North 12th to North 14th Avenues in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. After almost 40 years of debate and delays in building it, the City of Omaha built the Market House in 1904. The local National Guard squatted in the building for almost 20 years, and afterward it was entirely demolished by 1930.

The market square is a feature of many European and colonial towns. It is an area where market stalls are traditionally set out for trading of a variety of goods, commonly on one particular day of the week known as market day. In Omaha, there was agitation for a market square as early as 1860, but nothing happened for more than two decades. The 1846 plat for Winter Quarters and the 1856 plat for the town of Florence both included market squares. Today, the North Market Square Park in Florence commemorates the historic location.

Jefferson Square was platted as a park in the original Omaha City plat of 1854. Despite being the only park in city limits, it was often the target of ambitious politicians and others. For instance, in 1858 the Omaha City Council passed a resolution to build the first public school in Omaha in the park. In 1867, the city council changed its mind and recommended the building be removed, and it was. The next January, the first proposal for a market house in Omaha came from J. L. Williams, a government director with the Union Pacific Railroad. The city council accepted the measure with the stipulation that the City of Omaha could buy the building in six years. However, the offer was never enacted.

In 1870, an industrialist named Lyman Bridges first came forward with a proposition to build a market house on the square, which proposition was indefinitely postponed by the council. In 1877, the city council held an election for voters on whether to establish two market houses, including one on Jefferson Square and the other south of Farnam Street. Many of the young city's leaders jumped on board with Lyman's idea. Experience Estabrook advocated the universal building idea, with one structure housing the market house, public offices, city hall and the police court. John A. Creighton suggested the market house could be beautified with trees, while John I. Redick suggested rent could bring in $40,000 annually.

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