Interesting things you may not know about Omaha:
1. Omaha has a metro-area population of almost ¾ million people
and is the 45th largest metropolitan city in the U.S. Omaha, by itself,
is bigger than St. Louis.
2. Omaha is the home of five Fortune 500 companies: Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Union Pacific Railroad, Mutual of Omaha Cos., Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc. and ConAgra Foods Inc. It is also the home of Ameritrade and Worldmen of the World (as shown in About Schmidt)
3. Bellevue, located on the south side of Omaha, is home to Offutt Air Force Base and the U.S. Strategic Command (StratCom). Because of this Omaha was the number one target of the former Soviet Union for a nuclear attack.
4. Omaha's history is in beef processing and packing, and it is known around the world for its steak, including those sold by Omaha Steaks. At one time it was the world's largest beef packing city because of the large packing plants. They were all located in South Omaha, which was a separate city until annexed by Omaha. Some of our early ancestors worked at those plants. The names of some of the companies still live on in other cities today: Cudahy, Hormel, Swift and Wilson.
5. The name Omaha, from the language of the Omaha Tribe, means "above all others on the stream."
6. Omaha is home to the Henry Doorly Zoo, the College World Series and Boys Town.
7. Famous Omahans you have heard of include: former president Gerald Ford, Warren Buffett, Malcom X, actors Henry Fonda, Fred Astair, Nick Nolte, Marlon Brando and actress Dorothy McGuire, Oscar-winning director and writer Alexander Payne, musicians Buddy Miles and Conor Oberst, baseball hall of Famer Bob Gibson, Heisman trophy winners, Nile Kinnick, Johnny Rodgers and Eric Crouch, top ranked tennis player Andy Roddick, and the families of Georg and Adam Riedmann.
8. The Rueben sandwich was invented in Omaha by the chef of the former Blackstone Hotel. During a late night card game a customer told the chef he wanted a sandwich and to go make up something interesting. A classic was born.
9. In 1927 Omaha was the largest butter manufacturer in the US. Its butter was served from San Francisco to Europe.
10. Omaha has the greatest consumption of ice cream in the U.S. Also, the most people per capita.
11. The Riedmann family has had a family member work at 3 of the primary breweries that existed in Omaha: Georg at Metz, Adam at Storz and Alfred at Willow Springs. We are checking on the Falstaff plant. There also existed Krug, Fontenelle, and Jetter Breweries.
12. The Omaha Public School
system were the first to introduce the National Honor Society at Omaha
Central High School, the safety patrol we all remembering helping us cross
streets safely, and the Block Home (now known today as the McGruff House).
For more information about
other famous people with ties to Omaha go to:
Wikipedia
- Omaha
For other information about Omaha, outside our website, check out these exciting websites.
What to do in Omaha:
Visit the Greater Omaha
Convention and Visitors Bureau website for exciting information about
what to do and see in Omaha. It even has a cool search tool to see what
is going on during the time of your visit.
A trip to Omaha would not be complete without a visit to the world famous Henry Doorly Zoo. This year, Kingdoms of the Night, the world's largest nocturnal exhibit was opened to the public. It resides under the Desert Dome exhibit. Adding this new display to the other world class displays, including the Kingdom of the Seas Aquarium, the Lied Jungle, the world renowned cat complex, the Henry Doorly Zoo is easily comparable to any other zoo in the country. You have to see it to believe it!
Visit Omaha's most eclectic
area, The Historic Old Market. Located near the Riverfront, it has become
one of Omaha's jewels. A pleasure to tour day or night. You can visit
20 different restaurants, several art galleries, pubs (including a brewpub),
clothing and antique stores, and many other interesting places including
the Leahy Mall and the Heartland of America Park. Its almost a trip back
in time.
See the Herb Garden at the Omaha Botanical Gardens. When visiting Omaha take a walk in the Herb Garden and see all the engraved brick in the sidewalk with your relative's names on them. The garden is located (literally) just down the hill from where the Riedmann family elders grew up. Its not to late to have a brick with your name added to the garden!
If you are looking for a fun place to take the kids, visit the Omaha Children's Museum. The museum has many different permanent and traveling displays to keep the young old entertained for hours.
If you love planes and space travel, one of the most spectacular places to visit is the Strategic Air & Space Museum just west of Omaha. The museum is regarded as the nation's foremost facility of its kind. The museum cost over $29 million and has over 300,000 square feet of displays, including the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft ever to fly and many other aircraft. It is a truly an amazing museum showcasing our nations history in flight and defense.
www.strategicairandspace.com/home.html
Rosenblatt Stadium has never looked better. Over $20 million has been spent the past few years to renovate the 'Blatt' for the College World Series. The Omaha Royals have returned to their roots by bringing back their original name after a short period of going by the Golden Spikes. Its a great place to sit back and enjoy a game of baseball the way it was meant to be watched.
Visit Nebraska's largest and
most distinguished art museum. The museum was recently doubled in size
with the addition of an award-winning new wing. Special exhibits are generally
on display during at any given time. Check their webpage to review their
permanent collection or for their special exhibit schedule.
