Northeast view of the Jewell Building; the current location of the Great Plains Black History Museum.
The Great Plains Black History Museum is located in the Jewell Building, at the heart of Omaha’s historic Black district. Since the 1920s, the Jewell Building has served as the center of business and culture for the surrounding Black community. During its prime, it housed the Dreamland Ballroom—a dance hall that showcased jazz entertainers well into the 1960s. Legendary musicians like Nat King Cole, Dizzy Gillespie and Ray Charles graced the ballroom’s stage, making this Omaha landmark one of the hippest jazz joints in the country. [1]
Though Dreamland Ballroom closed long ago, the Jewell Building continues to be a center of Black history. The Great Plains Black History Museum curates exhibitions of collected and preserved artifacts that tell the stories of the Black American experience in the U.S. Midwest. To learn more, visit gpblackhistorymuseum.org.
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