Old Bell HQ makes register

As far as looks go, downtown Omaha's boxy, 1950s-modern Northwestern Bell Regional Headquarters may not be much.

But its placement on the National Register of Historic Places makes more of a statement of substance over style.

This summer, the 12-story building at 100 S. 19th St. earned a spot as Nebraska's youngest place recognized on the historic registry.

Christina Jansen of Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, who wrote the building's nomination, said the Northwestern Bell headquarters was significant for its economic impact during its era.

In the post-World War II boom, the building represented Northwestern Bell Telephone Co.'s rapid expansion in the telecommunications industry. At the time, the regional headquarters was downtown's first new office building in 25 years.

“It made such an impact on the Omaha — particularly downtown — economy,” Jansen said.

Now there are hopes the building, which currently sits empty, will make a new impact on downtown.

The building's owner has plans to refurbish the building into upscale apartments with commercial space on the first floor.

With the new historic designation, the building will be eligible for federal tax credits that could help fund a renovation.

Vern Dolleck, managing partner of the Omaha company that has owned the building since 2002, said he wants to make the Northwestern Bell building a “viable asset to downtown” and has talked with potential investors and others about redeveloping the building.

But given the economy and tight financing for development projects, he said a project might take some time to get started.

“Hopefully it's going to be a good project,” Dolleck said.

Although other Northwestern Bell buildings sit on the block — including a 15-story office built in 1918 — the historic designation applies only to the building that runs along Dodge Street between 19th and 20th Streets. A big microwave tower, which stands tall on downtown Omaha's skyline, sits atop a neighboring building.

As a “Baby Bell” operating under AT&T, Northwestern Bell served a five-state area.

The headquarters was built in two halves; the first completed in 1957, the second in 1964.

According to the registry nomination, Northwestern Bell favored a simplified wall design in fitting with the times and rejected traditional ornamentation.

The nomination calls the architectural style a “stylized modern aesthetic” and a functional fit for the firm's philosophy of providing service at a low cost.

At the time, Omaha's commercial and housing construction was pushing into the suburbs, including the Western Electric plant, an AT&T subsidiary, that opened in Millard in 1958.

But the Northwestern Bell headquarters helped usher in a time of corporate construction downtown. Soon after the company started construction in 1957, Northern Natural Gas started a 15-story addition, according to the nomination. By 1969, Woodmen Tower opened.

“Development of the ‘block that talk built' provided a tangible new focus for Omaha's civic core,” the nomination says.

Contact the writer:

444-1128, jeff.robb@owh.com

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