Miss Cassette received some pressing news early today from dear friends in the Elmwood-Aksarben Neighborhood Association. The Mayberry demo has officially begun. (See Mysteries of Omaha: 5120 Mayberry Street.) Although Mayberry neighbors previously reported they thought they would be notified when the tree crews were coming in, apparently that was not so. At least the people I spoke with did not know this was The Day. When Miss Cassette entered the scene with magnifying glass in hand, it looked like the tree removal company’s focus was just on clearing the Lanphier property today.
If you live in this part of town, please keep us updated. To join the conversation, please click on the header title to enable comments. Thank you, friends.
Ugh! I was going to look around and see if I could get some photos while it was still all intact. I live about 5-6 blocks away to the north and west and had no idea this little area existed. Mayberry has all sorts of funkiness around town. Especially east of thee – like 46th or so.
Do it! Go there now, if you have time.
Took some shots yesterday. Might have to go back and get some more. https://flic.kr/p/EEVVxB
One small consolation, maybe it’s too early for any birds to have nested in the trees yet…
What a shame to lose such a beautiful and unique piece of history, and with what seems like a lot of behind-closed-doors shenanigans. The business of declaring an area “blighted” to artificially lower property values and moving an elderly homeowner out of state so as to sell the house without his knowledge is especially despicable. I hope the next hidden gem you stumble across meets a better fate . . . like you buying it !
Oh what a lovely thought! Thank you for your comment. I do treasure these.
I have lived in Omaha since 1956 and my brother live at 51st or 52 and Mayberry back in the late 50’s and early 60’s and I never know about this house. After living there he lived just south of Pacific and north of Levenworth on 51st Ave so still in the same area and I have been over there time after time and never ever saw this or even heard of it. Very interesting story. Love stories about history of the city.
Thank you. I truly appreciate your comment. We are all, apparently, kindred souls.
Thank you for your kind words.
I see you have a photo of the kitchen and the old advertisements for help. The photo shows the entrance to the kitchen from the dining room. There used to be a wall where the sink is, blocking the kitchen and enclosing the butler’s pantry, which had its own sink. The wall was torn out to enlarge the kitchen.
Two of the bedrooms upstairs had an intercom system, a button for the maid and another for the butler. Each bedroom had its own bath. When I was growing up, we hardly used the spiral staircase. We used the back stairs that led to the kitchen.
Just a few interesting tidbits.
Hello Nancy,
Thank you for your comments and you are always welcome here. Yes, those are fantastic details. I wanted to include those previous sale photos before these things get lost on the web. I cannot imagine living in a house where there is a choice of stairwells. I hope you have a good week.
Just read about this fabulous house. The article was forwarded to me by a high school classmate…..CHS class of 1958. Fascinating reading!!!
I loved this area for along time. I left a house in Bellevue (it looked like a house that belongs in aksarben but it turned out to be a bad idea) I came to live at “The Zag”. I knew this area before but didn’t realize what was here before. Kinda sad. I mean these apartments are super nice but to know we lost another gorgeous home is alittle saddening