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Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge

1888 establishments in Iowa1888 establishments in Nebraska1968 disestablishments in Iowa1968 disestablishments in NebraskaBridges completed in 1888
Bridges in Omaha, NebraskaBridges in Pottawattamie County, IowaBridges over the Missouri RiverBuildings and structures demolished in 1968Buildings and structures in Council Bluffs, IowaDemolished bridges in the United StatesDemolished buildings and structures in Omaha, NebraskaFormer toll bridges in IowaFormer toll bridges in NebraskaInterstate vehicle bridges in the United StatesOmaha Ak-Sar-Ben KnightsRoad bridges in IowaRoad bridges in Nebraska
Douglas Street Bridge July 1914
Douglas Street Bridge July 1914

The Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge was a Whipple through truss bridge that was the first road bridge to cross the Missouri River connecting Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was replaced in 1966 by the Interstate 480 girder bridge.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge
Civil War General Grenvllle Dodge Memorial Bridge, Council Bluffs

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Wikipedia: Ak-Sar-Ben BridgeContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 41.2598 ° E -95.921 °
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Address

Civil War General Grenvllle Dodge Memorial Bridge

Civil War General Grenvllle Dodge Memorial Bridge
68012 Council Bluffs
Iowa, United States
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Douglas Street Bridge July 1914
Douglas Street Bridge July 1914
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Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area
Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area

The Omaha metropolitan area, officially known as the Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is an urbanized region in Nebraska and Iowa in the American Midwest, centered on the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The region consists of eight counties (five in Nebraska and three in Iowa), and extends over a large area on both sides of the Missouri River. Covering 4,407 square miles (11,410 km2) and with a population of 994,604 (2020), the Omaha metropolitan area is the most populous in both Nebraska and Iowa (although the Des Moines-West Des Moines MSA is the largest MSA centered entirely in Iowa), and is the 58th most populous MSA in the United States. The 2003 revision to metropolitan area definitions was accompanied by the creation of micropolitan areas and Combined Statistical Areas. Fremont, in Dodge County, Nebraska, was designated a micropolitan area. The Omaha–Council Bluffs–Fremont Combined Statistical Area has a population of 1,058,125 (2020 estimate). Approximately 1.5 million people reside within the Greater Omaha area, within a 50 mi (80 km) radius of Downtown Omaha. The region is locally referred to as "Big O", "the Metro Area", "the Metro", or simply "Omaha". The core counties of Douglas and Sarpy in Nebraska and Pottawattamie in Iowa contain large urbanized areas; the other five counties consist primarily of rural communities. The larger Omaha-Council Bluffs-Fremont, NE-IA Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the Omaha-Council Bluffs MSA as well as the separate Fremont, NE Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of the entirety of Dodge County, Nebraska.

Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge

The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is a 3,000-foot (910 m) footbridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. It opened on September 28, 2008.Interest in a landmark bridge across the Missouri River arose after Omaha and Council Bluffs began replacing their older crossings with girder bridges which do not have towers (most notably the Ak-Sar-Ben Bridge). The bridge is named after former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, who secured $18 million of federal funding for the bridge in 2000.The bridge was redesigned in 2004 after the lowest bid for the project was $44 million. In May 2006, a final cable-stayed bridge design by Kansas City engineering and architectural firm HNTB was selected for the bridge. The $22 million bid included two 200-foot (61 m) towers and a clearance of 52 feet (16 m) above the river. Groundbreaking for construction of the bridge occurred on October 26, 2006.The bridge is north of the Interstate 480 (I-480) girder bridge and connects the Port of Omaha's Miller Landing to One Renaissance Center in the former Dodge Park Playland in Council Bluffs. The lights on the bridge were donated by Gallup, which has their corporate headquarters and Gallup University located on the Missouri River adjacent the Omaha landing of the bridge. The bridge lights include programmable controls that can display multiple colors in the large lights at the top of the towers and alter brightness and timing of the lights that run the entire length of the bridge. The lights were officially unveiled in a ceremony on September 13, 2008. The bridge lights were turned on while the Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight" was played over a PA system. The event was accompanied by fireworks. Due to safety concerns prompted by the 2011 Missouri River floods, the entrance on the Iowa side was closed on July 2 of that year. It reopened September 3, 2011.In 2015, the bridge joined Twitter as @BobTBridge, an effort by the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Herndon House
Herndon House

The Herndon House, later known as the International Hotel and then the Union Pacific Headquarters, was an early hotel located at 9th and Farnam Streets in present-day Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1858 by Omaha pioneer Dr. George L. Miller along with several associates, it was financed by the sale of city-donated land and a $16,000 loan. It was used as the headquarters building of the Union Pacific Railroad for more than 50 years; it was demolished in 1922. The hotel was originally named for Lieutenant William Lewis Herndon of the U.S. Navy whose exploration of the Amazon River in the early 1850s captivated the United States. Billed as the best hotel in town, it was one of the finest between Chicago, Illinois and San Francisco, California. The building had more than 100 rooms and featured a fine menu for visitors, including clams and oysters, as well as local game. Numbered among the guests were political figures, soldiers, railroad men, Indian chiefs, river-boat men, and ranchers. They included William T. Sherman, Major General Grenville M. Dodge, James E. Boyd, David Butler, Alvin Saunders, General John Milton Thayer, Brigham Young, Thomas C. Durant, P. T. Barnum, J. Sterling Morton and P. W. Hitchcock. In 1858 Logan Fontenelle, Joseph LaFlesche, and a contingent including Standing Hawk, No Knife, Young Crane, Little Hill and others stayed at the Herndon for several days, bound for Washington, D.C. to see President James Buchanan. A. J. McCune, one of the early operators of the hotel, also ran the Douglas House, another early Omaha hotel. In 1860 the dining room of the Hendron House hosted for the first dramatic performance in Omaha, with a borrowed bolt of muslin for a curtain. Julia Dean Hayne, a leading actress of the time, played the title role. Responding to President Abraham Lincoln's call for soldiers to fight in the Civil War, on May 18, 1861 the newly appointed Nebraska Territory governor, Alvin Saunders, issued a proclamation calling for the immediate raising and equipping of a regiment. The men were mustered into Companies A and B, and were sworn in on the lawn south of Herndon House. In 1862 General James Craig stationed the headquarters of the Military District of Nebraska at the hotel. This placement is credited with eventually leading to the placement of the Omaha Quartermaster Depot, Fort Omaha, and the Department of the Platte in the city. On December 2, 1863 the hotel hosted a massive celebration, including a banquet and ball, for the first construction related to the development of the First transcontinental railroad, which began in Omaha. By 1868 the building was billed as the International Hotel. In May 1867 eccentric railroad promoter George Francis Train was staying at the Herndon House when a windstorm hit the building. Train requested an African American steward in the hotel to stand with his back to the window he was sitting by, fearing the wind would blow it in and expecting the steward to block the glass with his own body. The hotel steward objected, and Train became angry and declared he would build a better hotel within 60 days. That same day Train bought the lot across the street from the Herndon House and secured a builder. Train asked how much it would cost to construct a three-story, 120 room establishment, and the builder replied $1000 a day. Train said, "Show me you are worth it. I will be back to Omaha in 60 days and expect to sleep in the building." The Cozzens House Hotel was finished upon his return.