Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-29
vement of the Business Center
~"SWs-Paeed Omaha Investments Sure to Bring Good RsturnsSSS

In the growth Of a city there Is nothing
more remarkable than the fancies which
enter the mind Of the people Of the com
munity as to the advantages possessed by
one part Of the city over another as places
OF residence or for the transaction Of bus
mess.
In no town Of the United States has the
first impression Of the people as to the
probable trend OF settlement and develop
ment been borne out and It would be din
cult In many places for anyone at this time
to tell why one part should have been Sc
lected over another as the business section
or for the construction Of the most attrac-
tive residences. once in a while the reason
will be apparent at the time the particular
part Of the city comes into prominence, but
this reason will be lost in the course OF
time, and what was once considered a de-
sirabls feature will be regarded as a cause
for aversion and may lead to an abandon
ment Of the locality for the purpose for
which It was FIRST designed. Omaha is no
exception to the rule. and in its history of
about fifty years there have been a numbe
of marked changes in the opinions Of the
citizens generally as TO the most desirable
part Of the city either for business or resi-
dence.
The business center Of a community, in
the mind Of the general public that part Of
town in which the retail business of the
city is transacted, and the oftentimes more
important wholesale trade can never bear,
in the public mind, any connection with this
movable location. When Omaha was first
plated Fsrnam street readily, as the CEN
ter Of settlement. became the business cen
ter Of the town, and so far as the east and
west streets are concerned, it has never
been changed, although several attempts
have been made to take the bulk of the re-
tail trade from that street.
The original business center Of Omaha
was around the park, which on the early
plats OF the city is shown to have been
along Ninth street, with its center about
Farnam street. Around this park business
houses were built, extending west along
Harvey, Howard, Farnam and Douglas
streets, with the center Of the district in
the neighboThood of Tenth and Farnam,
Tenth street coming to be what 1t continued
for several years, the principal business
street running north and south In the city.
Harvey and Howard streets east Of Seven
teenth and west Of Eleventh, were consid-
cred among the best of the residence
streets, and some Of the finest homes OF
territorial Omaha were built upon those
grounds, some OF them standing upon their
original location at this time. Later this
property has been claimed for wholesale
houses principally. but never has It en-
tered into a consideration of the center Of
business activity of the city.
As related by some of the older citizens,
the general opinion was that Omaha would
develop more rapidly to the southeast from
the then business center, and this opinion
was strengthened as late as 1866, when
George Francis Train made his historic
purchase Of 5000 lots in the city OF
Omaha" most Of which were In the south
eastern part Of town.
In 1857 the idea of the people was that
the business center was to be around Ninth