Henry B. Neef House

Henry B. Neef House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
View from Iowa Street to the southwest
Location	2884 Iowa St, Omaha, Nebraska
Coordinates	41°19′28.72″N 95°57′21.24″W / 41.3246444°N 95.9559000°WCoordinates: 41°19′28.72″N 95°57′21.24″W / 41.3246444°N 95.9559000°W
Area	less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)[1]
NRHP Reference #	10000758[2]
Added to NRHP	September 16, 2010[2]

The Henry B. Neef House is located just north of the Minne Lusa neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The Neef House was the first steel-frame house in the area, and was a pioneering construction style in Nebraska.^[3]

It was built in 1929 by Henry Neef.^[1] According to the National Park Service:

In the late 1920s, the concept of the “all-steel house” swept across the nation from Richard Tappan’s Jamaica-Hillside development in New York to Richard Nuetra (sic)’s Lovell Health House in the Hollywood Hills, and even to Omaha, Nebraska, where the Henry B. Neef House stands as the best, and perhaps only, property in Nebraska that is associated with the rise of the “steel house” between 1926 and 1933. While ultimately finding only limited success, there is little doubt that the concept of the steel house played a significant role in how Americans imagined how their future during the boundless optimism of the late 1920s and into the uncertainty of the Great Depression. The strength of steel, used in industrial applications, was unmatched by any other alloy, and some architects and steel companies decided to put into practice what they saw as the next advance in residential architecture, replacing wood, although when put into practice, the steel framework was hidden under brick and stucco veneers and period revival forms. The house was completed in 1929. The house, with a concrete block foundation and brick and stucco walls, still retains excellent historic integrity today.^[4]

The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 2010.^[2] The listing was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of September 24, 2010.^[5]

References

1. Nebraska SHPO staff, including Jessie Nunn (December 17, 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Henry B. Neef House" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
2. "Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places for September 24, 2010". Weekly Listings. National Park Service. September 24, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-27.
3. KETV. (2006) Minne Lusa Neighborhood Small, Packed With History. Retrieved 6/11/07.
4. "Weekly Highlight: Neef, Henry B., House, Douglas County, Nebraska".
5. "Weekly List Actions". National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-09-27.