There have been many notable structures in North Omaha throughout the decades. Many were built in the early 20th century as fine apartment buildings with beautiful woodwork and unique features. Some of the greatest losses of these structures were on North 16th Street, and this is the story of one of those. This is a history of the former Ivy Apartments aka The Fairfax in North Omaha.
Fine Living in North Omaha
These were structures along North 16th that would have been used by residents of The Ivy Apartments during its existence from 1910-1985.
Between 1890 and 1920, there were a lot of important buildings constructed on Sherman Avenue. A country road for a long time, North 16th Street was lined with large estates and fine homes from the 1860s through the 1890s. In 1898, the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition was held on the street north of Locust Street. A grand Midway lined North 16th during the Expo, and when a streetcar was added to the street to serve the event a lot of people moved into the area and businesses opened up. The region of the city from downtown Omaha to the rural Sherman neighborhood boomed and everything changed.
For 20 years after the turn of the century, North 16th Street infilled with homes, commercial structures, and apartment buildings. In that era, apartments on the strip were finely crafted structures that were meant to be as nice as any house and with all the amenities. Fine buildings that still stand in 2026 include the seven buildings at Ernie Chambers Court, which started construction the same year as The Ivy, The Sherman, as well as The Margaret and several others. There were also fine multi-family buildings in the area like the Climmie…