Saturday, June 5, 2010

The Magic City


A few months ago, I moved to a house on 13th Street right near the South Omaha bridge. In a matter of just a few weeks, I fell in love with this part of town. There's just so much character and revitalization everywhere you look. The people of South Omaha have changed over the years, from the Czech and Irish immigrants of the early 20th century to the Hispanic immigrants of today, but the spirit of the community continues to thrive.

Today begins a new project for myself, an attempt to document the neighborhoods, details and people that make up South Omaha. It'll be a learning experience for me. I've grown used to traveling hundreds of miles to find potential photographs. Now I've confined myself to a space little more than eight miles north to south and even less from east to west. While something like ninety-three was understandably superficial in nature, this subject requires much more depth to be successful. I'm looking forward to the challenge (and the frustration).

The old South Omaha bridge was demolished in February. Last week, the new bridge opened for the first time. While the new bridge doesn't have the charm of the old one, it's bound to be a lot safer. The photograph above shows what little remains of the old bridge alongside the new construction.

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