Known as the first Latino art and history museum in the Midwest, El Museo Latino moved to its current red tile-roofed brick home about 30 years ago.
It’s a storied site — where South Omaha’s original high school was built in the late 1880s at a cost just above $10,000.
Over time the high school relocated and the structure was razed, reconstructed, rebranded and remodeled. But this week the landmark property and its owners are celebrating perhaps their most transformational stride: a $10.5 million renovation that carved out usable underground space, modernized infrastructure and doubled exhibit and gathering space in the heart of South Omaha.
Today the museum and cultural center that since 2015 has been on the National Register of Historic Places offers four additional art classrooms, a new downstairs gallery, upgraded restroom facilities and re-exposed windows in spots that had been bricked over for decades. Artists who perform inside a revamped hall and outside in a newly gated courtyard now can plug in electronic equipment without worrying about blowing a fuse.
Boosting private fundraising efforts was a $2 million state award from the North & South Omaha Recovery Grant program and a $2.1 million shovel-ready state grant, both administered by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
Founder Magdalena Garcia, who remains at the helm, said in an interview part-way through the project that it had been an “uphill battle” launched in 2019 — before the global pandemic and when costs were projected to be three times less. The museum at least partially stayed open throughout construction.
Wednesday afternoon, Garcia was surrounded by backers who officially cut a ribbon on the updated museum digs at the southeast corner of 25th and L Streets. She said she was still processing the feat and credited the community and donors for support.
“I get excited when I see people’s reaction,” she told the Nebraska Examiner. “Hopefully it provides our guests with a better experience.”
‘Elevated voices’
Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Omaha-based Mexican Consul Jorge Ernesto Espejel Montes were among speakers who pointed to the tourism allure of the museum that opened initially in leased space at the nearby Livestock Exchange Building before moving in 1998 to 4701 S. 25th St.
They said they expect the venue to continue to foster cultural awareness and education and to help spur more reinvestment in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.
“This museum has brought history to life, elevated voices and created a space where culture is honored and shared across generations,” Ewing said. “Here in South Omaha, spaces like this strengthen connection, belonging and opportunity for families, for our youth and for our entire community.”
Visual and performing arts at the museum attract about 60,000 visitors annually from all backgrounds, representatives said.
Espejel said it has been a source of pride for Nebraska immigrant populations not only from Mexico, but countries including Peru, Cuba, Colombia and Guatemala. Today, El Museo Latino counts itself as one of 17 Latino museums in the U.S.
Omaha City Councilman Pete Festersen and Bellevue City Councilman Don Preister were among the scores of people at the event highlighted by mariachi music and folklorico dances.
Preister, a Bellevue City Council member with ties to South Omaha, reflected on the preservation of a structure that was a gathering place for earlier Polish immigrants before shifting to an art and museum representing more recently arrived Latino populations.
“It’s an amazing transformation,” Preister said. “The ethnic heritage runs deep in South Omaha.”
According to the National Register of Historic Places, the first high school for South Omaha finished rising at the 25th and L Streets site in 1888. After a new high school was constructed a few blocks away at 24th and J Streets, the building became a primary school that was torn down and quickly rebuilt in 1916 before closing as a school in 1929.
The building expanded under new ownership of a civic organization that sold it in 1936 to the Polish Home, which stayed six decades before selling to its current owner in 1998. The Romanesque Revival masonry U-shaped building earned a place on the historic registry in 2015 under the Polish Home name and for its social history from 1936 to 1965.
Today’s El Museo Latino hosts lectures, films, workshops as well as art exhibits. A stage and hall that holds about 250 standing people has received a facelift, and Garcia said the nonprofit is defining how best to use the space, including potentially for small community gatherings.
Firehouse 31
Others attending the event brought up nostalgia.
Thomas Sanchez, a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who is on the museum’s board, recalled sitting as a new dad in the gallery soaking up ambiance with his infant daughter who is now age 14.
“It was the most beautiful thing … and El Museo has only grown since then.”
Today, Sanchez brings college classes every semester to the museum, which he said is the only Latino museum within a 500-mile radius. “They just love it.”
Future growth could include the decommissioned one-story firehouse across the street to the west. The museum currently is leasing that former Omaha Fire Station 31, which two years ago was named a local landmark and also placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A goal, Garcia said, is to raise additional funds to acquire and update the iconic structure for space to expand the museum’s artists in-residency program that hosts local, national and international artists in South Omaha.
For now, the museum is still planning finishing touches to the renovation project, including building signage.
Weekend events are planned to mark the renovations. A photography exhibit by Cristina Kahlo, Marcos Garcia and Marco Giron will open Friday. At 6:30 p.m., an artist panel discussion will start. The exhibit, “Tajimal K’in la Fiesta del Sol/Festival of the Sun,” runs through Aug. 22.
Saturday, the museum will hold a free community open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the museum and local artists will be on hand for demonstrations and hands-on activities. Mariachi Los Galleros will perform and accompany “Chomari” Ballet Folklorico Mexicano.
Every dance tells a story
Among those set to take the stage this weekend are brother-sister duo Carmen Aguilar, 22, and Carlos Aguilar, 19. They dance as part of the Chomari troupe based at the museum but have been visiting ever since they can remember.
They said their parents came to Omaha from Mexico in 2006, and found parts of their homeland and culture at the museum. They wanted their children to understand and learn about their roots, said Carmen, who danced along with her brother at the ribbon-cutting event.
She said she started as a student dancer at the museum and now is helping teach younger talent there.
“Each dance tells a story,” she said. “The museum is full of stories.”