Students and teachers stand in front of a two-story brick school building in this 9 1/2" x 7 3/4" black and white photograph. The unpaved street runs in front of the school, and a utility pole is visible amid the group of students. "1912" and "Castelar School" are carved in the stone above the building's entrance.
Omaha Public School Archive Collection / Educational Research Library
Local Accession/Call Number
Archive Files: Castelar School File
Historical Notes
Castelar School, located at 18th and Castelar Streets, opened in 1912. As was true of most of the elementary schools of this period, it served students from kindergarten through 8th grade. This building replaced the original 1885 structure at the same location. This building was one of many that were built at that time in the Second Renaissance Revival Style; it was designed by architect John Latenser, Sr. The building went through a number of renovations, and it was closed in the 1980s. It was remodeled and reopened in 1999 and is currently serving a new generation of South Omaha children. The school was named for the street on which it sat, the unpaved road running in front of the school in this photograph. The street was named for Emilio Castelar, a 19th century Spanish statesmen. The daughter of Isaac Hascall, an early Nebraska legislator, named the street Castelar "just because she loved the word".
