Omaha MidCentury Modern

A Landmarked Omaha building! Constructed in 1942 and designed by Omaha architect Rheinholdt Henning, the concrete block apartment buildings represent a late example of the Prairie style of architecture.  Each building is two stories in height with a low pitched hipped roof and wide over-hanging eaves.  The central entrances feature and enclosed vestibule on the first floor with narrow band windows.  The second floor features open glass vestibles with multi-paned windows in simple geometric forms.  An integral planter is loacted on the left side of the entrance on each building .  The strong horizontal lines of yhe buildings is reinforced with a second floor belt course projecting overhang above the main entrances and casement windows.

The Selby Apartment are significant at the local level under National Register Criteria A for their association with Social History.  The buildings were constructed with restriction imposed by the World War II Production Board, which nation-wide, monitored and regulated building construction according to necessity or contribution to the war effort.  War workers or military personnel were given preferential status as renters when the buildings were completed in 1942.  Appropriate to its period of construction, the Marcy Street unit contains a former air raid shelter in the basement.

I thought Omaha had great neon but Portland Oregon is filled with great old neon signs.  I didn’t have the time, a car (used public transit) or a tri pod to capture this neon at night.  However, Portland must clearly be the neon capital of the US or at the very least the North West.  Look at the 7 Up building in the photo.  I didn’t see this until I got home and looked at the photo.  The curving corner of the building almost looks like it has 2 eyes and a yawning mouth.  Wonderful old guilding very close to the triangle made by Burnside Street and Sandy Blvd in NE Portland.