Color postcard (13 1/2 x 8 1/2 cm) with a view (from a drawing) of the north side of the new Douglas County Courthouse, located between 17th & 18th, Farnam and Harney Streets, Omaha, Nebraska.
In July 1908, John Latenser was hired to design Omaha's third courthouse. Architectural plans were completed in 1909 and the Columbus, Indiana, firm of Caldwell & Drake was hired to construct it. The outside walls are of Bedford stone. The courthouse is six stories high on the Harney Street side and five stories on the Farnam side. A lawn with a semi-circular walk fronts the building. Interior halls have mosaic floors and marble wainscoting. At the time it was built, the main, second and third floors housed county offices, and the fourth floor courtrooms. The top floor held the county jail. Marble stairs or four elevators provided access to all levels. Offices were finished in hardwood, and fireproof vaults preserved vital records. The Douglas County Courthouse opened October 1, 1912, and remains largely unchanged and in use to this day. Source: Wakeley, Arthur. Omaha: The Gate City and Douglas County Nebraska, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, c1917, pp 131-33
