Thanks for sharing. The building in photo #1 (in a different setting)
could just as well be one of the abandoned Endicott Johnson Shoe Company
factory buildings. They're very, very similar looking and were probably
built around the same era. Boom times from the early 1900s until the
middle 1950s. They had their own line of shoe stores and anyone who was
in the military during those times probably wore their shoes without
knowing the source. Then serious competition from the south put them
into decline and then the Chinese finished them off. A local developer
is trying to get permission to refurbish at least one of the buildings
as apartments but the local residents oppose it. They fear it will be
filled by students from Binghamton University and they don't want all
those rowdy kids around. :-)
Anyhow, the shoe factories attracted lots of Italian immigrants here in
the early 1900s. The local saying is that they would all arrive at
Ellis Island knowing no more English than: "Which way EJ?" The
factories are gone but a zillion very good local pizzerias and Italian
restaurants are still functioning. :-)
Chuck Norcutt
Joel Wilcox wrote:
> Here are some more photos of Omaha, taken fairly early on Sunday
> morning, March 15, while I was waiting for the girls to get up and get
> going. We stayed in a hotel several blocks north of downtown. The
> hotel was built in 2008 and there are a number of other new hotels and
> some businesses in the area. The land is otherwise vacant in many
> places while the Union Pacific railroad is selling land once used as
> railyards for new development. Other than the newer buildings, most
> of the remaining buildings in the area are vacant. It was
> disconcerting to the girls at first to stay where we did and they
> called it the "ghetto" because of the rundown, abandoned factories and
> warehouses. The Qwest Conference Center is located in this area and
> the City of Omaha has created a nice gateway to this part of the city
> which will eventually develop in the old Union Pacific yards near the
> Qwest Center.
>
> http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008565&id=1261510733&l=ad56cfeaed
>
> Joel W.
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