The neighborhood of Hartman Addition or 16th and William streets is a close neighbor to the well-known Little Bohemia neighborhood on South 13th Street. Little Bohemia was founded in the late 1870s by the Kountze family. That neighborhood is a predominantly Czech area with some Italian and German families intermixed due to the proximity to Little Italy and St. Joseph Catholic Parish, which was a German majority church. Sixteenth and William, or Hartman Addition, was also a predominantly Czech neighborhood, with Italian and German influence. This community was established just after Little Bohemia in the 1890s. Overall, Hartman Addition grew on labor from the industrial areas and railroad yards to the north, in what is now the Old Market, as well as the packing house jobs of South Omaha.

The Hartman Addition depended greatly on the streetcar line that went down 16th Street, from Vinton Street in the South to Florence in the North. This public transportation system fueled economic growth along 16th Street, generally, and in Hartman Addition, specifically, and connected both the south side and north side of the city with downtown. With the rise of car culture and suburbanization in the post-WWII period, many white ethnic residents began to flee traditional inner-city neighborhoods like Hartman Addition for the suburbs. The streetcar system began to decline and the 16th Street line was halted for good in 1951, dealing a major blow to the Hartman Addition. These changes were further exacerbated by the decline of the packing industry to the south and the industrial areas to the north. With many businesses that relied on foot traffic and the need for services near homes, the intersection became increasingly abandoned in the 1950s and 1960s.

A 2019 6.4 minute video with interviews of Mary Jo Pedersen and Charlie Miller who both worked in the area for their uncles, who owned Spic n Span Cleaners and Laundry. They share the history of what the neighborhood used to look like and their thoughts on what could revitalize the area.

The building at 1261 S. 16th St., which is made of wood and stone and painted a light tan color, was built in the 1890s and originally co-owned by Frank J. Kotera and Joseph J. Sloup, who established the Kotera & Sloup grocery store, which was a big part of the community in its hey-day. During the early-20th century, small grocers were much more prevalent than the large chain stores that dominate today. Each neighborhood had a grocery store within walking distance or on the streetcar line to serve local people. Kotera & Sloup sold a wide range of produce and other food products and was a good complement to the pharmacy across the street, which was owned by the Beranek family. Next door was a bar that was an important gathering place for people in the neighborhood. As young and old came and went, they would always pass by the grocery store.

Frank Kotera was held in great esteem in the community because he and his partner always gave to local people in need. In fact, during the Great Depression, when the store itself was forced to close, Kotera still gave food away to struggling community members. According to his family, they even got frustrated with Frank at times because they were going without while he was donating food to the needy in his neighborhood. Kotera also distributed food to children at Boys Town with Fr. Flanagan.

Frank Kotera died on June 29, 1942. At the time of his death, the Kotera and Sloup Partnership was one of the oldest business partnerships in Nebraska. In the 1950s, Kotera and Sloup was sold and renamed, “Save ‘N’ Have.” It continued to serve the local community until the 1980s when the grocery store went out of business and an antique store filled the space.

This building was certainly a victim of the declining population of the area, as people increasingly moved to the suburbs, as well as the rise of car culture and the decline and ultimate end of the streetcar system in the 1950s. In addition, the space was also undoubtedly impacted by big-box retailers, their lower prices and larger selections.

The photo below includes the families of Frank J. Kotera and Joseph J. Sloup who both ran the Kotera & Sloup grocery store together. They were always active in their community and gave food to people in need for free.

The building on 1263 S. 16th St. was constructed in the 1890s, as white ethnic immigrants were coming to the city in large numbers to work in the nearby packing industry. Like many other early buildings in the area, it was a two-story structure with a business on the first floor and housing on the second story. Many small houses are located nearby and the sidewalks in this community are wide and well-lit. For most of its existence, the space was occupied by a restaurant or bar that served the local working-class community as a place to get together with family, friends and co-workers and sometimes discuss issues. In the early years, the bar was owned by the Metz family and was called the Metz Brewery Saloon. The saloon sold food, alcohol and treats. Fred Metz was the primary owner, while other family members owned stock in the company. His son, Fred Metz, Jr. was also a big help at the saloon. In 1931, during Prohibition, the business was ordered to close by the police because it sold alcohol illegally. After Prohibition ended, the bar reopened and continued to thrive along with the neighborhood surrounding it. After Fred Metz died on Feb. 8, 1937, the bar was sold to Anton Frank Holub, who changed the name to the Holub Restaurant. Later, another bar called Ace and Ann’s set up shop in the building. In its heyday, a grocery store operated next door and several other small businesses filled other spaces nearby.

As the surrounding community has declined in recent decades, it has become increasingly difficult for businesses to succeed in the area. After lying vacant for a number of years, the original building at 1263 S. 16th St. was torn down in 2018 and is now an empty lot. There isn’t one clear explanation for why the neighborhood declined, but many. In the 1950s, the streetcar system, which led many people to this neighborhood, was discontinued. In the 1970s, the stockyards and packinghouses that had employed many of the local residents began to close. Many people that lived nearby began moving away to the suburbs. As these and other changes set in, businesses closed, leaving behind only fond memories of the people who grew up in the area.

This artifact is an Omaha World-Herald article from when this business was ordered to close because of Prohibition. It was important because it shows that Prohibition didn’t just affect one part of the country, it affected places like Omaha.

In 2019, there’s a parking lot where this building once stood. The lot has stood vacant since the settlement house was demolished in 1964. The building that the lot belongs to seems to have been built in the 1970s or 80s. There is grass and mulch with flowers surrounding the lot and some trees to the right. This parking lot belongs to a Catholic charity called the Juan Diego Center. While no longer a settlement house, it still serves the community as a charity.

For much of its early existence, 1422 William St. was home to the Swoboda Bakery, owned by Frank J. Swoboda. The structure was built in 1889 by Joseph Dworak. The building, made with red brick and green trim around its three doors and multiple windows, is larger than most of the structures nearby. The top half was used as living quarters, while the bottom was for business. Swoboda Bakery occupied the space until the end of WWII in 1945. From the late-1940s through the 1960s, the building housed a plumbing business, a repair shop and a carpet service, among other tenants. In the 1970s and 1980s, as the neighborhood went into sharp decline, the structure stood vacant.

The building alone is fascinating, but the original occupants had interesting and dramatic stories, as well. For example, Frank J. Swoboda had two daughters, Rose and Alice. While the two daughters were out on a double date at Peony Park in 1931, Rose was shot in the ankle by her ex-boyfriend who wanted her back. Rose had refused to get back together with the man, so he attempted to shoot her new date, but hit her instead. On a more humorous note, in 1937, Frank sold out his “delicious rye bread” (500 loaves) in one day. When he went upstairs to cook dinner at the end of the day, he realized that he did not have any bread to go with his family’s meal. As a result, he had to go buy bread from a competitor’s bakery in the area. The Swoboda family was also active in the community and sponsored a place called “Cosmo Club,” which held social events and raised money for community causes. The Swobodas also donated money to the Red Cross Flood Relief.

In the end, the businesses housed in this building were ultimately a casualty of the streetcar ending in the 1940s, the movement of large numbers of people moving to the suburbs and the decline of industry to the north and south of the area. In 2019, as some of the surrounding neighborhoods, like “Little Bohemia,” experience revitalization, perhaps that renewed vitality might ultimately reach this neighborhood. If so, maybe a business could open again at 1422 William St. and attract a new, young crowd and be sustainable for years to come.

The Beranek pharmacy opened on 1402 S. 16th St. in 1889 by Stanley A. Beranek. The outside of the pharmacy is made of reddish-pink wood and includes a wood sign that stretches above the top of the roof. The front of the building has four windows for the display. In 2019, it is a run-down residential building.

During the early part of the 20th Century, pharmacists were more than just the person your doctor called to fill a prescription. Pharmacists back then had the main purpose of being closer to a doctor, particularly in working-class communities where local people could not always afford to see the doctor. Instead, they often visited the local pharmacist, described their ailment and the pharmacist would suggest a remedy. In addition to being an important professional figure in his neighborhood, Beranek was also a prominent and generous member of his community beyond that. He was active in his church, where he had perfect attendance at Sunday services for 46 years, and helped raise $1223 with a group of other pharmacists to give to help build the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Omaha.

Stanley Beranek, who died in 1935, served as his neighborhood pharmacist for 37 years. When he retired in 1926, he passed on his practice and store to his son, Stanley C. Beranek, who continued the business until 1960. The 1960s were a time of decline for the neighborhood, making it increasingly difficult for local businesses to survive. With the move of many residents to the suburbs after WWII, the decline of industry in South Omaha and to the north in what is today the Old Market, and the loss of the streetcar on 16th Street in the 1940s, it became harder and harder to get the foot traffic necessary to bring people into the store. After the pharmacy closed, it was converted into a residential home, which it functions as until this day.

This artifact from the Omaha World-Herald shows the official closing of the Beranek pharmacy after 71 years of operation. This artifact is important because it marks the end of the pharmacy and the decline of the Hartman Addition neighborhood.

2019 MIHV Project