From the bottom of First National Tower in Omaha
Photo: Collinulness / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Audio walking tour

Omaha Audio Walking Tour

River City Rhythms: Walk Omaha's Past and Present

Stops
22
Core walk
18 of 22 stops within 1.5 mi of the center
Farthest stop
1.8 mi from the center
Start
Old Market
22 stops GPS-triggered audio No app download Free to start

Twenty-two stops walk Omaha between the Old Market's brick-paved streets and Creighton's Jesuit campus. The Old Market's 10th-to-13th-Street grid opens the route; the Durham Museum, housed in Omaha's former Union Station, carries the railroad chapter. The 1906 Neo-Renaissance J. L. Brandeis and Sons Store Building, the Farnam Building, and the 1928 Paxton Hotel line downtown blocks. The Orpheum Theater (begun as the Creighton Theater in 1895) and the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center (a Moorish atmospheric house once called The Riviera) carry the stage history. Gene Leahy Mall and Heartland of America Park open onto the Missouri River; the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge crosses to Council Bluffs. The 45-story First National Bank Tower (Nebraska's tallest) and the 1917 First National Bank Building (Omaha's very first high-rise) frame the modern skyline. Trinity Cathedral and the Joslyn Art Museum close downtown. The Gold Coast Historic District gathers Joslyn Castle, the Brandeis Millard House (Albert Kahn's only state work), Gottlieb Storz House, and St. John's Parish at Creighton.

Highlights

  • Creighton University

    Jesuits founded Creighton University here in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1878. It was founded by the Society of Jesus and established as Creighton College on September 2, 1878 through a gift from Mary Lucretia Creighton, who stipulated in her will that a school be created in memory of her husband, Omaha businessman Edward Creighton.

  • From the bottom of First National Tower in Omaha
    First National Bank Tower

    Cast-in-place concrete carries the First National Bank Tower up 45 stories and 634 feet, the tallest completed building in Omaha and all of Nebraska. Rising to 634 feet (193 m) and 45 stories, this building became the tallest in Omaha and the state when it overtook the nearby 30-story WoodmenLife Tower upon its completion.

  • Joslyn Castle, located at 3902 Davenport Street in Omaha, Nebraska; seen from the south.
    Joslyn Castle

    Lynhurst is the official name and Joslyn Castle the local nickname for the 35-room Scottish Baronial home George and Sarah Joslyn built in 1903 at 3902 Davenport Street. This Scottish Baronial mansion was built in 1903; its 35 rooms rise across four stories.

  • Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha, NE): Joslyn Building & Hawks Pavilion, October 2024
    Joslyn Art Museum

    Sarah H. Joslyn opened the Joslyn Art Museum in 1931 in memory of her husband George, and it remains the largest fine arts museum in Nebraska. This building began as Sarah H. Joslyn’s vision; she opened it in 1931 in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn.

  • View of the Old Market Neighborhood of Omaha— Nebraska's largest city. The old market was just that— a series of farmers'markets, butchershops, and the like. Many of the buildings are standing and have been upgraded or given new uses.
    Old Market

    Brick-paved streets from the turn of the 20th century run through the Old Market, the Downtown Omaha neighborhood between South 10th Street and 13th Street, Farnam Street to the north and Jackson Street to the south. This is a place of restaurants, art galleries and upscale shopping, where the feel of an older city is preserved: brick-paved streets dating from the turn of the 20th century, horse-drawn carriages and covered sidewalks in some areas.

All 22 stops

How it works

1

Open on your phone

No download. Works in Safari or Chrome.

2

Start walking

Head toward any historic stop. No fixed route.

3

Audio plays itself

Walk within range of a stop and the story begins.

Open the Omaha tour →

Three stops free. No account needed.

Gear for walking Omaha

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