SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No

SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, HAER No. NE--10-A LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING 2900 "O" Plaza Omaha Douglas County Nebraska

PHOTOGRAPHS

WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA

Historic American Engineering Record United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Regional Office 1709 Jackson Street Omaha, Nebraska 68102-2571 HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD

SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A

Location: Omaha, Nebraska

Date of Construction: 1924-26

Designer: George Prinz

Present Owner: City of Omaha

Present Use: Vacant

Significance: The Livestock Exchange Building is significant as part of the large complex of buildings that housed the stockyards operations. An exchange building was at the heart of any stockyards operation, providing office space for commission firms and others conducting livestock business. In the 1920s, Omaha stockyards president Everett Buckingham initiated an improvement effort at the stockyards aimed at modernizing and expanding the facilities. The Livestock Exchange Building was the centerpiece of this $2 million effort, which also included a new viaduct and hog facility. It replaced an exchange building constructed in 1885-86. The Livestock Exchange Building became an important social center for Omaha as well as being prominent in the local landscape and economy. The community frequently used the exchange building's tenth-floor ballroom and banquet room to host parties, dances, rallies, and other celebrations.

Founded in 1883, the South Omaha Union Stock Yards quickly grew into a major center for the livestock industry. Cattle, hogs, and sheep from western ranges and Corn Belt farms were bought and sold at the stockyards, many destined for the adjacent meatpacking plants. In the 1950s, Omaha passed Chicago to become the world's busiest stockyards. However, business declined in the following decades as livestock was increasingly shipped directly from farm to packer via truck. The stockyards' company began to sell off its acreage, and in 1998 the city of Omaha acquired the remaining land for a business park. The surviving stockyards operations moved from South Omaha to Red Oak, Iowa, in October 1999. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page2

Project Information: The city of Omaha acquired the South Omaha Union Stock Yards in 1998. It plans to renovate the Livestock Exchange Building for new uses and demolish the remainder of the stockyards. As mitigation for the loss of this nationally significant resource, Omaha Mayor Hal Daub and the city council agreed to document the stockyards for the Historic American Engineering Record. The recordation project has been overseen for the city by Acting Planning Director Robert C. Peters and Real Property Manager James R. Thele. Dena Sanford of the National Park Service's Midwest Support Office in Omaha developed specifications for the report and reviewed draft and final products. State review was provided by Robert Puschendorf and William Callahan of the State Historic Preservation Office at the Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln. Librarians and other State Historical Society staff provided invaluable assistance during the course of the project. Other helpful archivists include Lawrence Lee and Joseph Masek at the Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, and Jeffrey Spencer and Deirdre Routt at the Historical Society of Douglas County, also in Omaha. Robert Griffin, Edward Jankowski, and others at the Omaha engineering firm Ehrhart Griffin and Associates were especially accommodating during the course of the project, as was Carl Hatcher, operations manager for the Omaha Livestock Market.

The city retained Hess, Roise and Company, historical consultants based in Minneapolis, to prepare the recordation. Charlene Roise, president of Hess Roise, served as principal investigator and chief historian for the project and was responsible for writing the overview narrative. Staff historian Abbey Christman drafted reports for individual components of the complex, with research assistance from staff historian Denis Gardner. Stuart MacDonald, a principal of MacDonald and Mack Architects Ltd., Minneapolis, prepared the delineations with the assistance of staff architect Todd Grover. Jerry Mathiason completed the photography, archivally processing the film and prints at his Minneapolis lab. Robert Jensen of Jensen and Wilcoxon assisted with graphic design. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page 3

Description

The Livestock Exchange Building is located on the west side of Buckingham Road (HAER No. NE-10-D). The building is bordered to the north and west by the Cattle Pens (HAER No. NE-10- n and to the south by the Motor Truck #1 (HAER No. NE-10-J). The Exchange Building is designed in a modified Northern Italian Brick or Italian Renaissance style. The eleven-story, H shaped building has a steel frame encased in concrete with reinforced-concrete floors. It is faced with red brick laid in a common bond pattern.

Decorative brickwork is featured on the exterior of the building. Brick pilasters divide the walls into bays. Spandrels displaying a variety of brick patterns, including basketweave, herringbone, and other geometric designs, separate the rows of windows. An elaborate parapet wall rises above the building's flat roof. It is comprised of two raised brick courses in a

The main entrance to the Exchange Building is through a pair of double doors set within enriched round compound arches on the east facade. This portal is centered on a three-bay, two story extension of the center section. A reinforced-concrete walkway connects Buckingham Road and the main entrance. A varied height brick wall with saddlebacked coping lines the walkway. Clustered columns support the entry arches, with each cluster composed of two round and two angular columns. The capitals are foliated. The tympanum of each arch is filled with wrought-iron scrollwork; the archivolts are decorated with carved panels. The doors are metal and glass with rectangular transoms. Decorative iron light fixtures are attached to the pilaster strips flanking the entry. Above the arched entry lie three roundels with cable molding, topped by a nine-arch arcade composed of paired and clustered columns. A stone panel with the words "Live Stock Exchange" has been added between the roundels and the arcade. A clock is centered above the arcade. The side bays of the entrance are symmetrical. Each has two camber windows separated by a colonette and recessed within a round-arch opening. The enriched arches are lined with cable molding and rest on brick pilasters. The capitals of the columns and pilasters are foliated. On the second story of the bays, four-arch arcades top

The center section of the building rises behind the decorated entry and is visible through the arcade. Brick pilasters divide it into three bays. The center bay is four windows wide, and the side bays are two windows wide. There are eight horizontal rows of windows. Six of these rows have rectangular one-over-one sash windows; the third and the eighth rows of windows are two light camber windows topped by round, brick-header arches. At the top of the center bay there is an additional row of four small, narrow camber windows. Brick corbel tables top the first, fifth and top row of windows.

The north and south wings of the building are largely symmetrical. On the east facade, brick pilasters divide each wing into three bays, and smaller pilasters separate the windows. The center bays of the wings contain three windows, and the side bays contain two windows. On the viaduct level of the south wing, there is a row of rectangular one-over-one sash windows with stone sills, SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LNESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page4 topped with a row of soldier bricks. Plain brick spandrel panels separate the rectangular windows from a row of one-over-one camber windows. The upper windows are set within round arches with foliated capitals; each capital has a unique design. The archivolts are decorated with cable molding. A corbel table and a

The upper floors of the wings are divided into the same bays as the viaduct level. There are six floors of one-over-one sash windows. A corbel table and a

The interior-facing walls of the north and south wings are divided into two bays, each containing two windows. There are six rows of rectangular one-over-one sash windows. Following the fenestration pattern of the east facade, the interior of the north wing is topped by tall, five-light camber windows while the south wing is topped by two rows of one-over-one windows.

Stairs from Buckingham Road lead down to the ground floor of the Exchange Building. A stone belt course separates the ground and first floors. The brick pilasters dividing the bays continue to the foundation. The one-over-one sash windows have segmental arches composed of three rows of header bricks. The windows rest on the concrete foundation. There are nine windows on the south end of the facade, grouped two, three, two, and two. Many of the sills have been painted bright yellow to indicate that parking is not allowed. The center and part of the north end of the basement-level facade is beneath the viaduct walkway. Four steel I-beams attached to the facade support a horizontal I-beam under the walkway. A twelve-light wood paneled door with a three light transom leads to a cafe area. This was most recently occupied by the Long Branch Saloon. This section of the brick wall has been painted red; the saloon name and an entrance arrow have also been painted on the wall. There is a set of recessed six-light wood paneled doors with a four-light transom to the north of the saloon entry. There are eight window openings on the north end of the facade. They are the same as those on the south except that two are shorter with separate stone sills and a paneled wood door with a three-light transom stands in place of the middle window in the grouping of three.

Brick pilasters divide the south side of the Exchange Building into eight bays, each two windows wide. On the ground level the window openings are rectangular with stone sills and segmental arch tops; all openings have been filled with brick. The second bay from the western end is blank with no sills or segmental arches. The pilasters do not extend to the ground level. A stone course separates the ground and first floors. The fenestration of this wall is a continuation of the east facade. The north side mirrors the south side. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page5

Like the east facade, the west side consists of two wings attached by a center section. Brick pilasters divide each wing into three bays. The middle bays of the wings have three window openings and the side bays have two. The fenestration pattern is continued from the front and side walls. The only exception is the top of the north wing, which has windowless arches. Fire escapes cover the middle bays of the wings. On each level of the fire escape, one window opening has been converted to a doorway and the others have been filled with brick. The window openings on the ground floor have also been filled.

The rear interior-facing walls of the wings are divided into four bays by brick pilasters. Three of the bays contain two windows and the fourth contains one window. The fenestration of these walls is continued from the west side of the wings.

The center section of the west side does not continue the fenestration pattern used elsewhere on the building; the windows are offset from the uniform rows of the other sides. Brick pilaster strips divide the wall into three bays. In the center bay there are ten one-over-one sash windows with brick soldier arches. In the left bay there are nine windows. All are one-over-one sash windows: one has a round-arch head, five segmental arches, and three are topped with soldier bricks. In the right bay, there are seven one-over-one sash windows: five with segmental-arch headers, one with a soldier-brick arch, and one with a round arch. On the ground floor there are two doors and two windows, which have been filled with brick. Segmental arches top all of these openings.

The main doors of the Exchange Building open into a vestibule with marble floors, black and yellow marble wainscoting, and a barrel-vault ceiling with green plaster molding. A set of wood and glass doors with rectangular transoms leads to the lobby area. The lobby floor is covered with black, yellow, white, and green imported Italian marble laid in geometric patterns. The center of the lobby is two stories tall with a mezzanine level along the north, south, and west sides. Three square pillars support the north and south sides of the mezzanine balcony; the pillars extend to the mezzanine ceiling. The walls and pillars have yellow marble wainscoting. The multi-colored pillar capitals each have a unique foliated design. The pillars are located at the junction of the ceiling beams. The sides of the beams have applied cast-plaster molding in a foliated design. The molding is painted to match the capitals of the pillars. Modem sculptures have been attached to the pillars at the mezzanine level. A decorative metal railing runs along the mezzanine between the pillars. Wood paneling has been added on the north wall of the lobby. Elevators are located on the west wall and offices in the wings to the north and south. On the mezzanine level there are pilasters along the north and south walls; each has a foliated capital in a different design. Recessed round arches are located on the wall between the pilasters. Modem florescent lights have replaced the original suspended lantern-like fixtures.

The upper floors of the building were designed as office space for commission firms, the Union Stock Yards Company, and other interests at the stockyards. On each floor, the elevators are located on the west wall of the center section. Typically, a row of offices is located across from the elevators, with more offices lining the east-west oriented hallways of the wings. Wood doors SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page6 with frosted-glass panels lead into the offices. Operable glass transoms are located above the doors. The doors are set within a row of three single-light frosted-glass windows with two windows on one side of the door and one on the other. A wood chair rail and baseboard line the hallway. The wood finishing is continued within the offices, which contain wood cabinets with sinks.

On the top floor a ballroom is located in the north wing and a banquet room in the south wing. The ballroom is entered from a pair of non-original double doors on its south wall. A stage is located at the west end of the room. Along the south, east, and north walls tall pilasters with partial capitals frame coupled windows. Ceiling beams run north-south connecting the pilasters. Currently the capitals are painted gold and the molding on the pilasters and window surrounds is painted red. Some of the windows along the north wall have been partially boarded. The floor is wood and the ceiling is acoustical panel.

The banquet room is entered through a set of replacement double doors on its north wall. This room has the same pattern of pilasters, windows, and ceiling beams as the ballroom. The pilasters are painted fuchsia. A balcony with a wrought-iron railing runs along the north and east walls; paneled folding doors line the east wall of the balcony. The ceilings are acoustical panel, and the floors are terrazzo.

A cafeteria was originally located in the center section the Exchange Building on the ground floor. Most recently, this was the location of the Long Branch Saloon. Square concrete piers support the ceiling, which has been covered with acoustical panels. There is a large carved back bar at the west end of the room with a mirrored wall behind. An elevated wood dance floor has been added in the center; the rest of the room is carpeted. A door on the east wall leads to the stockyards. Locker rooms are located in the basement.

History

The 1920s were a period of growth and prosperity for the Omaha stockyards. When the decade began, the Armour company had controlling interest in the stockyards and Robert J. Dunham of Chicago was the Union Stock Yards Company president. After the Packers and Stockyards Act separated the Union Stock Yards Company and Armour, Omaha capitalists regained control of the stockyards and in 1924 Everett Buckingham, then general manager and vice-president, became the new president. With local control, came momentum to improve and modernize the stockyards. Buckingham initiated a building boom at the stockyards to update and expand the facilities. A new livestock exchange building was the centerpiece of a $2 million improvement effort, which also included a new viaduct and hog facility. 1

1 "Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha," Daily Journal Stockman, January 1, 1925; "Breaking Ground for Exchange Building," Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha Collection, Nebraska State Historical Society, Lincoln (hereafter cited as USYC Collection), Scrapbook. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LNESTOCK EXCHANGE BUIT.,DING HAER No. NE-10-A Page7

The new construction was spurred by the growth of the Omaha market, which in 1924 ranked second to Chicago in livestock receipts. By emphasizing modernity and convenience at the stockyards, the Union Stock Yards Company hoped to eventually surpass Chicago. One part of this effort was better accommodations for increasing automobile and truck traffic at the stockyards. A new steel and concrete viaduct was erected to connect "L" and "O" Streets. The viaduct separated automobile and truck traffic from the livestock pens, creating two levels at the stockyards. The main entrance to the new exchange building was located on the viaduct level, above the dirt and congestion of the pens. The viaduct also provided truck access to a new hog house and its unloading chutes.2

An exchange building provided office space for commission firms and others conducting business at a stockyards and was a central feature of any stockyards operation. The new Livestock Exchange Building was the fourth exchange building at the stockyards. In its first years, the stockyards operation was housed in a farmhouse, with the main office in the kitchen, a vault in the pantry, and a saloon in the basement. In 1885, the stockyards company erected its first purpose-built livestock exchange, a brick building with a round tower. The following year another exchange building was constructed, adjoining the second. In 1890, the stockyards company moved its offices from the exchange building into the new Bank Building (HAER No. NE-10-B) next door. Further additions were made to the exchange building, but by the 1910s the office space was overcrowded and outdated. The stockyards company recognized the need for a new building, but action was delayed by World War I and post-war economic uncertainty. The return of the stockyards company to local control spurred the stock yards company to proceed with construction plans. At their annual meeting in January 1924, the stockholders ratified the construction of a new exchange building, recognizing that the present building "has been for some time inadequate in size and arrangement to properly accommodate the wants and needs at this market." They called for the speedy erection of a new building "in order that this market may stand out second to none in each and all of its facilities."3

The board hired local architect George Prinz to design the new exchange building. Prinz had studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and in Europe and moved to Omaha in 1891. He opened an architecture firm in 1909 and designed many Omaha houses and commercial buildings. The stockyards company described his design for the exchange building as a "modified form of Brick Architecture of Northern Italy." The board sought a building that would impress, both with its interior comforts and as a visual landmark in South Omaha. The building needed adequate space for the needs of the time and room for expansion. 4

The stockyards company had strong ties to the local community and its board resolved to patronize Omaha businesses whenever possible. Paxton & Vierling Iron Works were hired to

2 "South Side Viaduct Ready By Christmas," USYC Collection, Scrapbook. 3 "Faith, Vision, Capital Built Livestock Market for Omaha," newspaper article, n.p., n.d., Omaha Public Library Clippings File; "Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha"; Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, Board Minutes, January 14, 1924. 4 "George Prinz Dies at Age 82," [Omaha] Morning World-Herald, November 30, 1948; Memorandum, USYC Collection, Box 108. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page8 supply and erect the structural steel and iron for the exchange building, with 1,681 tons of steel and iron required for the building's framework. Founded in 1885, Paxton & Vierling was the creation of pioneer Omaha entrepreneur William Paxton, a stockyards founder, and A. J. and Robert Vierling of Chicago. Peter Kiewit Sons won the construction contract, the company's first million-dollar project. The Kiewit business began in 1884 as a bricklaying firm and eventually became a general contracting business, subsequently growing to be one of the largest in the United States. The company was understaffed in the mid-l 920s due to the departure of one of the Kiewit brothers, leaving the twenty-three-year-old Peter Kiewit Jr. as the supervisor for the stockyards project. Other Omaha companies hired for the exchange building included E. C. Bennett & Company for the electrical wiring, J. J. Hanighen Company for the plumbing, heating, and ventilation, and Kraus & Trustin for the basement lockers. Some contracts, however, were given to outside firms: the foundation piling was done by the Raymond Concrete Pile Company of New York, the chimney was installed by the General Concrete Construction Company of Chicago, and the ornamental bronze lighting fixtures were supplied by Victor S. Pearlman & Company of Chicago. 5

Construction of the ten-story office building began on November 14, 1924 with a ceremonial groundbreaking; the oldest commission agent at the stockyards had the honor of turning the first spade of dirt. At the ceremony Buckingham declared the importance of the new exchange building to the stockyards' future growth and success. Once excavation of 20,000 cubic yards of earth was completed in April 1925, 2,071 cypress pylons, divided into eighty-two groups, were . sunk 35' to 50' into the ground. The pylons were then topped with a 5' -thick concrete cap. Workers began laying the concrete in March and finished in May. The concrete-encased steel frame and reinforced concrete floors were designed to make the exchange building as fireproof as possible. 6 '

Buckingham died before the exchange building was completed. The Daily Journal Stockmen wrote that Buckingham was "the energy and brains that conceived the building and, although he did not live to see the fulfillment of his dreams, the structure will rise and stand a monument to Everett Buckingham." The board placed a memorial in the exchange building as "a testimonial to his high character and services." They hired Lorado Taft, a prominent Illinois sculptor, to design a memorial tablet, paying Taft $2,000. The inscription read:

EVERETT BUCKINGHAM 1858-1925 A TRUE FRIEND A LOYAL CITIZEN A MAN OF VISION AND CHARACTER WAS THIS BUILDER

5 "Building-New Exchange," Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha Files, Livestock Exchange Building, Omaha (hereafter cited as USYC Files), Engineering A-M Box 2. 6 "Stock Exchange Ground Broken," USYC Collection, Scrapbook; "Industry Jubilant as Offices Move," newspaper article, n.p., n.d., Omaha Public Library Clippings File. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCKYARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page9

AND LEADER OF THE WEST.

The new Livestock Exchange Building was completed in May 1926. Since the board wanted the new building ready as soon as possible, work had continued through the winter. In order to keep the building warm enough to finish plastering, the stockyards installed radiators and used one of their locomotives to provide steam. The permanent heating plant for the new building was placed in the east wing of the Bank Building just east of the old exchange building. 7

The opening of the new million-dollar exchange building represented the desire of the Union Stock Yards Company to be the biggest and the best stockyards as well as to establish a national reputation for Omaha. According to the Daily Journal Stockmen, "this handsome new edifice will not only be the very last word in office building construction but architecturally it will be a conspicuous landmark and a distinct credit to the city." With the new exchange building, the stockyards company also sought to bring class and style to the stockyards. The company imported marble from Italy to decorate the lobby and dazzle the stockmen passing through it. On the opening day, flowers and potted palms filled the lobby and an orchestra provided entertainment, transforming the lobby into a space resembling the "lobby of a metropolitan hotel more than that of an office building."8

The business of the stockyards was centered in the exchange building, which housed a variety of offices and services. The new exchange building included 200 office suites, with "the comfort and convenience of the tenants" foremost in the minds of the designers. The commission firms were the building's heart, with sixty firms in the building. Commission agents found buyers for the livestock that producers brought to the stockyards. The Union Stock Yards Company was also headquartered in the building. Both the commission firms and stockyards company were members of the Livestock Exchange, a regulatory agency that established guidelines and ethics for running the stockyards. The exchange also promoted the livestock industry. Meat packers, including Armour and Cudahy, and some government offices, including the Bureau of Animal Industry and the Packers and Stockyards Administration, also had offices in the building. 9

The new exchange building was the hub of the stockyards, offering a variety of services to stockyards patrons and employees. Lockers, showers, public restrooms, and a boot washer along with laundry and storage space filled the basement. On the ground floor, railroad offices occupied the north wing and the post office and a coffee shop "equipped with every known convenience for quick service" were located in the south wing. The main lobby was on the viaduct level. From the lobby visitors could enter the Stock Yards National Bank in the north wing, visit the south wing where various services including telegraph and telephone offices, a cigar stand, soda fountain, and barber shop were located, or take an elevator up the office tower.

7 "Everett Buckingham Dies After Very Brief Illness," Daily Journal Stockman February 28, 1925; Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, Board Minutes, January 11, 1926; "Building-New Exchange"; "Exchange Building Nearing Completion," newspaper article, n.p., n.d., Douglas County Historical Society Clippings File. 8 ''Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha"; "Industry Jubilant as Offices Move." 9 "Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, Limited: The New Exchange Building" booklet, 1926, USYC Files. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LNESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page 10

The commission firm offices, located on the third through eighth floors, had "every modem convenience to be found in an up-to-date office building." The ninth floor was home to the offices of the Union Stock Yards Company as well as hotel rooms. Meeting and entertaining facilities filled the top floor of the exchange building, with an auditorium or ballroom in the north wing and a banquet room in the south wing. 10

Little changed at the exchange building during the next twenty-five years. In the 1950s stockyards president Harry Coffee initiated a major stockyards improvement effort, including a new parking garage across from the exchange building. At this time the exchange building was "completely renovated and moderriized for the comfort and convenience of stockmen and their families who visit the Omaha markets." Originally the exchange building's catering facilities had been leased out, but the stockyards company took over in 1945 to improve them. The restaurant was remodeled, becoming "one of the finest and most beautiful restaurants in Omaha and the Middle West," and the coffee shop was redecorated with a cattle brand motif. The board also renovated the lobby, hiring the architectural firm of John Latenser & Sons to expand the mezzanine level. The mezzanine was widened on the north and south sides, costing about $16,000. A ladies' restroom and lounge was added on the north side, adding "a feeling of hospitality to the formerly bare lobby." Beneath the south mezzanine extension, a new soda fountain, cigar stand, and snack bar were installed. Large crowds passed through the lobby as witnessed by the approximately 1,500 cigars sold each day. Other improvements were made throughout the building including redecorating the tenth-floor meeting rooms, repainting offices, tiling corridors with linoleum, and installing automatic elevators. The exchange building was also air-conditioned, with units installed in an empty elevator shaft and three 100-ton cooling towers placed on the roof. The exchange building remained the hub of the stockyards with several new businesses leasing space in the building including a veterinary drug store, clothing store, stationary store, dry cleaners, and shoe repair. In addition to the various stockyards livestock agents and the Union Stock Yards Company, two radio stations, a federal credit corporation, and insurance offices were located in the building. In 1965, a new entrance was cut in the facade of the exchange building to allow direct access to the Stockyards National Bank. 11

The Livestock Exchange Building was an important social center for Omaha as well as being prominent in the local landscape and economy. The community frequently used the exchange building's tenth-floor ballroom and banquet room to host parties, dances, rallies, and other celebrations. In 1978, a stockyards representative attributed the rooms' popularity to a competitive rental rate of about $100, with space for about 800 people and 650 cars. Other factors which drew people to the exchange building were its "sweeping view of the city and a matter of tradition. The ballrooms have become an institution .... Parents who had their wedding anniversary at the exchange building now are going to anniversary parties of their children in the same ballroom. Generation to generation participation is found among proms, class reunions, social dances and so on. The faithful have been lured by the old building's Italian Renaissance

10 Ibid.; "Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha." 11 "Yards to Have New Truck Hog Dock and Auto Parking," Daily Journal Stockman, February 5, 1959; "Omaha's Market Services Expanded During Past Year," Daily Journal Stockman, January 3, 1950; Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, Seventy-Fifth Annual Report (Omaha: Union Stock Yards Company of Omaha, [1958]), 19-20. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LNESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page 11 charm and untouched quality. Although the ballrooms have been painted and repaired, they look essentially like then did the day the building opened."12

The Daily Journal Stockman confidently proclaimed in 1925 that "Nebraska's largest industrial and commercial business will be properly represented on Omaha's sky line for many years to come." The exchange building remains a South Omaha landmark, but no it no longer houses a thriving industry. As the stockyards declined with the closing of Omaha meat packers and direct selling of livestock to meatpackers, the vacancy rate of the exchange building rose. By 1978, occupancy had slipped to 82 percent. In 1988, after a further decline, the stockyards hired the Lund Company to manage and lease the building. In order to increase tenancy, they made cosmetic improvements such as painting and cleaning, and sought tenants without connections to the livestock industry. By 1995, the exchange building's tenants were more varied, including an alcoholism center and a Latino museum, but only 55 percent of the building was occupied. The city of Omaha purchased the stockyards property in 1998, and plans to renovate the building for mixed uses, including residential. 13

Sources Consulted

Published

"A Bit of Class Above the Cattle Pens." Omaha World-Herald, May 31, 1978.

"Everett Buckingham Dies After Very Brief Illness." Daily Journal Stockman, February 28, 1925.

"Exchange Building Nearing Completion." Newspaper article, n.p., n.d. Douglas County Historical Society Clippings File.

"Faith, Vision, Capital Built Livestock Market for Omaha." Newspaper article, n.p., n.d. Omaha Public Library Clippings File.

"George Prinz Dies at Age 82." [Omaha] Morning World-Herald, November 30, 1948.

"Industry Jubilant as Offices Move." Newspaper article, n.p., n.d. Omaha Public Library Clippings File.

"Omaha's Market Services Expanded During Past Year." Daily Journal Stockman, January 3, 1950.

12 "A Bit of Class Above the Cattle Pens," Omaha World-Herald, May 31, 1978. 13 "Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha"; ''Taking Stock of the Yards," Omaha World-Herald, November 7, 1995; "Stockyards Deal Sealed; Business Park Planned," Omaha World-Herald, April 15, 1998. SOUTH OMAHA UNION STOCK YARDS, LIVESTOCK EXCHANGE BUILDING HAER No. NE-10-A Page 12

"Stockyards Deal Sealed; Business Park Planned." Omaha World-Herald, April 15, 1998.

"Taking Stock of the Yards." Omaha World-Herald, November 7, 1995.

"Ten Story Exchange Building for Omaha." Daily Journal Stockman, January 1, 1925.

"Yards to Have New Truck Hog Dock and Auto Parking." Daily Journal Stockman, February 5, 1959.