The Durham Museum: Step Inside Omaha's Magnificent Union Station

Walk into the Durham Museum in Omaha and look up, and you may forget to keep walking. The Great Hall soars overhead in gleaming Art Deco splendor, with a richly decorated ceiling, tall arched windows that pour in golden light, glittering chandeliers, and a polished floor that stretches out like a ballroom. It is, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful rooms in the entire region. And to truly appreciate it, you have to know that this magnificent space was built not as a palace, but as a train station, and that it very nearly disappeared.

The building opened in 1931 as Omaha's Union Station, constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad in the height of the Art Deco era. In those days, the railroad was the lifeblood of travel, and a city's train station was its grand front door. Omaha knew that better than most, as the city where the great transcontinental railroad began. Union Station was Omaha's, a soaring temple of travel where countless people began journeys, came home from war, said goodbye to loved ones, and stepped off into a new life. For decades, the Great Hall echoed with the footsteps and farewells of a nation on the move.

But as the twentieth century wore on, America fell in love with the automobile and the airplane, and the age of passenger rail faded. By 1971, the trains that had filled Union Station slowed to a stop, and the great building fell silent. It could easily have met the fate of so many beautiful old stations across the country, neglected and eventually torn down. Omaha, thankfully, had other plans.

Union Pacific gave the building to the city, and rather than lose it, Omaha reinvented it. In 1975 the old station reopened with a brand-new purpose, as a museum dedicated to the region's history. In time, thanks to the generosity of the Durham family, it became the Durham Museum, the name it carries proudly today. The very space built to send people out into the world was now devoted to preserving the world they came from.

Today the Durham Museum is one of Omaha's crown jewels and a Smithsonian Affiliate, which means it regularly hosts world-class traveling exhibitions you might otherwise have to visit a coast to see. But its heart is the lovingly restored Great Hall itself, complete with bronze statues of 1930s travelers frozen mid-journey, an old-fashioned soda fountain, and exhibits that carry you through the rich story of Omaha and the people who built it. Children love exploring the vintage train cars, and visitors of every age find themselves slowing down, looking up, and feeling the weight of all the lives that passed through.

That is the magic of the Durham Museum. It is a place where history is not behind glass so much as all around you, in the very walls and ceiling and light. You are not just learning about the past; you are standing inside a piece of it that a wise city refused to throw away.

So when you plan your trip to Omaha, put the Durham Museum near the top of your list, and be sure to look up the moment you step into that hall. Bring the kids, take your time, and let one of America's most beautiful old stations work its quiet magic on you. Before you come, check everything happening around the city on our Explore Omaha event calendar, and start planning a visit built around this Omaha treasure.