I went around to the Hotel Castle, registered my alias, paid my day’s rent and was taken up to room 333. I smoked and paced and clicked my nails on the burr side stand. I looked out the Venetian blinds now and again. Two hours passed before the phone rang and I finally heard word: “Mrs. Leahy just reported ‘the Klein place is now a pile of sticks.’” I hung up the phone and exhaled. Years on the case and it was over just like that. It was March 29, 2023. The House Character of 9402 Pacific Street had been leveled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was only one thing to do at a time like that… after a quick surveilling of the 9402 Pacific Street knock down first. It would be a late night.

 

 

 

 

9402 Pacific Street on March 29, 2023. Camera on Pacific Street facing north west into the Klein property.

 

 

 

 

 

My video in passing of the demo work being done at 9402 Pacific Street. March 29, 2023. Press white arrow in the red rectangle to play.

 

 

 

I had visited her just on a whim, days before the razing.

 

 

March 26, 2023. Her lasting presentation. Yellow trespassing placard in the front window.

 

All of this razing business at the 9402 Pacific Street property happened very shortly after my last dispatch. Please feel free to read up on the history and follow the clues in Parts One, Two and Three at your prodded leisure.

Mysteries of Omaha: 9402 Pacific Street Part One.

Mysteries of Omaha: 9402 Pacific Street Part Two.

 Mysteries of Omaha: 9402 Pacific Street Part Three. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fellow obsessives and newcomers alike, we are going to dig right into the last years of 9402 Pacific—attempts to develop the land, get various projects off the ground, movement through the city channels and eventual demolition of the existing historic buildings. I hope you find it as interesting as I did, because it gives a glimpse into how things work around these parts. (If you can fill in details or have corrections, by all means, comment or write this website.) Because we don’t really have the time for lengthy review, I will hope that you have gone through our dossiers to date and are up for new material. If you would rather survey the distant past first, skip ahead to the header Keeper of the Keys for Property Details, Deed Info, Owner History of the last two families to live at 9402 Pacific.

 

Now let’s shuttle back to the office so I can review my case notes. They won’t see us. I hope there’ll be room for you in here.

 

 

 

 

One more thing…

 

 

And…let us begin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Deal

 

When their folks retired and moved from Omaha in December of 2000, Paul Klein and five of his seven siblings purchased their beloved family home at 9402 Pacific Street from their parents. In the years to come the Klein siblings had all moved on for the most part (with Paul managing the property onsite) and it seemed impossible to imagine the upkeep of the large place into the future, hence the occasional real estate listings through the years. By the time I met with Paul in the summer of 2020, he was finalizing the sale of the property and headed for a quick closing in September of 2020. Although the new buyer (never mentioned by name) had not set foot on the premises when they penned the deal, Paul had been told the land was expected to be developed into 20-unit condos. I noted the Douglas County Assessor transitioned the ownership from the Klein siblings’ LLC to Fairview Dundee LLC by Dec 28, 2020, but the sale date and purchase amount still had not officially been updated on the website.

 

Loopnet site image of 9402 Pacific Street from the 2019-2020 time period. Almost two acres. The Kleins’ residence, outbuildings, inground pool and raised tennis court all highlighted and outlined in red. OPPD substation directly behind to the north. Pacific Park townhomes to the east, Sunset Hills Baptist Church directly to the west.

 

This document was recently included on the assessor site (newly reconfigured), showing the transfer did indeed go through on September 18, 2020.

 

 

 

Fairview Apartments in Dundee.

 

 

The 9402 Pacific Street property was bought by and remains in the name of Fairview Dundee LLC. Who are they? In January of 2018 the Fairview Dundee LLC formed and appeared to adopt their name while purchasing the historic “Fairview Apartments” in Dundee at 706 North 50^th Street from Josta Investments LLC. Many building permits later due to “historic building redevelopment” of said apartments and Fairview Dundee LLC sold the apartment building of their namesake to Quad LLC in July of 2020 at a nice profit. By September of 2020, Joshua R. Johnston, Fairview Dundee partner and co-owner was leaving the fold. This was around the time that Paul Klein, homeowner of 9402 Pacific was finalizing the sale of the property and headed for a quick closing.

 

 

 

I discovered Fairview Dundee’s business address, 1941 South 42nd St #550, lines up just so with the mysterious and wonderful Muzak-piped-in-hallways of the Center Mall, Omaha’s fabtabulous 1955 indoor mall at 42^nd and Center Streets. (Aside from the whistling, ghostly halls, My Omaha Obsession is neurotic for remnants of Ben Kava’s Cimarron Room, the Clink cocktail lounge and Sky Lanes bowling–lore gathered from Father Cassette.) Coincidentally this #550 suite also doubled as First Management, Inc’s business address. First Management is in the commercial real estate, property management, moving and storage business. The exhilaration tripled to find the Center Mall also used the curious Suite #550 as its very own business address. The Douglas County Assessor’s site together with First Management, Inc’s site suggest that First Management, Inc. owns or someone in the group possesses the Center Mall, this large midtown holding in the concealed Center LLC name. Does Fairview Dundee LLC, First Management, Inc and Center LLC encompass the exact same people or variations of the organization?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the time of our Part Three transmission in March of 2023, a demolition notice had been issued with the city for 9402 Pacific Street on February 13, 2023. Sewer and water cut-off permits were filed on March 1, 2023. Both demo and plumbing permit records were in LOCKED status at that time but now they have been opened and I have collected more files from the City Planning Board. So let’s review.

 

 

 

Tracking a Time Line

 

 

 

April 2018. Sage Capital developer with plans by Erhart Griffin & Associates. Preliminary Plat for  “Preserve on Pacific Addition.” 14 lots proposed.

 

 

 

 

Further planning from Sage Capitol Developer with specs by Erhart Griffin & Associates. Preliminary Plat for  “Preserve on Pacific Addition.” 14 houses on 14 lots coming into view. That was a whole lot of building for less than two acres.

 

 

 

 

Aaron Moser and Sage Capital had been buying up the quirky buildings for public scraping along the south side of Dodge in Dundee from 2015 on for their four-story Dundee Flats (4835 Dodge Street) mixed-use apartment and office building. Completed with the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF), Historic Tax Credits and other development incentives in 2018, Sage Capital would then set their sights on the Benson neighborhood for another “in-fill” housing project in 2019: The Mill at 6152 Military is a massive apartment complex featuring “luxury vinyl” floor planks for the younger set. Do these two contemporary warehouse style buildings provide a clue into what Preserve on Pacific might have looked like? I’ve got to think that the specific architectural aesthetic presented and oppressive scale on that two acre parcel was the problem.

 

The development and the impending sale were seemingly stagnant. Paul Klein and his siblings, under K. C. I. LLC, held onto the property until they secured a buyer in Fairview Dundee LLC in September of 2020. It wasn’t until May of 2021 that an application was put forth to the City of Omaha Planning Board but this time under the Fairview Dundee LLC name, with contact listed as Eric Wieseler. This real estate development project was named Pacific Rows, a 21 unit townhouse development. It seemed odd to me that they would attempt to squeeze that many more buildings and people into the two acre parcel after surely having reviewed the city’s past knock-back. The Pacific Rows project was again designed by Erhart Griffin & Associates.  Omaha Daily Record would list the City Planning Board pre-meeting case review of Pacific Rows Preliminary and Final Plat that July of 2021. Soon after Grow Omaha announced: “A town home development known as Preserve on Pacific is planned for a 1.99-acre residential lot at 9402 Pacific Street. The developer, First Management, Inc., plans to demolish two existing single-family houses and construct 21 town home units.” It appeared a go. This is the first point at which First Management, Inc. is openly named as 9402 Pacific Street developer and where we see the project name change from Pacific Rows back to Preserve on Pacific. It was all clear as mud…or did Grow Omaha merely make a mistake with the project name?

 

 

 

Land survey of 9402 Pacific Street from 2021. Completed by Erhart Griffin & Associates.

 

 

In this site plan we see Ehrhart Griffin & Associates have worked out the subdivision design and layout. Construction layout reveals 9402 Pacific had swelled to an astounding 21 lot townhouse project named Pacific Rows. Preliminary draft by Erhart Griffin & Associates. Proposed retaining wall and monument Pacific Rows sign with community entrance similar to where the drive is currently.

 

 

Aerial from the County Assessor’s site for comparison purposes, primarily for scale to the earlier Pacific Rows draft.

 

 

While Fairview Dundee LLC-First Management, Inc. had frequent exchanges with the City Planning Board, some travelers apparently moved into 9402 Pacific and set up camp, unbeknownst to the powers that be. Well…no one knew but the neighbors and they were sending me emails. Beginning in September of 2022, Mr. Wade Pease would make frequent trips to the sad 9402 property and began documenting code violations–another arm of the city. Violations included: “ Vacant structure and exterior premises are not being maintained properly; Multiple accessory structures are deteriorated including fences, garages, decks, pool house, and tennis court; Multiple exterior issues with both dwellings including deteriorated siding, windows, doors and roofs; Damaged and non-working mechanical appliances throughout both main dwellings; No water service, deteriorated and vandalized plumbing components; Damaged or vandalized electrical system; Dwelling was vandalized and open upon inspection so it was placarded and occupancy is prohibited. Remodeling will require extensive permits or if the dwelling is demolished, a wreck permit is required.”

Let me remind you that the plan all along was to wear 9402 Pacific Street down and demolish the buildings– it was never to remodel or upgrade the existing structures.

 

 

 

This is the back door, wide open from my April 2022 surveillance. The city’s trespassing placards didn’t go up until October 4^th of 2022 after Mr. Pease found evidence of vagrant activity. A demolition order (reason: dilapidated, open and vandalized dwelling) was issued on November 21 of 2022, after Fairview Dundee-First Management, Inc did not respond to contact from Wade Pease’s city inspections.

 

 

For unknown reasons, potentially expense, the 9402 Pacific demolition continued to get pushed back. I later found this KETV piece where the once sprawling, cowboy-cool country club estate was shamefully mentioned in the local mountain of higgledy-piggledy. This “demo package with a lien on the property” and the larger price tag seemed to explain the pushbacks.

KETV’s piece: Omaha Building Demolition List of Deteriorating Properties

 

9402 Pacific in conjunction with two other properties’ demolitions were estimated to cost the city $76,000. The news reporter would assure Omaha that the “owners are on the hook.” These bedraggled homes were “phoned in on complaints” to the city from neighboring properties, which didn’t surprise me after what I had stumbled across in person. Dave Fanslau, Planning Director of the City of Omaha went on record to explain to process: “We have a budget for demo and there’s a lien put on the property. So once that lien is paid by either the current property owner or somebody new, we get that money back. It goes back into our budget.” The city said the $76,499 price tag was costlier than other “demo packages,” because of the multiple structures and tree removal services required. Of course the Omaha City Planning Director would be 100% up to speed on Fairview Dundee LLC-First Management, Inc.’s focus on their 9402 Pacific development plans and concurrent neglect of the very same property, so it was no real mystery of who would pay what in the end.

 

Oddly, while awaiting demolition, Omaha Daily Record  Public Notices reported on January 10, 2023: “The Preliminary Plat entitled Pacific Rows, a cluster subdivision inside city limits, located at 9402 Pacific Street, along with the conditions, is hereby accepted; and, the preparation of the final plat of this subdivision is hereby authorized.” The City Council still had to vote on Pacific Rows as of late January. Then February came and went and soon it was late March of 2023. It was March 29th when I heard the fateful word of the demolition in the Hotel Castle. By April 13, 2023 the job of demolition was completed by John Cox and his Cox Contracting Company out of Council Bluffs. The 9402 Pacific demo package, as it is called, cost $28K, according the Demolition Tracker site.

Image from the GIS demolition tracker site.

 

 

 

 

The most recent news is that in September 2023, the Omaha Planning Board approved of a preliminary plat for the newly named, Pacific Court (formerly Pacific Rows). The City Council met in late October of 2023 with the revised Pacific Court plat, which was approved 7-0. First Management, Inc. was authorized to prepare a final plat.

 

 

 

Before we get on our high horse, taking into account this clash of tastes and city planning conundrum, let it be known that the wondrous and wandering historic 9402 Pacific Street property was on the market for years without a private buyer in sight. It was purchased by First Management, Inc. fair and square. Did the buildings fall into disrepair to a point where no family could afford to buy it and give it the renovation and love it needed? Possibly. Was the size of the property, mixed with the age/style of the buildings and the surrounding structures (church and a power station) too irregular for a modern day family? Plausible. Did the owners know the land was worth more without the historic buildings? I’ve got to think so. It was as if the home’s value and usefulness had been unwittingly destroyed. Did they hope a developer would come along? Absolutely. We will stay tuned for updates from First Management, Inc, Pacific Court, and the City Planning Board and hope for the best.

 

 

Black Coffee

 

9402 Pacific Street is pretty barren of late. The absent trees and shrubs aid in my frequent spying missions. I’m not the only one keeping an eye out. Here are recent photos of the site from February of 2024.

 

 

 

 

To play video press the arrow.

 

 

Facing north–the OPPD wall.

 

 

 

 

Facing west–the church in the distance. Some’s been raking.

 

 

Facing west.

 

 

 

Let’s catch a breath here and move into the distant past. We’ll take up where we left off in 1972 in Part Three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keeper of the Keys

 

 

After all the years, it was easy to observe the idealism of the past—the once McArdle Township countryside turned to suburbia. The rural touches were still in place. The sweeping lawns and shady trees made the world wars retreat and the hardships of life fade in a sleepy peace. The corral style fencing dotting the perimeters. Comfort and beauty and space, glorious space, prevailed out west and certainly at the 9402 Pacific estate, where only the hum of a lawnmower or nearby church bells broke the stillness. I’ve got to think that Watergate and Vietnam were kept quietly behind closed doors on the television sets.

 

9402 Pacific Street with the once all white western corral style fence. Photos from the Davis family collection.

 

 

 

 

 

Who could resist these temptations from December of 1972? OWH:

 “Country Atmosphere. Charming ‘story book” house nestled on a spacious 2-acre treed location. The neighborhood is superb…close to schools and shopping. The spacious interior, which is refreshingly unique, including 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, gracious living room, dining room, family room with fireplace (bricked from ceiling to floor), card room and wet bar; deluxe modern kitchen, rustic charm best describes the 1,360 sq ft guest house. Ideal for play and entertaining.”

 

 

 

I had found the January 1973 Warranty Deed back in 2020 when I began all of this business. Dr. John B. Davis and Cornelia C. Davis sell 9402 Pacific to Benton F. Murphy and Jane O. Murphy.

 

 

 

The Lodger

Who were the latest characters in the real drama of 9402 Pacific? “A native of Leadwood, Missouri, Benton Murphy went to Venezuela in 1939 with a company that made tests to determine the chances of striking oil. He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University and served in the Navy during WWII.” Benton F. Murphy married Jane Olive Billingsley Murphy on March 28,1942. The couple returned to Venezuela and Mr. Murphy worked in oil field construction, “later going into business building homes and putting in residential streets in Caracas.” Mr. Murphy would form a company selling bottled gas; this company was then purchased by Protane Corporation of Cleveland Ohio in 1955. While living in Venezuela, the Murphys had a daughter, Pamela and two sons, Ben and Grant. The family moved to Cleveland in 1963.

I found that Northern Natural Gas Company had a secret shared office in Omaha in the City National Bank building by 1930 (exposed by The Unionist) and were slinking about on the hush until it was formally announced in September of 1931 that they had been negotiating a relationship with the American Smelting and Refining company plant in Omaha. Jump to June of 1968 when subsidiaries of the Northern Natural Gas Company announced some executive changes. Our man Benton F. Murphy, then president of The Protane Corporation of Cleveland Ohio and head of that company’s foreign operations, had been elected a director of Northern Propane. “He is moving his office to Omaha.”

 

 

OWH archives. 1968. “Benton Murphy, 52, comes from Cleveland Ohio where he had been head of the Protane Corp since 1963. Northern Gas Company purchased Protane last year and now is moving the top officers to Omaha.” Benton was projected to direct the Caribbean-area operations of a Northern subsidiary.

 

The Murphys’ gateway into Omaha Society was a perfect pronouncement. Their first home at 1400 South 84^th Street home offered and continues to put forth a heavenly, curbside view.

Now I am forewarning that 1400 South 84^th Street needs its own investigation and an upcoming reveal will happen, clearly. Built in 1941, this Loveland residence has grown tastefully over time to an extended 6,707 sq ft. This proper John Hughes movie home has quite a pedigree.

 

 

1400 South 84^th ‘s pedigree does not include Ralph Lauren having wintered here and built a fire in this fireplace. Or does it?

 

I just couldn’t restrain myself from showing you these current day interior photos of 1400 South 84th. I just die for bookcases built around doorways and green anything.

 

As glorious at 1400 South 84^th was (and still is), when I discovered Jane Olive Billingsley Murphy’s not so hidden passion for gardening, I knew she must have pushed for the move up the way to 9402 Pacific Street. With two acres of planting and wandering opportunity, Jane Murphy’s green thumbs must have been thrumming on a dreamy garden plan! As aside–can we all agree that 9402 Pacific offered more privacy and a casualness not found at 84th and Woolworth? It turns out the Murphys had big plan all around that called for more space.

 

 

 

OWH archives. Feb 14, 1973: “Dr. and Mrs. John B. Davis moved last week to a new home at 9937 Devonshire in the Regency area. And this week, Mr and Mrs. Benton F. Murphy are getting settled in the Davises’ former home at 9402 Pacific Street. The Murphys’ previous residence was at 1400 South Eighty-fourth Street.”

 

 

At the time of their move, the Murphy family included Pamela, a senior at Marietta College in Arlington Virginia, Ben and Grant who were going to start Westside High School.

I would soon find the Mrs. Jane Murphy hostessing gatherings at 9402 Pacific for society groups, service minded groups and her passion–flowers and gardening. “A study of celosia and a study of trees will be on the agenda of the Eastern Area Nebraska Flower Show Judges at the home of Mrs. Benton Murphy.” Also popular were Jane’s talks: “A Gardening Lesson by Mrs. Murphy” which often included a luncheon at the 9402 Pacific home. Jane served as a board member of the Meyer Children’s Rehabilitation Institute and was involved with the PEO Sisterhood. Her most frequent talk topics were on Venezuela, no doubt her experiences and history from having lived there and her deep passion of gardening.  I was touched that although the Murphys ultimately only resided in Omaha a short while, Jane Murphy’s serving as a judge for the Omaha Flower Association was mentioned in her obituary. That told me that her time living at 9402 Pacific had been gratifying.

 

 

 

 

The Paddle Court

 

According to the 1973 aerial photograph of this area, the Murphys installed an impressive platform tennis court on the far west side to the large property. This western boundary of the lot had previously been utilized by other owns as a horse corral. Of course I had seen this tennis court from Pacific for a very long time and this was one of my obsessions about this property from the get go. My Omaha Obsession friend, Kevin Tierney had wagered that “sometime around the widening of Pacific there was a handball court built there.”

 

 

1973 photo borrowed from the Douglas County/Omaha NE GIS Department (DCGIS) site. Pacific Street runs east to west on the bottom of the photograph. Green arrow points to the platform tennis court.

 

 

As I much as I tried to catch a gander in passing, I didn’t know about platform tennis vs regular tennis or even paddle. When I met with Paul Klein, the last owner of 9402 Pacific, he called this a paddle court and platform tennis interchangeably. Apparently platform tennis is a cross between tennis and racquetball, surrounded by a 10-12 foot chain link fence and the “platform” is raised off of the ground, sometimes featuring a heated court to melt snow and ice. Part of its long preppy appeal is that it is played in the winter months as well. Paul informed: “We had replaced the floor once.” When the OWH began covering the new sporting discovery (we’re always a bit behind) around the time of Benton Murphys’ platform court appearance, they reported: “The game, usually played in doubles, combines elements of racquetball, squash and tennis. Tennis rules are prevalent, though balls may be played off 12 – foot high, taut – wire screens that enclose the court. The Platform Tennis court is about one-third the size of a traditional tennis court. Players use a 17- inch long racket that is perforated to reduce wind resistance and increase the amount of spin put on the ball. The ball is the same size as a tennis ball, only it is made of solid sponge rubber.”

 

In the snow. The painted wooden boards of the court are evident.

 

I found that platform tennis players often call the game “paddle tennis” and sometimes only “paddle” explaining Paul Klein’s phrasing. Another Omahan with a big passion for backyard platform tennis in the early 1970s was Mr. Kupka, who illuminated in the World-Herald: “The ideal temperature for platform tennis is between 20 and 40 degrees. And 40 degrees is actually a little warm. That temperature is best to get the ball to bounce the truest.” It is fascinating to think who in the Murphy clan might have been the platform tennis enthusiast/s. They possibly spent time in Kupka’s club of local friends and paddle players. Maybe someday we will hear from one of them.

 

The Murphy’s Platform Tennis Court at 9402 Pacific Street back in 1975. Photograph shared by Woodie Arp.

 

 

 

 

When I toured the Klein family home, I found a print of a painting on the wall. I loved it and felt the sentiment it held for the family. Turns out it was Robert E. Sticker’s (1923-2011) rendition of the platform tennis game being played in the mid-1970s at the “home” of the game, Fox Meadow Tennis Club, Scarsdale, NY. This painting was commissioned from Charles Millard the CEO of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company (CCBCNY) of New York in 1976. Other digging revealed platform tennis started in New York in 1928.

 

 

 

 

The Murphy Look

 

 

The Benton Murphys made upgrades to the Ott farmhouse, in addition to their platform tennis court. The Douglas County Assessor’s site noted that 9402 was “remodeled” in 1974. Let’s review these great photographs shared by Woodie Arp. They were found in a sale’s brochure created by Maenner Realty when the Murphys put the house back on the market in 1975. These wonderful, grainy photos give us a rare (Seventies!) look into the past. “Warm, charming, delightful can only start to describe this home. Arrangement of rooms is commendable and their size more than adequate; plus, guest house, paddle ball court and picnic house. Two acres of country living—city-close. You must inspect this elegant home to appreciate its quality plus the many extras it has to offer you and your family.”

 

 

9402 Pacific Street in 1975. Camera facing northwest angle from the drive. Photograph shared by Woodie Arp.

 

 

 

 

 

New deck addition on the north side of the home.

 

“The Country Kitchen.” “Completely modern kitchen. Jennaire range.”

 

“Family room with corner bricked raised health fireplace. Spacious window for all season enjoyment.” OWH: Family room with handsome corner brick fireplace, card room adjoining with wet bar and icemaker.

 

“The Garden Room with beautiful slate flooring is the setting for entrance foyer. This 14 x 24 room immediately welcomes family and friends with its warmth and charm.”

The deck if off of this room.

 

Formal living room we had seen in the Davises photos. Is the old farm door sealed off by now? It looks like it.

 

The old picnic house.

 

“The Guest House.”

 

“Recreation Room (Guest House).”

 

 

 

It must have been business that drew the Benton Murphys from their 9402 Pacific refuge. Their names fell from the Omaha Directory and by the summer of 1975, the property was again for sale.

 

 

Douglas County Assessor had this home as being built in 1904. Here it is noted by a family member that it was built in 1901. We’ve already squabbled this out in earlier chapters.

 

 

I just love that Woodie Arp’s family member had archived these pamphlets all these decades with notes written on them. I also love that Woodie could find our ongoing 9402 Pacific investigation online and share these with us. Isn’t life amazing?! Thank you Woodie and the Ott family.

 

 

 

July 1975 advertisement.

 

September 1975 advertisement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The House Without a Key

In late March of 1976 the warranty deed displayed a new owner. At roughly 75 years of age, its current state of architectural adaptation, weathering, humor and graciousness, 9402 Pacific would find its nearly perfect match in the Klein family.

Warranty Deed March 8, 1976: Benton F. Murphy and Jane O. Murphy to Lawrence C. Klein and Mary Kathleen Klein, 2.003 acres

Secret Notes

My friend Michael Leahy is my connection to the Klein family and he would fill in as many missing details as he could. It was through Michael that I was introduced to Paul Klein and from there, I gained access to the 9402 Pacific home and grounds. I am thankful to Paul and Michael for their time and graciousness.

I would discover from numerous people who have written in during the years of this investigation, as well as surprising connections within my own friendship group, that the Klein lore spreads wide throughout our city. For one, Dr. Klein was a family ophthalmologist. Gregarious, eccentric, warm and charming, the Klein family’s antics and attributes, and their 9402 Pacific Street home being a central character in these story lines, have brought a smile and a laugh to those I have huddled with on this case. It seems that everyone of a certain age group in the District 66 area and nearby Catholic schools have been in this popular family home or strolled through their lawn or dipped in their pool. Some have even passed out in the lawn. For privacy reasons and because there are still a good amount of Kleins in town, I will keep their history brief and work to hit the highlights.

 

 

The Klein Riddle

 

 

For starters, it’s important to know that Dr. Lawrence C. Klein was a well-known Omaha ophthalmologist—not to be confused (as I was early on) with Dr. Lawrence R. Klein, also of Omaha–Jimmy Carter’s economics adviser and winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize for economics. That Dr. Klein graduated from Central High School class of 1938. The Dr. Klein of our focus graduated from Creighton Prep in 1956 with Michael Leahy’s father—this Michael notes having linked their families by “friendship and affinity for a very long time.”

 

 

Dr. Lawrence Charles Klein graduated from Creighton University in June of 1963. He began his internship at St. Anthony Hospital in Denver shortly after. His parents were former Omahans, having moved to Denver, as well. Mary Kathleen Sullivan had attended College of Saint Mary when her parents announced the young couple’s engagement and intention to marry at Holy Name Church in September 1963.

 

 

Evening World-Herald June of 1963

 

OWH archives. September of 1963.

The marriage license showed the newlyweds were both 24 years of age. Dr. Klein lived in Denver. Mary had lived at 4331 Corby Street. The young Klein couple planned to reside in Denver after marriage.

 

 

 

 

Michael shared an interesting backstory of Dr. Klein. “In the early 1970s, he along with his young family, lived for several years in Ida Amin’s Uganda in some kind of role similar to Doctors Without Borders. At some point, Idi Amin decided that he could “nationalize” (indefinitely detain) the foreign physicians. Fearing what that might mean, Dr. Klein hatched an escape plan that had them driving at night and hiding during the day to get out of the country.”

 

The Kleins returned to Omaha in the 1974 time period. Michael would meet Larry, the oldest of the Klein children, at Christ the King school in 1976. Michael thought the kids might have attended St. Roberts the previous year after they returned from Uganada. As the deed reveals, the family moved into 9402 Pacific the winter of 1976.

 

From my investigation a Klein “daughter” was born when the family lived at 9402 Pacific. Michael confirmed that this was “Infant Mary Nell,” born when he and Larry were in their later years at Prep. The Kleins would have seven children in total. There was certainly room for them all at the large 94th and Pacific Property. I had to laugh to myself when Paul Klein was giving me his tour and said, “I don’t know how many bathrooms there are but the assessor says there are three.” Spoken like a true sibling in a line of seven. On his behalf, I can verify I found more than three bathroom myself.  Sidenote: It also appeared that Margaretta A. Klein, born in 1919, (potentially a grandmother) lived in the 9402 Pacific house in 1993.

 

The Klein family names written in cement by their pool on the 9402 Pacific Street estate. Love it.

 

 

 

 

Pacific Park’s Secret

Nearby 9402 Pacific two parcels to the east, the Pacific Park Townhouses development was launched in 1986. Construction began that fall. This was the first time a multi-family building development of this nature had come to the area–a similar dilemma to what is happening now with the 9402 Pacific “Pacific Court” project.

Back in 1986 the City Planning Board was met with opposition when 231 neighbors signed a petition rejecting the Pacific Park project.

To date the only neighbors had been the nearby ranches to the south and sprawling lawns along the offshoots of Pacific Street. Remember in our earlier chapters how the 9402 Pacific Street owners had felt when the church moved in next door to the west and when the OPPD substation moved in behind? The once Ott farm was filling in with tenants.

 

 

 

Image from the Douglas County Assessor site. Yellow star denotes the Pacific Park townhomes as they area appeared in 2020. Shamrock Road runs parallel to Pacific, directly north of the 9312 Pacific OPPD substation. The 9441 Shamrock Road lot was bought in 1990. I’m not sure when the home was completed. 9429 Shamrock Road was not built until 1992. 9435 Shamrock Road didn’t have a building permit application until November of 1994.

 

 

“Homeowners living near a proposed townhouse development in the 93rd and Pacific Streets vicinity gave the City Planning Board a petition Wednesday signed by 231 opponents. Jim Sherrets, an attorney for the Friends of Shamrock Road, said the 18 proposed Pacific Park townhouses would represent a “drastic change in the character of the neighborhood.” Barry and Elizabeth Larson are seeking to build the townhouses on land they bought from the Omaha Public Power District. The sites, one northwest of 93rd and Pacific Streets, the other southwest of 95th and Shamrock Road, are narrowly connected and have been a buffer zone for a power station there. Residents of the single – family – house neighborhood said an agreement setting aside the buffer zone for 20 years expired without notice. The land, used by area children as a park, was then sold by the power company. Jack Bloodgood, the architect for the project, said the townhouses would resemble residences with pitched roofs, gables and chimneys and would be built of brick and wood. The City Planning Department has recommended the developer reduce the number of townhouses at Shamrock Road from seven to five.” OWH

 

 

Turquoise perimeters block out the 1998 association formed: Pacific Park Property Owners community space. In part because of neighborhood pushback, the Pacific Park addition only ended up having nine townhouses–down from the proposed 18. Interesting.

 

The 9402 Pacific Timeline

When I interviewed Paul Klein and toured the property, he shared that when his family moved into 9402, they made an addition to the barn shortly after 1976. This extended the barn to the north offering two more full-size garages, storage space and more upstairs rooms.

Comparison of Winter of 1960 with the white barn to August 7, 2020 of the green and red massive Klein guest house.

 

November of 2020–post sale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kleins also added the long-awaited in-ground pool in 1990. This pool, much desired by previous families, was completed by the Klein and I am sure, much used. It sat nicely between the picnic house and the barn.

 

August of 2020. My first visit. Picnic house with the yellow doors. Red building in the distance was the once chicken house.

 

 

November of 202o. Picnic house. The one that Paul said was “the Model T- garage with fireplace in the front that heated the engine for the handcrank car.”

 

February of 2022.

 

In August of 1997, the World-Herald announced Dr. Joseph W. Townley had opened his own ophthalmology practice, Eye Care Consultants, at 2420 S. 73rd St. “Dr. Townley purchased the practice from Lawrence C. Klein, who is semi-retired after practicing at that location for more than 20 years.” Paul and five of his seven siblings eventually purchased the 9402 Pacific property from their parents in 2000. According to Michael Leahy that was when Dr. Klein fully retired from his ophthalmology career and he and Mrs. Klein moved permanently to their new compound in Colorado.

Dec 20, 2000 WD from Lawrence and Mary Klein to Kci LLC. C/o Paul B. Klein. Five of the seven Klein children buy their family home and Paul managed it for the siblings. In time all of the siblings moved out, except brother Paul who continued to live there and began renting out bedrooms to various friends, which explained the long list of names I found under the 9402 Pacific Street address in the last twenty years. At one point there was a chicken egg-laying operation. Paul Klein also collected Packards and Porsches on the property.

 

 

OWH in 2006. The phrasing strongly hints at scraping the historic home off of the land. I began to figure out that the family had hoped to sell to a developer or a family who wanted a larger more modern house long before 2018. This advertisement from 2006 shows they had put the house on the market potentially a number of times before I had been tracking it.

 

 

 

 

Survey of a Lonely Place

Sifting through the dossier of this case, we have almost arrived full circle to my tour of August of 2020; the Klein quick sale was finalized in September of 2020. I will share some images that I took on that day and subsequent visits. After interviewing Paul, he allowed me to find my own way around the massive property. I was looking for clues to the farmhouse, the cowboy past, MCM touches or anything that struck me as interesting. I found it.

 

Slate garden room with in-floor MCM planter.

 

 

Eclectic and amazing.

 

 

The dining room when I saw it in August of 2020.

The dining room had grown to a massive room for hosting. Without the carpeting in November of 2020, it was something remarkable.

 

The kitchen got an updating at some point. Roommate in the background.

 

The original front bedroom.  Note the early 1900s windows. Original pine wood floor and pocket doors.

 

 

 

The more I looked, the more I smiled. Everywhere, in every nook and cranny, was a surprise. Just as I had thought long ago when I found the greeting gnome at the gate and could see hardhats and boots shoved on the fence posts down the private lane, this was a wonderland of expression. Either a collective or someone’s personal project, the whole place became an installation piece. It was like looking into someone’s mind or an antiques maze. Whimsical, scary and beautiful at the same time. I’ve never seen so many ladders going nowhere.

 

Do you see the eyes and mouth?

 

 

 

And finally it was time to visit the platform tennis court. As worn as it was, the court was still exhilarating. It felt so good to be on that wooden platform in the trees, looking out.

 

I could imagine all of the good times and the middle of the night games.

 

I thank Michael Leahy for getting Hard Hat Row and Boot Fence Lane for me, something I neglected to capture in all of the excitement. He took these images in November of 2020.

 

I do enjoy this one.

 

 

 

 

Fellow Obsessives, this concludes tonight’s broadcast. We are all weary and I’m a wee bit teary. After all these years, it’s hard to put this one to bed and let go. But I will in time. All I can say is, Brava, 9402 Pacific! Brava! I adored you.

 

I welcome your feedback and contributions to this 9402 Pacific Street investigation. I want to hear about 9402 Pacific, upcoming development and its history of owners. Feel free to share thoughts and clues in “Comments.” If any family members have photos to share, please email me so I can include these in the article. Please feel free to share this article on social media, through email or texts to friends.

 

I do what I do out of love. The obsession is driven by the curiosity and the love of a house dream. The hope for meaningful human connection. For storytelling. There is no other reason to engage in this sort of madness—this detailed, time-stealing mayhem. I hope you can find some enjoyment here. I am more than pleased to have you tiptoe about. By the time you head for home, I hope you have been fully Sherlocked and Satiated. Thank you, detective friends.

 

 

 

 

 

If you like what you see, you can keep up with my latest investigations by joining my email group. Click on “Contact” then look for “Sign me up for the Newsletter!” Enter your email address. It will then display “Thank you, your sign-up request was successful!” Make sure to check your email address to confirm. You will get sent email updates every time I have written a new article.

© Miss Cassette and myomahaobsession, 2024. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Miss Cassette and myomahaobsession with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

 

 

If you are looking for more architectural and Omaha history sleuthing fun, ask your local or big box bookseller for my new book: My Omaha Obsession: Searching for the City. You can also order it through this website. Thank you.