Destination Information - Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Omaha is the largest city in the State of Nebraska, United States. 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.

The city grew up on the Missouri Riverfront, with the first settlement extending from the Lone Tree Ferry crossing from Kanesville, Iowa in the early 1850s. The beginning of the city included the vigilante Omaha Claim Club, as well as the leadership of early leaders of the Nebraska Territory, of which Omaha was the capital until 1867. At the turn of the century Omaha was known as a "wide-open" city, meaning that anything went, particularly under the administration of Mayor "Cowboy Jim" Dahlman and political boss Tom Dennison from the late 1900s through the 1920s. After the lynching of Willy Brown in 1919, the city experienced a great deal of racial tension, leading to the birth of a strong civil rights movement. Omaha earned its nickname, the "Gateway City of the West", because of its central location as a transportation hub for the United States in the late 1800s.

Today Omaha has a rich cultural background, including the Joslyn Art Museum, the Durham Western Heritage Museum, the Holland Performing Arts Center, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. The city boasts headquarters for such companies as Berkshire Hathaway and Conagra, and is 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.