[4][5] During World War II, Hastings operated the largest Naval Ammunition Depot in the United States, and for this reason was awarded the distinction of American World War II Heritage City by the National Park Service in 2023.

[7][8][9] The area was previously open plain: the Donner party passed through on its way to California in 1846 and a pioneer cemetery marker in Hastings bears an inscription taken from Tamsen Donner's journal: "The country between the Blue and the Platte is beautiful beyond compare.

The city was rebuilt between 1880 and 1890 in fireproof materials and in a more planned fashion, with characteristically ornate Victorian buildings, many designed by Charles C. Rittenhouse, the first practicing architect in Adams County and also mayor for ten years.

This period of expansion ended with the drought and agricultural depression of the 1890s; the town's population fell to 7,000 and would not reach 15,000 until 1930.

[13] Hastings saw renewed growth from 1900 to 1930, which is reflected by buildings in the Craftsman, Prairie, Colonial Revival, and American Foursquare styles.

[10]: 72 [16] Cigars lost their popularity to cigarettes between the two World Wars, and in the 1930s the Great Depression again brought the town's expansion to a halt.

[citation needed] In 1942, the Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) was constructed, initiating explosive growth: Hastings' population grew from 15,000 to 23,000 in under a year and there was a critical shortage of housing, which prompted both alteration of existing housing stock and rapid construction of new neighborhoods.

[citation needed] The NAD also significantly increased the city's African American population, which went from 70 Black residents in 1940 to more than 1,000 by 1943.

[18] Hastings still celebrates a yearly summer festival called Kool-Aid Days on the second weekend in August in honor of their city's claim to fame.

[19][20] Today, Heartwell Park and Central Hastings, two of the oldest neighborhoods, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[10]: 10  The Hastings Symphony Orchestra performs in the Chautauqua Pavilion, built in 1907 and on the National Register of Historic Places, while the Hastings Community Theatre performs in the auditorium of the former Spencer Park School, built during the housing shortage of the 1940s.

The Clarke Hotel, built in 1914 and also on the National Register of Historic Places, is now the Kensington, a home for senior citizens.

[21] On June 24, 2007, Hastings won Yahoo's Greenest City in America competition.

[23] A National Weather Service Forecast Office is located in Hastings, serving central and south-central Nebraska and six counties in north-central Kansas.

[24] Hastings has a humid continental climate (Dfa) with short, cold, and snowy winters and hot, rainy summers with mild nights.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service at station in Hastings, operating its California Zephyr daily in each direction between Chicago and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco.

Burlington Avenue is the main street running from south to north in Hastings; northward it leads to U.S. 281.

Just outside town is Adams Central Junior-Senior High School (public rural) Athletics Class C. Hastings College is a private liberal arts college, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), and founded in 1882.

[10]: 10 The Jacob Fisher Rainbow Fountain in Highland Park shoots continuously changing arrays of water jets (reaching heights of 67 feet) while green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, and blue lights illuminate the water in varying patterns.

It was invented by Edward R. Howard and became a symbol of hope during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl.

[32] The Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History is in an art deco building funded by $75,000 from the Works Progress Administration and completed in 1939.

Albert Brooking, who founded the museum in 1926 and provided it with many exhibits, including Indian relics, fossils, and the largest private collection of mounted birds in the US,[33] was buried in the basement in 1946.

[10]: 80  The museum currently houses the Lied Super Screen Theatre, McDonald Planetarium, and local and regional exhibits including the largest diorama of whooping and sandhill cranes in the world.

The Naval Ammunition Depot, constructed on 49,000 acres (200 km2) southeast of Hastings and in operation from 1942 to 1946, was the largest United States World War II naval munitions plant, encompassing over 2,200 structures valued at $71 million.

[35] The plant was reactivated in the Korean War but decommissioned between 1958 and 1966, and the site now houses a US Department of Agriculture research station, training facilities for the National Guard and Reserves, an industrial park, Central Community College, and a golf course.

The city offers recreational and leisure programs and operates the Aquacourt Water Park, the City Auditorium, Lake Hastings, Chautauqua Pavilion, Duncan Field, the Pioneer Spirit Trail, Smith Softball Complex, Brickyard Park Amphitheater, and Heartwell Lake.