Lost Omaha II: 2420 Cass Street

2420 Cass Street - Henry T. Clarke, Sr. home (1891 - c.1906); probably razed in 1965.

Henry T. Clarke, Sr.

Built in 1891 for Omaha pioneer Henry T. Clarke, the stately home at 2420 Cass Street served as a home, an institute for those fighting alcohol addition, and as a residence hall for students attending Catholic educational institutions.

Henry Clarke built several properties on the corner of 25th and Cass. His business interests and history as one of Bellevue's founding fathers and Omaha's early settlers deserves its own biography. Among his accomplishments was serving as a Supreme Court judge for Nebraska territory and being the first Mason to be raised in Nebraska territory. He lived in the house until approximately 1906 when it was sold for a boarding house.

In 1907, the home was rented to the Keeley Institute, which served as a home for recovering alcoholics. Numerous Keeley Institute branches operated around the nation, of which the Omaha was but one branch.

Keeley Institute - Omaha Sunday Bee, March 24, 1907

The Keeley Institute remained at the site until 1917 when Archbishop Harty of the Catholic church purchased the home and named it Bishop O'Connor Hall, and would house up to 50 young men who were attending the Creighton preparatory school or Creighton University. The home was briefly put on the market in 1925, though the Archdiocese opted to retain the property as a hall for students.

How long it remained O'Connor Hall is not known. Most likely, the property was acquired by eminent domain in 1965 when the expressway was planned. Today, the site is across the street from the Creighton Lied Center for the arts on the right of way for I-480/the Gerald Ford Expressway.