Lost Omaha III: the Hamilton Apartments at 2408 Farnam Street

Sen John Thurston

Little is known of the relatively short life of the Hamilton Apartments, began in 1904 at 24th and Farnam. The lot was originally that of John M. Thurston, who served as assistant attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad and as United States Senator from March 4, 1895 to March 4, 1901. While the Hamilton Brothers owned the Thurston house, known as "Thorwald," construction of the Hamilton proceeded without razing the house. The Hamilton Brothers sold the Thurston house in August, 1907 which was subsequently moved to 27th and California Streets (which, had the house survived that long, would have been razed in about 1965 for the North Freeway). The Hamilton Brothers had previously built Thorwald Apartments at Park Avenue and Harris Streets.(1)

John Thurston's "Thorwald" at 2408 Farnam, c. 1885.

EDIT: The Thurston property was acquired by the Hamilton Brothers in March 1904 and the original first four stories of the Hamiton were built shortly thereafter (March 16, 1904, Omaha World-Herald). Excavation and construction began in June, 1907 for what was known as the Hamilton Annex to the north at 210 North 24th Street (June 23, 1907, Omaha World-Herald). This second apartment, built of reinforced concrete, would be 75 bachelor apartments, each with a separate bathroom, would have a cafe and rathskeller in the basement (June 30, 1907 and February 17, 1907, Omaha World-Herald). The original construction of the first four stories of the Hamilton did not necessitate the removal of the Thurston house, which was moved in 1907. (March 20, 1904, Omaha World-Herald)

May, 1910 - Hamilton Apartments
2408 Farnam Street

The first four stories were built in 1904, with the second four stories built in 1909. Suites ran to as many as 9 rooms, renting from between $140 to $150/month to as few as one room and a bathroom for bachelors, renting for $25/month. The building was designed by John Latenser, Sr. (2)

The apartment was renovated in about 1937, removing the cornice, and at least by the photos, adding a floor. The Hamilton operated as a traditional hotel and continued to offer 1 or 2 room apartments.

May 30, 1937 Omaha World-Herald

It is hard to pinpoint any direct action that led to the apartment declining in popularity, though one could surmise that the city simply continued to grow further and further west, leaving the building just another older, increasingly out-of-date apartment. By the 1920s, the Hamilton was referred to as the Hamilton Hotel, though it appears to continue to cater to some permanent residents through the 1960s.

Hotel Hamilton in 1941

By the 1960s, the hotel received newspaper attention for burglaries and code violations. According to the Omaha World-Herald, a December 1976 three-alarm fire was caused by a cigarette dropped in bed by a smoker. Among the residents, described by the paper as "the down and out," one resident died in the May 12th fire. A fireman died of a heart attack putting out a subsequent fire a week later at the hotel. The building was closed to paying residents, though transients would break in to sleep in the building. Two earlier fires in 1975 led to inspections, resulting in 16 violations. Owner Douglas Dietrich spent "thousands of dollars" correcting those problems, though adjacent business owners continued to complain of wine and whiskey bottles being thrown about by persons congregating near the hotel.(3)

December 27, 1976 - aftermath of fires which left two dead

After some legal wrangling, Judge Samuel Caniglia dissolved a restraining order that had blocked the razing of the building.(4) After delays from Assocated Wrecking Company - and another fire at the partially razed structure - the building was finally razed in June, 1977.(5)

The site of the Hamilton Hotel is a parking lot today, but the area is undergoing a renaissance of sorts again. The Highline apartments have been built in the old Northern Natural Gas building at 2223 Dodge Street, and a new apartment building is being built to the southeast on Douglas Street. Meanwhile, a $17 million, five-story, 132 room hotel is going up on the northeast corner of 24th and Farnam, where another hotel used to stand. Across the street, the Junction Apartments were recently developed in what used to be a pharmacy and bar.Time was not kind to the Hamilton Apartments, but who knows what the future holds for this site as downtown Omaha becomes as popular a place to live in 2016 as it was in 1909.

24th and Farnam (courtesy of Google Earth)

(1) August 14, 1907, Omaha World-Herald
(2) December 12, 1909, Omaha World-Herald
(3) December 27, 1976, Omaha World-Herald
(4) May 26, 1977, Omaha World-Herald
(5) June 15, 1977, Omaha World-Herald and June 10, 1977, Omaha World-Herald