Jewell Building-Great Plains Black History Museum

Jewell Building-Great Plains Black History Museum

The Jewell Building is a city landmark in North Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1923, the building was home to the Dreamland Ballroom for more than 40 years, and featured performances by many touring jazz and blues legends, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lionel Hampton.

James Jewell was an influential man in the black community, and he invited activist Whitney Young to speak in the 1950s at Dreamland Hall about the Civil Rights Movement. Young started in Omaha and became the national director of the Urban League.

The Jewell Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Today, the Jewell Building serves as the Great Plains Black History Museum.

For the past 40 years, The Great Plains Black History Museum has been a striving institution dedicated to publicizing and preserving the achievements of the region’s vibrant African American heritage.

To ensure the success both of a future capital campaign and the sustainability of the institution, the museum must gain broad community acceptance. The target audiences will include the general African-American community, regional residents, schoolchildren, and tourists.