Omaha, NE

“KM Omaha 2007 155″ by Jack Skellington501 (from flickr)

“This tiger lost her leg in the wild. Although you can’t tell from this most common of cat poses, she has adjusted and gets around just fine.”

(words from photographer)

Have you been to the zoo lately? With it getting closer to fall weather, some of the animals will be moving inside, but don’t let that dissuade you. With the jungle, the desert, and so much more to see in the indoor areas of the zoo, you can still have a full day of fun and not get frostbite!

And as the weather gets colder, less people head downtown to visit the animals, so you’re less likely to hit a big crowd.

Omaha, Henry Doorley Zoo, photo of the day

It’s in Omaha’s Old Market district you’ll find some of the widest variety of Omaha people. With several yoga studios, you have the holistic crowd milling around with their mats. There’s Homer’s and Drastic Plastic drawing the younger indie crowd. And there’s more restaurants than I’ve ever seen in any four-block radius!

As the rest of Omaha expands out, heading increasingly west to take over areas such as Gretna and Freemont, the Old Market stands as a reminder of the small-town roots we all share. It’s cobblestone streets may be a nightmare to traverse in winter, but the charm this area holds makes it worth preserving in words and pictures.

Omaha, photo of the day, Old Market, yoga, Homers, Drastic Plastic

“fire escape”
photo by “bumbershoot” (flickr account)

“gorilla”
taken by “strtrkmonkeelvvr” (flickr name)

Sullivan’s Bar
(taken by Will w/ Zach’s camera)

This great midtown hangout has karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and always has great specials. Just small enough to feel intimate without the pretention of most smaller bars. A must-see if you’re in the midtown area.

Omaha, Sullivan’s Bar, photo of the day

park, omaha, nebraska
dances fantastic
may, 2006

Omaha, Omaha photo of the day

west dodge overpass
bret mcvey
august 2006

“Traveling east under the West Dodge Overpass in Omaha, Nebraska.”

omaha, omaha photo of the day, bret mcvey, dodge overpass

“morning shines”
paul gornell
july 2007

“The morning sun rises behind the steeple of the Westside Baptist Church in Omaha, Nebraska. With it brings the hope of a new day and a finality to the old one.”

omaha, paul gornell, westside baptist church, photo of the day, omaha photo of the day

“and so it goes …”
paul gornell
june 2007

Found this rather fitting piece of graffiti at the abandoned Burlington Train Station.

When the Burlington Train Station in Omaha, Nebraska was opened in 1898, this Italianate style building, designed by Thomas Rogers Kimball, was hailed by newspapers around the world for its grand architecture and accommodations. Today, it’s just an abandoned building in the industrial part of town.

The railroad was influential in the growth of Omaha and Nebraska, and the Omaha Burlington Station served the needs of both passengers and freight longer than any depot in Omaha history. Remodeled in 1954, the station saw a major parking plaza erected with lights and canopy, and a circular drive that enabled people to drop passengers at the station.

During the late 1960s train travel was greatly reduced and several areas of the station fell into disrepair. Finally, in 1971, passenger service was turned over to Amtrak and they operated the Burlington Station until February 1, 1974. That year the Burlington Train Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Recently, Burlington Station was bought by developers and is currently being renovated into private residences called “The Burlington”.

It’s not all sad. Here’s a website of the planned renovations: www.burlingtonstation.com

(all text from Paul Gornell)

omaha, omaha photo of the day, paul gornell, burlington station

I’m taking an idea from the about washington dc site, and starting up a “photo of the day” thing. Every day you’ll find snaps from all over omaha, and from all sorts of people. Sometimes they’ll by my photos, but the hope is that you’ll all man up and start sending me some of your pics to be used here so I don’t have to bore you with my sub-par photography. If you’ve got something for me, send a link to it (hopefully at flickr or some such photo hosting site) with the following info:

* your name as you’d like it to appear here.
* month and year the photo was taken
* any description you’d like with the photo
* any websites, blogs, etc you’d like me to link to you

And that’s it. This will start Monday, and I’ve already got some killer pics lined up!