Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska
Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska, United States offers visitors history, sports, nature and cultural experiences.
A 2003 study by a Creighton University economist estimated that the CWS added $33.8 million to the city's economy that year.
[7] The Omaha Driving Park hosted the first official performance of the Buffalo Bill's Wild West in 1883, with eight thousand attendees.
[8] In 1898 the city hosted more than 1,000,000 visitors from across the United States at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, a world's fair that lasted for more than half the year.
The Westroads, Crossroads, Village Pointe and Oakview Malls offer a wide variety of shopping, while the Qwest Center Omaha is a vast multipurpose facility.
El Museo Latino in South Omaha and the Dreamland Ballroom are cultural bookmarks in the city's most diverse communities, while events such as Native Omaha Days, the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Day of the Dead and many other holidays celebrate the city's broad racial and ethnic roots.
A hands-on science gallery and television studio and traveling exhibits are designed to help children discover how the world works and learn through play.
Highlights include works by Lorenzo di Credi, El Greco, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Hart Benton along with American masters Grant Wood, Jackson Pollock, Dale Chihuly and George Segal.
The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts features three galleries, including studio space and housing for artists chosen from applicants all over the world.
The Holland Center specializes in events requiring a more acoustical environment, including performances by the Omaha Symphony.
[16] According to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, other notable cultural attractions in Omaha include the Artists Cooperative Gallery, Czechoslovak Museum, Loves Jazz and Arts Center, Lozier IMAX Theater, Omaha Community Playhouse and the historic Orpheum Theater.
The Omaha Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center seats up to 9,300 people for sporting events and up to 10,960 for concerts.
[21] The Omaha Driving Park hosted the first official performance of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show in 1883, with eight thousand attendees.
[8] In 1898 the city hosted more than 1,000,000 visitors from across the United States at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, a world's fair that lasted for more than half the year.
Other notable historic attractions in Omaha include the General Crook House at Fort Omaha, Boys Town, Florence Mill, Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens, Joslyn Castle, Lewis and Clark Landing, Malcolm X Birthsite, Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters, Nebraska Jewish Historical Society and Riekes Museum, The Rose Theater, and Freedom Park, home to the USS Hazard and the USS Marlin, both World War II-era vessels.
They include a new "Butterfly and Insect Pavilion," Scott Aquarium, "Orangutan Forest" and "Hubbard Gorilla Valley."
The Amazing Pizza Machine is a national award-winning family entertainment center located in the Millard neighborhood.
The Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari, a drive-through park with scenic prairies and wetlands that features dozens of native North American animals including bison, elk, cranes and new Wolf Canyon overlook along with tram rides and a visitor center.
Schramm is a unique geologic and botanical area along the Platte River valley, and is home to the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium.
Across the Missouri River from Omaha in Council Bluffs, Iowa are the historic General Dodge House, the 1885 Pottawattamie County Jail, Kanesville Tabernacle, and the RailsWest Railroad Museum.
[32] In turn, tourism in Omaha supports local government, as one recent study found that $1,000,000 in cultural tourism specifically creates approximately $83,000 in state and local taxes as well as supporting 32 jobs for the metropolitan area, which in turn leads to additional tax revenue for government.
