Trip 4: Day 2 (A Walk Down Dodge)

I like to walk when I travel. Not only does it get you exercise and is generally low on stress, but you get to see things that you otherwise might have missed had you been driving. And there have only been short stretches of US 6 on which I've actually walked. So I decided that I needed an oil change, and took the several hours of opportunity to walk down US 6 in Omaha (known as Dodge Street for its entire length within the city), from 72nd Street, where the Firestone store was located, to 30th Street, where the gentrifying Midtown area meets the low-end Leavenworth neighborhood that divides Midtown and Downtown. 42 blocks. From 30th Street, I would take the bus to Old Market to get a drink, then a commuter express bus back to 72nd Street where I could pick up my car before the store closed at 7pm. It all sounded pretty nice.
That Monday was a great day for a walk too. Clear skies, temperatures in the 50's. Relatively light traffic in the early afternoon.

72nd & Dodge, Omaha, looking northwest

Crossroads Mall sits at the intersection of 72nd and Dodge Streets, in a heavily retail district. Retail occupancy seems to be fairly high, but Crossroads is largely considered to be a dead mall. Target, Sears and Barnes & Noble have taken over as anchors, turning it into mostly a "power center," with the mall interior sitting largely vacant. The current owner plans to demolish the mall in 2015 and turn it into a mixed-use development, with outdoor shopping and housing geared toward students at nearby UNO. The mall is about 3 miles east of the larger, newer and largely occupied Westroads Mall, although the decline can largely be blamed on the decline of indoor malls as a whole. The concept is over 50 years old now, and Americans have begun to reject it in favor of the "outdoor mall" or "open air mall," where stores are lined up along small streets and surrounded by a sea of parking. It's basically like taking the roof off of an indoor mall. And they're cheaper to operate, considering the utility costs alone.

University of Nebraska Omaha's east
entrance on Dodge Street

East of 72nd, Dodge Street ascends a large hill where the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) campus sits. Originally Omaha University, the school was founded in 1908, becoming the public Municipal University of Omaha in 1931, then moving from North Omaha to this current campus in 1938 and eventually merging with the University of Nebraska system, based in Lincoln. The campus is mostly laid out in an east-west manor, paralleling Dodge Street, with its main library near the center, and several residence halls on its western edge. There's also a small football stadium on the south side of the campus, home to the Mavericks, an NCAA Division I team in The Summit League. With total enrollment currently over 15,000, the school moved from Division II in 2012, with the exception of its hockey program, which was already Division I. As I walked around the crowded campus, I saw mostly the faces of traditional students - i.e., students under the age of 25 - but a reasonable amount of ethnic diversity. The student union featured a small food court, a sitting area where several students lounged reading books, and a number of offices at the back. I went looking for a water fountain, and was directed to one by a staff member I found near an office. By the water fountain, two members of a Christian student organization chatted with each other in front of a table; the lone student organization presence that day with no one apparently interested.

Korean-Vietnam Peace Memorial
from Dodge Street

The campus borders Elmwood Park, which forms a steep, sweeping canyon, heavily wooded to the south of Dodge, and mostly open grassland to the north, leading up a hill to the Korean-Vietnam Peace Memorial and the Omaha Rose Garden. A U-shaped pedestrian bridge spans Dodge Street to connect the two sections. It's the largest public park in Omaha, with 216 acres. In 2013, Omaha was ranked #11 of the 50 largest cities in the country for its "ParkScore," a numerical value determined by the Trust for Public Land based on a city's park and open space.

51st Street looking south
from Dodge in Dundee

At approximately 57th Street, on the east side of Elmwood Park, the Dundee neighborhood begins. Dundee is one of the wealthier parts of Omaha, and is home to Warren Buffet, arguably Omaha's most famous resident. The neighborhood was developed in the 1880's as a self-contained village, with its commercial center at the 50th Street & Underwood Avenue intersection, 1/2 mile north of Dodge Street. That area today features a number of restaurants, bars and small shops in mostly 1960's-era buildings. The area is one of several parts of Omaha that function as a village, and attract new, younger residents by being walkable. Meanwhile, the 50th Street & Dodge Street intersection has its own group of bars and restaurants, including Page Turners, a bar which sits in the space of a former long-time bookstore of the same name. I was lucky enough to get a chance to go into Page Turners several days before they closed their doors. I bought a book for $1 about urban development that was written by a guy from Detroit, but the book turned out mostly to be about Detroit's history and I stopped reading it. Page Turners is owned by another famous Omaha resident, Conner Oberst, who fronted Bright Eyes up until several years ago, when he began a more roots-rock project under his own name. I went into the bar one night (see "Trip 4: Day 1" post) and found it to have a comfortable lounge vibe. Quiet on a Sunday evening, the bartender was chatting to a patron about music, which soon turned to the drama behind a mutual friend's dealing with at least one of the members of Cursive, a relatively well-known local band. I drank my beer and left them to their inside conversation, although I was able to show my own hipster side by correctly naming a Sonic Youth album of which they could not remember the title (it's the only Sonic Youth album I know because it's the only one I own, and I never listen to it).

Spanish-style apartment building
on Capitol Avenue in Dundee

As you pass 50th, Dodge Street turns from exclusively residential to exclusively commercial, and the streets behind it are now lined with apartment complexes instead of large old houses. This area is still part of the Dundee historic district, but has a decidedly different atmosphere, and is where a quick decline starts as it continues east until you reach the Midtown development. At 49th Street is The Varsity, a long-time sports bar fixture in the Ralston neighborhood on the southwest side of town. With this new location, they bring a good food menu and draft beer selection to a previously declining area. With the new CVS across the street also, the area has improved quite a bit since I first started visiting Omaha in 2007. The side of the CVS building features pictures of Omaha's past, including Jobber's Canyon, and the building which was razed for its construction, featuring the iconic 49er Bar, which had become a notorious hipster hangout in the years before its closure in 2011. The CVS project was approved in September 2010 after previously being turned down by the city, mostly due to the opposition of the nearby neighborhood. Many in Dundee felt that the design featured too many parking spaces, did not match the character of the neighborhood, and were concerned over traffic into the neighborhood as a result.

Dodge Street near 48th, looking east

At around 46th Street, there's Beyond BBQ. I had seen this place in driving and looked them up to find them well-reviewed on Yelp. Not that Yelp is the definitive test of a restaurant being good or not, but it's a start. I found a small cafe run by an older white man and a middle-aged Vietnamese woman. Aside from me, there was one other couple in the restaurant, but it was also about 2pm. I tried to figure out what I could get that was small, but ended up with a pound of rib tips. I asked how long the place had been open, and that developed into a one-sided discussion on signage laws in the city and their selective enforcement. I confused him with the payment and lost a little over $1, but had already had to point out that he owed me another $5, so I just let it go, but I found it bothering me as I continued walking down the road. I didn't eat the rib tips there. The restaurant was hot and forced me to remove my sweatshirt, while everyone watched "Judge Judy" on the TV overhead and the owner laughed to himself at something unknown on his laptop. I ate the rib tips later outside the Mutual of Omaha building, and found them to be decent, but not great. I don't know that I would say Omaha is known for its barbecue though (I can't think of another barbecue place in town off the top of my head), so I would not be surprised if this was the best in the city. Having just come from St. Louis though, it was a little bit of a let down.

Saddle Creek Road from the Dodge
Street overpass, looking north

Joslyn Castle from Dodge Street

Walking east, you cross over Saddle Creek Road, one of the busiest streets in central Omaha. But you would never know it, because Dodge does not intersect it. Instead, you see small signs, directing you to ramps that provide access to Saddle Creek Road through a "partial cloverleaf" (or "parclo") interchange, with ramps on the northeast and southwest sides of the intersection. Traffic entering Dodge Street cannot turn left, but traffic entering Saddle Creek Road can, via a signal at the northeast ramp and a slightly dangerous one-way stop sign at the southwest ramp.
Two different sections of Omaha begin here, divided by Dodge Street. The University of Nebraska Medical Center spans about 50 acres (sources conflict) south of Farnham between Saddle Creek Road (45th) and 38th Street. The area just to the north, and along Dodge, has become a medical office district though, with a number of small office buildings lining the street. Additionally, there's Omaha's famous "Gold Coast" district just to the north of Dodge, where enormous houses representing the golden era of Omaha sit. The most iconic is Joslyn Castle, built in 1903, which sits one block north of Dodge on 39th Street. The home can be rented for private events, but is open for public tours on the first and third Sunday of each month. Unfortunately, I arrived a little too late in the day on the third Sunday in November to be able to do this tour. Honestly though, I never get much from the tours of old homes; they tend to all seem the same.

US 6 shield in front of the
Mutual of Omaha office complex

Past 38th, it's several more blocks of fast food restaurants, check cashing places, gas stations, and low-rise medical office buildings. The Mutual of Omaha complex begins at 35th Street and continues to 33rd, along the south side of Dodge Street. The buildings are mostly set back from Dodge though, and the sidewalk area, though maintained, is not particularly aesthetically pleasant there. The landscaping is obviously made to look nice from the road, while in a car. At 33rd, the Midtown Crossing development begins, first with Wohlner's Grocery. Wohlner's sat at 52nd & Leavenworth, just about a mile to the southwest of this current site, for 70 years until it moved to the Aksarben development in southwestern Omaha in 2008. In 2010, they expanded to this new second location but, in late 2012, the Aksarben location was sold, but was allowed to retain the Wohlner's name. So, searching for Wohlner's on Google, you'll likely first come across this now-pseudo-original Wohlner's, but will also likely find the other Wohlner's at Aksarben. Another strange story in Omaha's perpetual battle to evolve but deal with its strong culture and identity.
Sitting mostly above Wohlner's is the new (opened in November 2010) green-themed Element hotel, owned by the Starwood Group (Westin, Sheraton). The brand's concept reminds me very much of Hilton's Home2 Suites, which are geared toward corporate long-term stays, with full kitchens and a chic, hip lobby area. "Eco-chic" is what it was called in the media with a heavily-touted LEED silver certification. If know anything about LEED though, you'll point out that that's the lowest rating and, in fact, the hotel received a 77 from the EPA, just over the required 75 to receive the minimal certification. But it's a positive step for the industry. I just walked in to the lobby to find it quiet with one woman on staff, who mostly ignored me as I explained I wanted to check out the hotel. I asked a question but was met with a one-word answer, so I left. It was strange to see, because I was actually staying in Starwood's other Omaha property, the Sheraton, that I had gotten on Priceline for less than half the nightly rate of this hotel. But, of course, that Sheraton is over 70 blocks to the west and walkable to nothing.

A Midtown Crossing building with Downtown Omaha
skyline in the right-center background

Midtown Crossing was a huge step for Omaha, in terms of development projects. Its mixed-use design, in-fill location, LEED certifications and focus on the surrounding open space of Turner Park (technically, a public park) made it the first truly environmentally-responsible development in the city. Retail tenants are currently mostly upscale restaurants, a few shops and several bars. There's also a movie theater, as well as the aforementioned Wohlner's market and the Element hotel. The area is easily compared to the slightly older (two years) Aksarben Village, which seems to market itself as more family-friendly, but has the advantage over Midtown Crossing of having a campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha on-site. Midtown Crossing seems to have more open space though, but Turner Park very much has a "big brother" feel to it. There are signs that indicate both hours and various rules of conduct as you enter. It is also literally surrounded by the towering condo buildings, with their windows looming over every part of the park area. However, it is a very nice park.
Midtown Crossing is owned by Mutual of Omaha, which sits next door. It may have been initially conceived as a way to bring in young talent, in a generation that now demands urban living and walkable environments rather than the big yard on the cul-de-sac in the suburbs. But the company has recently made it clear that they are not interested in being the sole developer of a "new" Midtown, when, in 2013, they purchased and demolished one of the iconic Twin Towers for the purpose of simply clearing the site for future development by another party. Additionally, a number of buildings were razed in 2006 for the initial Midtown Crossing construction, including a church, and the design of the structures, overall, does not fit in well with the humble low-rises of the surrounding neighborhood.

From here, I took the bus east, into Downtown. I immediately missed two of the at least three buses I could have caught, while I fiddled around in Turner Park ironically looking at bus schedules (I saw them pass), but finally caught one on Douglas Street (US 6 eastbound) after a 15 minute wait. Waiting with me was an older woman who stood by a truck in the parking lot of the Twin Towers, about 20 feet away from the sidewalk and myself, looking down the street. I thought she was waiting for a ride, and was surprised when she came over as the bus pulled up. Caddy-corner from me was a woman sitting on the ground in what looked like a bio-hazard suit, occasionally yelling something to herself. The latter is what I remember of this neighborhood. I like this area because it's gritty but, overall, it's not the sort of "urban" environment that Midtown Crossing's developers, nor the residential tenants who can afford to live there, are looking for. But, then again, maybe Omaha isn't really looking for Midtown Crossing.

Traveling in the late fall for the purpose of sightseeing and photography, you become acutely aware of how early the sun sets. By the time the bus arrived, it was about 4pm, and the sun was well behind the tall buildings, and a dusky glow hung over the landscape at the bottom of the hill to the east. As the bus rolled into Downtown and back under the shade of buildings, it looked like it was about to get dark. I was able to successfully get my Upstream Brewing happy hour in though. This is a ritual of mine in Omaha as it's one of the first places I visited in the city. Upstream, to me, has always seemed to be a little too big for their britches. They brew very good beers, and have a pretty solid menu, but nothing is great, nor does it seem particularly upscale despite a decidedly pretentious vibe you get when you enter. My experiences at the bar (I've never actually sat at a table) have ranged from friendly conversation with strangers to total ignorance by both the bartenders and the patrons. This time, a flamboyant gay couple sat next to me, but I knew I was on a schedule and couldn't really talk much.

Back on Dodge Street (US 6 westbound), I found the bus stop I needed and stood in the cold with a growing number of commuters. Omaha's express buses are $1.50 versus the regular $1.25, but it's really worth it. The limited stops speed up everything, not only because the bus just skips stops altogether, but also because it's able to move from the right lane when it needs to. I was very surprised to see that this bus, called the "Dodge Express" on the Omaha Metro web site but called something very different on its overhead sign, was actually very well used, and I ended up sitting next to someone. I felt a little bad getting off, because I was the first one to do so. Everyone else was headed for the "real" suburbs, past I-680. I made it in plenty of time to pick up my car and, randomly, decided to head back to Midtown, to go to the Crescent Moon Ale House.

May 2011

The Crescent Moon is my favorite beer bar in the city. There is always an interesting tap selection, with a focus on local beers, they have great food, it's relatively cheap, and it has a friendly neighborhood bar kind of atmosphere. The bar itself is also relatively small, with the stools seemingly close to each other, so you're more likely to get a conversation. I always seem to find one. This time, I randomly found a new transplant, a younger guy who had moved from Chattanooga for a job. I think, if anything, it was reassuring to him, after being in Omaha for a week, to hear someone from outside the region speak very positively of Omaha. Even the Omahans I talk to are typically surprised when I mention that I come every year just for the hell of it.
Aside from the beer, one thing you must get at the Crescent Moon is a reuben sandwich. The reuben was invented at the Blackstone Hotel, which is directly across the street from the Crescent Moon. The hotel today is an office building (though it's architecturally intact), with the restaurant long closed so, maybe as a result, the Crescent Moon has constructed the best reuben sandwich in the country. I say this having had countless reuben sandwiches throughout the country. If it's on the menu, I'll often order it, and I've gotten very, very picky about it over the years.