These are some of the major developments that shaped – and reshaped – Lincoln.
First Nebraska State Capitol
It took just a year and $75,000 to build Nebraska's first statehouse, which was ready for use in December 1868. But it was so poorly constructed it was razed in 1883.
Journal Star file photo
Railroad yards
Before it was home to bars, restaurants, condos and concerts, the area west of the Haymarket was a busy train yard. The coming of the railroad in the summer of 1870 better connected Lincoln to the rest of the country and helped spur its growth.
Journal Star file photo
Capitol Beach
In the late 1800s, Burlington Beach -- just west of Lincoln -- was home to restaurants, pavilions, bathhouses and an excursion steamboat. In the early 1900s, it was Capital Beach, “the Coney Island of the West.” Today, it’s called Capitol Beach, and its shore is lined with expensive homes.
Journal Star file photo
1923 stadium
A then-Nebraska record crowd of 43,000 packs Memorial Stadium for the Huskers' 14-7 upset of Notre Dame on Nov. 10, 1923. Some parts of the new stadium were still under construction.
Nebraska State Historical Society
Air Force Base Lincoln Airport
At one point in the 1950s, at least 100 B-47s flew out of the Lincoln Air Force Base, which began as a World War II Army airfield northwest of the city. And before that, it was the Municipal Airport, with grass runways.
Journal Star file photo
Interstate 80
In 1959, road builders carved the future path of Interstate 80 through the fields near Lincoln. Recently, an average of nearly 40,000 motorists daily was recorded at the Greenwood interchange east of Lincoln.
A fundraising campaign brought in more than $10.3 million for the 7 acres of land near the airport and the 60,000-square-foot new office building and warehouse, almost doubling the Food Bank's current space.
