Omaha Branch History

A map of the proposed district for an Omaha Federal Reserve Regional bank location.

The first location of the Omaha Branch, which was located at 1219 Farnam Street in the old First National Bank Building. The Branch opened on September 4, 1917, and remained at this location until 1925. This photograph was taken on May 28, 1924.

The Omaha Branch's second location, located at 17th and Dodge Streets, opened in 1925.

A photo of the Omaha Branch from Nov. 30, 1925.

The Omaha Branch Board of Directors in 1930.

An armored vehicle in the "round house," where an 18-foot circular platform rotated armored vehicles for cash and coin deliveries at the Omaha Branch's 17th and Dodge location. Photo circa 1940.

Omaha Branch employees at work in the check processing department in the 1950s.

A group of Omaha Branch employees pose for a picture in December 1953.

Omaha Branch employees work in the Money Department at the Branch. This photo was taken on February 24, 1954.

New Omaha Branch employees pose for a photo in 1955.

A photo of the Omaha Branch Check Collection Department from July 1958.

Elementary students visit the Omaha Branch's Money Department in 1960.

Omaha Branch check sorting circa 1960.

An Omaha Branch employee stacks $29,000 in pennies in the vault in 1960

A group tours the Omaha Branch Money Department in 1964.

A photo of Protection staff folding the flag in 1966.

Attendees of a Board of Directors Meeting in Norfolk, Nebraska, on May 23, 1974. Pictured left to right: President George Clay; Durvard Varner, President of the University of Nebraska and Chairman of the Omaha Branch; Robert Wagstaff, Chairman of the Kansas City Board; Cecil Emrich of Norfolk, Nebraska; and Don Hall, President of Hallmark Cards.

Attendees of a Board of Directors meeting held in Norfolk, Nebraska, in May 1974. Learn about our Board of Directors today.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Omaha Branch building was held on April 10, 1984. Robert Lueder, then chairman of the Omaha Branch Board of Directors, presided over the ceremony.

As part of the April 10, 1984, groundbreaking ceremony, the ceremonial first shovels were turned by Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City First Vice President Henry Czerwinski, Fred Hawkins of Hawkins Construction, Charles Durham of Henningson, Durham & Richardson, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Roger Guffey, Omaha Branch Board Chair Robert Leuder, Kansas City Board Chair Doris Drury, Nebraska Secretary of State Allen Beermann, former Kansas City Fed chairman Harold Anderson, Omaha Mayor Michael Boyle, and Vice President and Omaha Branch Manager Bob Hamilton.

An aerial view of the current Omaha Branch building under construction in 1985.

The Omaha Branch building under construction in 1985.

Wayne D. Angell, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors officially dedicated the Kansas City Fed's new $16.1 million Omaha Branch building on June 12, ending seven years of planning and construction. Also pictured are Omaha Branch manager Bob Hamilton and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Roger Guffey.

An interior view of the Omaha Branch under construction in 1985.

Omaha Branch employees wave from the new Branch lobby in 1986.

The Omaha Branch computer room in 1979.

Photograph from the evening edition of the Omaha World Herald on November 17, 1989, recognizing the 75th anniversary of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In the photo, Bev Stuart, left, and her daughter, Dawn, check the supply of pennies in the vault of the Omaha Branch during an event for Branch employees and their families.

Omaha Branch employees and retirees visit the 17th and Dodge location one last time before the building is demolished in July 1996 to build the current Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse.

Workers discover the time capsule that was laid in the cornerstone of the Omaha Branch building at 17th and Dodge Streets prior to the building's demolition in 1996. The following products of Nebraska and Wyoming (once a part of the Omaha Branch territory) were in the cornerstone box: varieties of grain raised in the two states; sugar from Nebraska beet fields; coal, iron and copper ore; oil and wood from Wyoming; copies of the three Omaha daily papers; a list of present employees; new coins from the Philadelphia mint; statements of the local branch, the Kansas City bank, and the tenth annual report of the Federal Reserve banks. Many of the items are displayed at the Omaha Branch today.

Omaha Branch employees pose for a photo outside the building in 1996.

An internal view of the Omaha Branch atrium in 2003.

Members of the Omaha Branch Board of Directors take a photo with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the grand opening of the new headquarters for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 2008. Pictured from left: Kansas City Fed President Tom Hoenig; Omaha Branch Executive Jason Henderson; JoAnn Martin, President and CEO, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.; Todd Adams, CEO, Adams Bank and Trust; Charles Hermes, President, Dutton-Lainson Company; Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; James Timmerman; CFO and Secretary/Treasurer, Timmerman & Sons Feeding Co.; Mark Sutko, President and CEO, Platte Valley State Bank.

The Omaha Branch Board of Directors and Federal Reserve staff, including soon-to-be-named president of the Kansas City Fed, Esther George, left, tour Cash-Wa Distributing in Kearney, NE, in April 2011. Tom Henning, second from left, is president and CEO of Cash-Wa Distributing and a current member of the Omaha Branch Board of Directors. Learn more about our Board.

Omaha Branch staff with retiring Kansas City Fed Bank President Tom Hoenig and incoming Kansas City Fed Bank President Esther George in 2011.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Esther George and members of the Omaha Branch Board of Directors tour Lincoln Industries in Lincoln, NE, in September 2012.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George speaks to students and faculty at the University of Nebraska Omaha in February 2013.

Omaha Branch Executive Nathan Kauffman provides an update on the state's economy during an Economic Forum in Scottsbluff, NE, in 2014.

Omaha Branch board members, staff and Bank President Esther George tour Heartland Cattle Company in McCook, NE, as part of an off-site board meeting in 2014.

Omaha Branch employees visit a kindergarten classroom at Conestoga Elementary Magnet School in Omaha in 2015 to read a book and lead an activity centered on savings as part of the Branch's annual participation in Teach Children to Save Day.