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Onuht'i two busiest streets. Sixteenth and Farnam Streets,
form at their intersection Omaha's busiest corner, "Sixteenth
and Farnam." Hundreds of visitors think first of this corner
when they think oi Omaha. The large photo shows the view
looking west from Sixteenth and Farnam. The small picture
how the same street intersection back in the '70s, when
the old high school was Omaha's most prominent building.
VP 1
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All photographs In this soriss donated
to the merchant of Omaha by Louis
R. Bostwick, commercial photofrapher.
Baron Huysmans drew straight lines
with bold strokes across the map of
Paris, and changed the crooked, nar
row thoroughfares of the French capi
tal into broad avenues, giving easy ac
cess from the center to the periphery of
defensive forts.'
His lines were no straighter nor bolder
than the planners of Omaha drew when
they plotted the present city. Maybe,
if they had known more of city build
ing, the plat would not have contained
so many right angles, and much of the
despair of the engineers who have
come after them might have been
spared, for some of the thoroughfares
would have followed the contour of the
land.
This burden imposed by the projectors
on their successors brought some ad
vantage in the ease with which
Omaha's streets can be located. The
visitor today can form little notion of
the topography of Omaha of 50 years ago, when the late John G.
Saxe apostrophized its streets in that ironic poem of his, which
begins:
Halt ever been to Omaha,
Where rolls the broad Missouri down
And four strong horses scarce can draw
An empty wagon through the town?
Mr. Saxe lived to see some change, but he did not abandon his
first charge. Omaha may have deserved it then, but now 27,000
home-owned and several thousand visiting automobiles daily roll
over more than 400 miles of well graded perfectly paved streets
in the city, while miles on miles of brick paved roads lead into
the country. It is possible now to cross the county from north
to south on well paved highways, and in a short time the brick
pavement will be so extended that the road from east to west
across the county will be similarly completed. In the latest pav
ing program provisions were made for laying brick on concrete
on 135 miles of county roads. The Lincoln Highway and other
great routes of automobile travel concentrate here, and bring to '
Omaha thousands of tourists each year, who find here every ac
commodation and convenience. .
The Omaha Bee has been a leader in the movement for good
roads, believing that in facility for communication as well as in
reduced cost of transportation the people would be more than
repaid for expense entailed by permanent construction.
Business men of the community, particularly the retailers, have
united in support of the good roads program, because it made ac
cessible to the residents of the surrounding region the advantages
offered by city stores. An intelligent, unselfish interest has
prompted their action, and the result has been beneficial to all. ,
How much these good roads have contributed to the growth and .
development of the city may not be estimated, for it is incalcu
lable. What is certain is that many hundreds of buyers come to
Omaha everj day, traveling many miles by automobile, that they
may share in the bargains that are offered here. Marketing is
greatly facilitated by the same means, and thousands of head
of live stock are hauled to the Omaha stock yards every week,
because the combination of autotruck and good roads means
money saved to the farmer.
The transcontinental air mail passes through Omaha, and has
aided in arousing a city-wide interest in flying as a new mode
of travel. The Air Congress, held here last fall, interested the
entire country in Omaha's flying activities.
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The benefits of ready access, naturally are shared in by all, and
increase the pre-eminence of 0naha as the market for a wonder
region of agricultural wealth. Elxperience has taught the people
of this region that Omaha is a good place to buy as well as to
sell. A ready market for produce, with ample accommodations
for all the farmer has to offer, and the presence of well furnished
and perfectly equipped stores, where an endless variety of mer
chandise is presented for critical inspection and careful selec
tion, makes a combination that is just about what tKe doctor or
dered for doing business on the modern basis of efficiency plus.
The Omaha Bee studiously endeavors to serve both buyer and
seller in this matter, by carrying the fullest of market quotations
on all the farmer or stock raiser has to sell, and acquainting him
in a definite way as to where he best can get the things he want!
to buy. This is a great part of the mission of modern newspaper. ,
whose first purpose is to serve the community.
This is the Eighth pf a series of advertisements on Omaha, "The Retail Market' dedicated
to the merchants of Omaha by The Omaha Morning Bee, THE EVENING BEE
Omaha the
in District of
Nebraska
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