Little Italy, Omaha
Little Italy is a neighborhood in
The community is bounded by Pacific Street on the north, Center Street on the south, South 10th Street on the west and the
In June 2008, the City of Omaha has announced plans to revitalize the area because of its proximity to Nebraska's top two tourist attractions, the Old Market District and the Henry Doorly Zoo. The plan calls for 10th Street to be improved with a streetcar line, treelines, parks, fountains and sculpture.[3]
History
Omaha's first Italian enclave developed during the 1890s near the intersection of South 24th Street and Poppleton Street. It was formed by immigrants from southern Italy and migrants from eastern American cities. Two brothers, Joseph and Sebastiano Salerno, are credited with creating Little Italy, located further north near the Union Pacific yards in downtown. When Sebastiano took a job as an agent for a steamship company in 1904, he encouraged friends from
Originally Little Italy had a small commercial area on South 6th Street extending west along Pierce Street, including a grocery store, clothing and shoe stores, and the Bank of Sicily, established by the Salerno brothers in 1908.[6] The Immigration Act of 1924 was largely responsible for ending large-scale immigration of Italians to Omaha.
During the
Present
Today the Festival of
Landmarks
Little Italy has several landmarks, including
Notable residents
- Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
- Anthony J. Biase
- Joe Bubs
- Jeremy Caniglia
- Michele Pane
- Angelo Rossitto
- Pat Venditte
- Nelso Bartolomei
See also
- History of Omaha
References
- ^ Larsen, L. and Cotrell, B. (1997) The Gate City: A history of Omaha. University of Nebraska Press. p. 161.
- ^ "Reconnaissance Survey of Portions of South Central Omaha, Nebraska: Historic Buildings Survey" (PDF). Mead & Hunt, Inc. Nebraska State Historical Society. 2006. p. 7. Archived from the original on January 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Press Release from the Office of the Mayor, City of Omaha (June 2, 2008) City and Neighbors Partner to Preserve and Enhance South Omaha Corridors
- ^ Omaha City Planning Department. (nd) A Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha. p. 51.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project. (1936) Omaha: A Guide to the City and Environs. American Guide Series. p. 161.
- ^ Omaha City Planning Department. (nd) p. 51
- ^ Beerman, B. J. (2004). "Where the hell is Omaha?". americanmafia.com. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
- ^ Reid, E. (1970) The Grim Reapers. Bantam Books. p. 124.
- ^ Heinen, R. (1997) Battle Behind the Badge. Leathers Publishing.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project. (1939) Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State. p. 253.
- ^ Citro, J. (nd). "Italians in Nebraska". Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- ^ Roberts-Gudeman, K. (2004). "South 10th Street is a breeze". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 2004-11-12. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- ^ Beals, J. (nd) Magic Number:Third stage in downtown Omaha development charging ahead Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6/16/07.
- ^ Laue, C. (August 2008). "Condos will build on neighborhood's past". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06.
- ^ Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2006) p. 9.
- ^ (2007) "Walking tour of Little Italy May 9". Omaha By Design. Retrieved 6/16/07. Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Citro, J. (2007). "Omaha, Nebraska". Communes of Italy. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
Bibliography
- Venditte, P.L. (1983) The Americanization of the Italian-American Immigrants in Omaha, Nebraska. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
- Chudacoff, H. (1973) "A New Look At Ethnic Neighborhoods: Residential Dispersion and the Concept of Visibility in a Medium-Sized City." The Journal of American History. 60(1) pp. 76–93.
External links
- A photo from the Feast of Saint Lucy in Little Italy in Omaha.
- "A History of Italians in North Omaha" by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com
- The Towns housing development website. Includes history of Little Italy.
- The Dunsany Flats condominium development website includes information about the revitalization plans for the neighborhood.