HPll Ftxn 1OF .i r1; United States Department of the lnterior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Seeinstructions in How to CompleteNational Register Forms Typeall entries.-+ompleteapplicable sections 1. Name Father Flanagan' s Boys'Home and/orcommon Boys Town 2. Location street & number - not for publlcatlon city,town BoYs Toum - vicinityof congressionaldistrict 02 state Nebr aska code 03 f county Douglas code 055 3. Classification Catogory Owncrship Status Prcsent Use X dtstrtct X pubtic X occupied X agriculture _ museum - bulldlng(s) X private - unoccupied - commercial - park - structure - both - work in progress -}| educational X privateresidence - site Public Acquieitlon Acccssible - entertainment - religious - object - in process X yes: restricted - government - scientific - being considered - yes: unrestricted - industrial - transportation. , Xv N/Aw / n - no - military-:r:r--, &\r other-:]YY"?119,^.-^-- I Uvenf Ie , 4r'1 4. Owner of Property ' name Father Flanagan' s Boys Horne, Inc . street&number --- city, town Boys Tor'rn - vicinity of stateNE 6 B0l- 0 5. Location of Legal Description courthousc,r€i3try ol d€cds,ctc. Registrar of Deeds, Omaha/Douglas County Civic Center stre€t& number 1819 Farnam Street city, town Onaha state NE 68L02 6. Representation in Existing Surveys lnlqHisroric preservarion in Nebraskah.srhirr-r.rll"?toli.t f,kt,ffiS8ju Hoy&"-no L97L - lederal X state - county - local depositoryfor gurveyrecords Nebraslta State Historical Society city,town Lincoln state NE 68508 .!l Jc escription Condllf on Ghcck ono Ghock ono -L crcellcnt deterioratcd unaltered x orlginal sltc good rulns x altercd moved datc 12l6l8s - falr uncrposcd Dorcrlbc thc prcrcnt and original [if hnownf physical appcaranc. The village of Boys Town, Nebraska t oxiginally comprising 94 acres of land west of Omaha, has grown to incl ude more than I, 310 acres . One- thi rd of the land is developed as the campus . .The remai nder is under cul t ivati on as an i ntegral fea ture of the educational system. Municipal ownership of the land is Iimited to the pubt ic street rights-of-way; the remainder is owned by Father Flanagan's Home, Inc. Designated a municipality in L934, Boys Town includes rnore than 70 buildings, 4L of which are homes. Other buildings include a high school, middle school and grade school, a music hall, a field house, the nondenominational Na tiv ity Chapel , the Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, a visitorts center, and several dormitories. The Boys Town Center , the newest build ing on campus, houses administrative off ices. These structures , of various periods and styl€S r are inter sper sed throughout the campus . Each of these bu i ld i ngs rela tes to Boys Town' s goal as a functional community, and reflects the growth and success of Father Flanagan's original ideas for juvenile health care. Boys Town I s contemporary appearance thus contains ev idence of its origins, more recent developments, and future directions. Structures like the Gatehouse, old Post Office, and Father Flanagan's Home reveal aspects of Boys Town's earl iest appearance. BuiId ings added during the home's rnost renowned growth period during the late 1930s and I940s testify to Boys Town's notable successes in its first decades. The Dowd Chapel and vis i tor's center, among others I w€r€ bu iI t duri ng this period o f ex pans i on and today are cent ral fea tures of the "Ci ty of Little Men." Most recently, the Home's modif ied directions in j uvenile care have emphasi zed the build ing of new homes . These homes harbor residents and their "teaching parents" in accordance with the progressive "family-style" Iiving concept. The Boys Town Center, also built recently, directs these and other Boys Town activ ities . ( Photo No. I presents a L977 aer ial overv iew of Boys Town.) Xf 3 Form 109OOr o{1) United States Department of the lnterior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places lnventory-Nomination Form Boys Toum, Continuationstreet Nebraska ftem number 7/Deserip t ion Page 2 EARLY STRUCTURES The first structures at Boys Town, built during the first year at the Overlook'Farm locationr consisted of a group of one-story buitdings arranged like barracks in a quadrangle. The buildings held a grarnmar school, trades school , dormitories, a chapel , d ining room, and a recreation hal I . In L922 , a five-story building was constructed for many of these same purposes. This building was demolished in L973 after a fire partially destroyed it. Father Flanagan's first residence was buil t in L92L. It consisted of a one-story garage converted into a two-room dwelling. That building was razed in L926. Father Flanagan's permanent residenc€r erected that same year, stands today as a museum. The or ig inal portion of the house has been restored and furnished as i t appeared in Father FI anagan' s day. (A) Father Flanagan House: The house is on the northwestern edge of campus. It measures 3r800 square feet, with dimensions of approximately 76 feet by 50 feet. It is surrounded by an expanse of lawn which continues on the north to Highway 6 and to several educational b ui Id ing s on the so uth . Archi tec t Jacob M. Nachtigal t des ig ned the house aI ong puritanical Georgian Revival lines. It is a five-bay central block struc the ture'Photo wi th hipped roof and a two-story wing to rear. (See No. 2.) The open veranda on the east front is encircled by a masonry balustrade. The ell iptically arched entrance to the gabld, one-bay porch accents the centered door wi th sidel ights. Above the east entrance is a hip- roofed dormer whose central opening is topped with a gable. (See Photo No. 3. ) The first floor of the south wing is an open pLazza with entrance fr om the I iv i ng room . The west add i t i on was ex tended from the orig inal rear wing. The main side entrance is on the south and is accented by the doorrs stone surround and pseudo-half- timbering on the upper level. (See Photo No. 4.) The floor arrangement is a central hall plan with living room on the south and dining room and office on the north. The rear wing contains the ki tchen and housekeeper' s room. The second floor comprises four bedrooms (one in each corner), a bathroom (center of east side), and a sunroom (entered from the south two bedrooms). NF'JFoim lOtrO. O{11 United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic places lnventory-Nomination Form Continuationsheet Boys Tovm, Nebraska Itemnumber 7/Description lrage 3 The original construction of the house was completed in t'larch L927. The west addition was constructed in I940'as dormitory space for the De La SalIe Christian Brothers, who were occupying the house at the invitation of Father Flanagan. Today, the 1940 addition is the Alumni Center, housing offices on the f i rst floor and bedroom fac iI i ties for v is i ti ng al umni on the second. In L974, Boys Town officials decided to stop using the original portion of the house as a personnel residence and to refurbish it as a museurn. The restoration was essentially completed in L979. (B) The Gatehouse: A second important reminder of Boys Townrs early history is the Gatehouse. Located at the village's main entrance on West Dodge Road, the Gatehouse is a cabin-like structure which stands approximately 35 feet by 40 feet in dimensions. It is a stone block structure with a slate roof. (See Photo Nos. 5 and 6.) UntiI the 1940s, the Gatehouse served as the admittance center for new residents. The building currently houses the Boys Town Credit Union offices, (C) The OId Post Office: This building is directly east of the Father Flanagan House and l'luseum.. It marks Boys Townrs establishment as a legitimate "town" j.n L934. Designed along basic lines of I930s commercial public institutional styIe, the 25-foot square Post Office is of brick construction with a concrete roof. (See Photo No. 7.) It served as the mail hub of the village until the I940s, when the current post office was buiIt. (D) The Farm: The farm is west of l44th street on the northwest edge of the campus. Designed and built by Leo A. Daly Construction in L926, the wood frame buildings have concrete foundaLions and wood-shingled roofs. (See Photo Nos. B and 9. ) This building testifies to the importance of agriculture as part and parcel of the curriculum at Boys Town. Today, the farm is a full fledged production center. It includes such structures as a dairy barn, maternity calf barn, machine sheds, silos and grain storage buildings, aIl designed xFS Fom 1O3OO. O{1) United States Department of the Interior NationalPark Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form Continuation Boys Town, sheet Nebraska Item number7 /Descrip t ion l%ge 4 and built for educational purposes. In L974, a horse farm was established in the southeast section of Boys Townrs acreage for both educational and recreational purposes. (See Photo No. f0.) STRUCTURESBUILT DURINGTHE I93Os.I94OS The vast majority of construction at Boys Town occurred during two periods. Having survived the Depression, Boys Town expansion began immediately after release of the "Boys Townrl movie in I938 and extended into the I940s. For nearly two decades prior to the production of the movie, Father Flanagan had been successfully administering juvenile care at the home.