Nebraska Hall of Fame

Nebraska Hall of Fame

Northwest courtyard corridor of Nebraska Hall of Fame, Nebraska State Capitol, Second Floor.
Established	June 22, 1961
Location	Nebraska State Capitol
Website	[1]

The Nebraska Hall of Fame officially recognizes prominent individuals from the State of Nebraska. Twenty-five busts located on the second floor of the Nebraska State Capitol commemorate members of the Hall of Fame. Nebraska Medal of Honor recipients are also members of the Nebraska Hall of Fame. A plaque with the names of Medal of Honor recipients is located in Memorial Chamber—the fourteenth floor of the capitol.

On May 23, 1961, the family of U.S. Senator George W. Norris gave a bust of Norris to the State of Nebraska. In celebration of the centenary of his birth, the state placed the Norris bust in the southeast niche of the Great Hall of the capitol. One month later, the Nebraska State Legislature established the Nebraska Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission. The commission chose Norris as the first member on November 21, 1961. The state permitted the commission to use the Norris bust in the capitol as the senator's statuary representation in the hall of fame.

On June 6, 1961, the Nebraska State Legislature also accepted a bust of John G. Neihardt and resolved to permanently place it "in one of the niches in the corridors of the State Capitol." The state dedicated the Neihardt bust on December 7, 1961, and placed it in a large niche above the landing of the northeast stairwell. On April 3, 1962, the state moved the Neihardt bust to the southwest niche of the Great Hall (across from the Norris bust) after protests pronounced that the bust's previous location was improper. On March 21, 1974, the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission elected Neihardt to the hall of fame, and the commission grandfathered his bust into its statuary collection at the capitol.

The commission dedicated the bust of William Frederick Cody on June 12, 1969, and placed his bust in the last of the six niches of the Great Hall. The commission placed subsequent busts on limestone plinths throughout the second floor courtyard hallways to the north and south of the legislative chambers.

In 1961, the Nebraska State Legislature provided fundamental selection criteria for membership to the Nebraska Hall of Fame. The legislature stated that the purpose of the hall is to "bring to public attention and to recognize officially those people who, in their lives, have achieved prominence and who were outstanding Nebraskans." The legislature further stated that "Nebraskans" mean individuals "(1) who were born in Nebraska, (2) who gained prominence while living in Nebraska, or (3) who lived in Nebraska and whose residence in Nebraska was an important influence on their lives and which contributed to their greatness."