North 24th Street
| South end | Dodge Street 41°15′35″N 95°56′49″W / 41.25972°N 95.94694°W |
|---|---|
| North end | Read Street 41°19′24″N 95°56′49″W / 41.32333°N 95.94694°W |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | = |
North 24th Street is a two-way street that runs south-north in the North Omaha area of Omaha, Nebraska. With the street beginning at Dodge Street, the historically significant section of the street runs from Cuming Street to Ames Avenue. A portion of North 24th is considered the "Main Street" of the Near North Side, and was historically referred to as "The Street of Dreams." The corridor is widely considered the heart of Omaha's African-American community.
North 24th Street first became prominent as a center of Jewish life in Omaha in the 1870s and '80s. During that period, Jewish settlers opened a variety of shops along the strip to serve other new immigrants to Omaha. Located immediately north of Downtown Omaha, North 24th Street was the location of dozens of businesses, including bakeries, clothiers, groceries, drug stores and laundries. There were also a number of synagogues, churches and mortuaries along the street. In the 1910s, author Tillie Olsen's father worked in a confectionery along North 24th Street. The 1913 Easter Sunday Tornado devastated the North 24th Street corridor, causing a great deal of death and destruction along its route.
In the aftermath of the lynching of Will Brown in 1919, Omaha's African-American residents increasingly encountered redlining against investment in their neighborhood. In addition, race-restrictive covenants prevented their moving to other areas. Accompanied by earlier white residents moving to other areas as population increased, these economic and social restrictions led to the Near North Side becoming exclusively African American. North 24th Street and the neighborhood surrounding it became the nucleus of Omaha's most significant African-American neighborhood. During the 1920s, a number of African American-owned businesses and cultural establishments developed along the street as population increased and thrived. The Dreamland Ballroom, where events were held marking the beginning of the "black movement" in Omaha, smaller musical establishments, several movie theaters and new churches were all built up along the street. Business and culture along North 24th continued to thrive into the 1950s, as many African Americans made progress in gaining higher skilled industrial jobs and some went on to higher education.
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