The Omaha metropolitan area, officially known as the Omaha—Council Bluffs, NE—IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is an urban region in Nebraska and Iowa, in the Midwest of the United States, centered on the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha's pioneering period began in 1854, when the city was founded by speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa. The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname the Gateway to the West. Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it hosted the World's Fair, called the Trans-Mississippi Exposition.
During the 19th century, the central location of Omaha in the United States impelled the city to become a major national transportation hub. For the rest of the 19th century, the transport and employment sectors were important in the city, along with its railroads and breweries. In the 20th century, Omaha's corrals, once the largest in the world, and its meatpacking plants gained international prominence. After surpassing Chicago in meat processing in the late 1950s, Omaha suffered the loss of 10,000 jobs due to the restructuring of the railroad and meatpacking industries.
The city struggled for decades to change its economy as workers suffered. Poverty took root more deeply among families that remained in North Omaha. Omaha is home to several hospitals, most of them along Dodge Street (USA). UU.
As the county seat, it is also the location of the county courthouse. The average age in the city was 33.5 years. The gender composition of the city was 49.2% men and 50.8% women. Since its founding, the city's ethnic groups have been grouped into enclaves in North, South, and Central Omaha.
In its early days, the sometimes anarchic nature of a new border city included crime, such as illicit gambling and riots. In 1955, Union Stockyards in Omaha surpassed Chicago's stockyards as the meatpacking center in the United States. This legacy is reflected in Omaha cuisine, with renowned steakhouses such as Gorat's and the recently closed Mister C's, as well as in the retail chain Omaha Steaks. Omaha's rich history of rhythm and blues and jazz gave rise to several influential bands, such as the Cotton Club Boys, by Anna Mae Winburn, and Seranaders, by Lloyd Hunter.
Rock and roll pioneer Wynonie Harris, jazz great Preston Love, drummer Buddy Miles and Luigi Waites are among the city's local talents. Doug Ingle, from the band Iron Butterfly in the late 1960s, was born in Omaha, as was indie folk singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, although both grew up elsewhere. Sports have been important in Omaha for more than a century, and the city is home to three professional minor league sports teams. The Creighton University Bluejays compete in several NCAA Division I sports as members of the Big East Conference.
The Bluejays play baseball at Charles Schwab Field, soccer at Morrison Stadium and basketball at the CHI Health Center Omaha, with capacity for 18,000 people. The Jays are ranked in the top 15 annually in attendance each year, averaging more than 16,000 people per game. The Omaha Mavericks, who represent the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), also play basketball, baseball and soccer in NCAA Division I as members of The Summit League. The UNO men's ice hockey team plays in the National University Hockey Conference.
There are more than 10 colleges and universities in the Omaha metropolitan area. Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, offers service through Omaha. The Greyhound Lines terminal is at 1601 Jackson St. The terminal also serves Jefferson Lines, Burlington Trailways and Express Arrow.
Megabus has a stop at the Crossroads Shopping Center — N 72nd St. Metro Transit, formerly known as Metro Area Transit, is the local bus system. The Looney Tunes short Boobs in the Woods featured Porky Pig, revealing that he had a license to sell hair tonic to bald eagles in Omaha, Nebraska. Songs about Omaha include Omaha by Moby Grape, Omaha by the indie rock band Tapes 'n Tapes, Omaha by Counting Crows, Omaha Celebration by Pat Metheny, Omaha sung by Waylon Jennings, Greater Omaha from Missing, Omaha Stylee from 311, (Ready Or Not) Omaha Nebraska from Bowling for Soup and Omaha by Toro and Moi The popular youth novel Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (St.
Martin's Press, 2018, will take place in Omaha. The winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1935 was called Omaha and, after traveling the world, the horse finally retired to a farm south of the city. The horse made promotional appearances at Ak-Sar-Ben during the 1950s and, after his death in 1959, was buried in the Circle of Champions at the racecourse. In the television series The Big Bang Theory, one of the main characters of the series, Penny, is from Omaha.
Omaha is also the hometown of the Wizard of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman says in the penultimate episode that if I'm lucky, in a month, at best, I'll manage a Cinnabon in Omaha, and in the prequel, spin-off and sequel, Better Call Saul, he's the manager of a Cinnabon in Omaha under the alias of Gene Takavic. Omaha is home to the only temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nebraska, along with a large Jewish community.
In 1858, the Omaha Daily Republican was founded by the Omaha Printing Company (renamed Aradius Group, 201); it was Nebraska's first regional newspaper, founded before Nebraska claimed statehood. There are eleven colleges and universities among Omaha's higher education institutions, including the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Trails throughout the area are included in comprehensive plans for the city of Omaha, the Omaha metropolitan area, Douglas County, and in the coordinated long-distance plans between municipalities in southeastern Nebraska. Songs about Omaha include Omaha by Moby Grape, Omaha by the indie rock band Tapes 'n Tapes, Omaha by Counting Crows, Omaha Celebration by Pat Metheny, Omaha sung by Waylon Jennings, Greater Omaha from Missing, Omaha Stylee from 311, (Ready Or Not) Omaha Nebraska from Bowling for Soup, and Omaha by Toro and Moi.
The City of Omaha Monumental Heritage Preservation Commission is the government body that works with the Mayor of Omaha and the Omaha City Council to protect historic places. In the fall of 1919, after the Red Summer, postwar social and economic tensions, the early hiring of African-Americans as strikebreakers, and job uncertainty contributed to Willy Brown being lynched by a mob in South Omaha and the ensuing race riots in Omaha. Omaha is located in the midwestern United States, on the Missouri River, about 10 miles (15 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River (also known as the Nebraska River). Omaha has a thriving running community and many miles of paved running and biking trails throughout the city and surrounding communities.
Omaha is also home to the Omaha Diamond Spirit, a summer college baseball team that plays in the MINK league. With a crime rate of 42 per thousand residents, Omaha has one of the highest crime rates in the United States compared to all communities of all sizes, from the smallest towns to the largest cities. What sets Omaha apart from some communities is that, over the years, it was settled by an exceptionally diverse mix of people. The University of Nebraska Medical Center, in downtown Omaha, houses the Eppley Cancer Center, one of 66 cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute of the United States.
Omaha is also home to Brownell-Talbot School, Nebraska's only independent college preparatory school for preschool through 12th grade. The word Omaha (actually Umo'hoo Uma'ha) in the Omaha language means people upstream or against the tide. .
