Omaha Travel Guide
Omaha is the largest city in the State of Nebraska, United States. It is the county seat of Douglas County.GR6 As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 390,007. According to the 2006 census estimate, Omaha's population rose to 427,872, which includes an extra population count of approximately 8,300 people by annexing the smaller city of Elkhorn. Located on the eastern edge of Nebraska, it is on the Missouri River, about 20 miles (30 km) north of the mouth of the Platte River. Omaha is the anchor of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Council Bluffs, Iowa lies directly across the Missouri River from Omaha. The city and its suburbs formed the 60th-largest metropolitan area in the United States in 2000, with an estimated population of 822,549 (2006) residing in eight counties or about 1.2 million within a 50-mile (80 km) radius.
The history of Omaha led to the nickname "Gate City" because of Omaha's centrality in the nation and access to the gold fields of Colorado. The leadership of the Omaha Claim Club included many of the city's founding fathers, many of whom received lots in Scriptown and likely never visited Sheelytown. While many of Omaha's early wealthy class were making money from the warehouses in Jobbers Canyon, madames Anna Wilson and Ada Everleigh were making a living from the crowds visiting the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition. Boss Tom Dennison compounded the city's vices in the notorious Sporting District, while others invested in the Omaha Stockyards and packinghouses. While the wealthy were building homes in Kountze Park and Dundee, many working class immigrants built homes in South Omaha, while African Americans lived in the Near North Side. Many early settlers are buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Omaha has a rich cultural background. Cultural highlights include the Joslyn Art Museum, the Durham Western Heritage Museum, the Holland Performing Arts Center, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. It was home to the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, and was the location of the winter quarters for settlers on the Mormon Trail. It has also been the location of important events in the Civil Rights Movement. It is also a business center listed as a top 10 high tech haven by Newsweek in 2001. Music in Omaha has always been important to the city, with North Omaha's music scene being historically important and in modern times, the "Omaha Sound" defining an important trend across the nation.
Crime in Omaha is comparable to other U.S. cities of similar size, with racial tension and methamphetamine use among top social issues.
