Native Americans were the first to inhabit the region, specifically the Omaha people, from which the modern city got its name. But upon the arrival of Euro-American settlers in the early 19th century, the Omaha and other indigenous people gradually vacated the area through a series of treaties with the federal government. The last of their land was ceded to the United States by the middle of the century, helping prompt Congress to pass the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Among the many changes the legislation implemented was opening the Nebraska Territory to widespread settlement. As such, a group of entrepreneurial residents from Council Bluffs, Iowa, decided to create a city right across the Missouri River. They hoped the new community would serve as the capital for the Nebraska Territory, which, in turn, would convince politicians in Washington to direct a prospective transcontinental railroad through both towns. Selecting the site of a former Mormon camp known as “Winter Quarter,” the civic leaders immediately set about establishing the initial street grid for Omaha. Within months, hundreds of people had forded the river to obtain a plot of land within the budding community. In fact, by the eve of the American Civil War, Omaha had well over a thousand people living inside its borders. A big reason driving the early growth was the city’s proximity to the Platte Valley, one of the most accessible routes for settlers to cross while heading farther west. Many who moved into Omaha subsequently opened businesses that catered to the many wagon trains that had begun to arrive on their way into the valley.

Omaha’s prosperity inspired the territorial legislature to recognize it as the region’s capital, although it later lost that designation once Nebraska was admitted as a state in 1867. Nevertheless, its brief time as the capital convinced the federal government to direct the Union Pacific Railroad to lay track through the area. (President Abraham Lincoln even designated Omaha as the eastern terminus for the rail line.) The arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad and several others further galvanized Omaha’s fledgling economy. Indeed, its emergence as an important regional transportation hub incentivized many companies to open factories and warehouses throughout the city. Despite enduring a short-lived depression at the end of the century, Omaha became an important center for industries like smelting and wholesaling. Meatpacking became very prominent, especially once the historic Union Stock Yards opened in South Omaha during the 1880s. As a means of celebrating the city’s regional significance, many of its leaders even arranged to organize the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in 1898. (Omaha also hosted the prestigious Indian Congress around the same time.)The tremendous economic activity also attracted more people from across the United States, including African Americans from the Deep South. Those numbers were augmented by thousands of European immigrants from Poland, Germany, and Italy. The population thus swelled to an incredible size, with some 102,000 living in Omaha at the start of the 1900s.

Omaha remained an essential city in the western United States well into the 20th century, largely thanks to its robust local economy. World War II played an integral role in maintaining Omaha’s economic clout, spawning the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant and the Offutt Air Force Base. (While the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant is no longer open, the Offutt Air Force Base exists today as the home of U.S. Strategic Command.) Omaha became one of the leading national centers in the push to affirm equal rights throughout the country during the 20th century, too. Omaha still maintains its status as a culturally diverse municipality. It continues to be very prosperous, as it still hosts dozens of industries specializing in agriculture, manufacturing, and food processing. The renowned investor Warren Buffett—a native of Omaha—even operates his famous Fortune 500 company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in the city. But Omaha is also a popular holiday destination among tourists, including cultural heritage travelers interested in experiencing more about the history of the historical American West. Among the institutions that chronicle Omaha’s intricate past are the Durham Western Heritage Museum, the Great Plains Black Museum, the Old Market District, and the Lewis & Clark Landing. Additional cultural attractions include the Joslyn Art Museum, the Holland Performing Arts Center, and the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

When John L. Latenser first designed what would become The Peregrine Omaha Downtown, Curio Collection by Hilton, he chose Renaissance Revival-style architecture to help guide his work. Latenser had used his designs for the neighboring Brandeis Theater as the primary source of his inspiration. Still, he settled on Renaissance Revivalism as a way of giving the Saunders-Kennedy Building its own identity. Nevertheless, Renaissance Revival architecture is a group of architectural revival styles dating back to the 19th century. Neither Grecian nor Gothic in their appearance, Renaissance Revival-style architecture drew inspiration from a wide range of structural motifs found throughout Early Modern Western Europe. Architects in France and Italy were the first to embrace the artistic movement, who saw the architectural forms of the European Renaissance as an opportunity to reinvigorate a sense of civic pride throughout their communities. Those intellectuals incorporated the colonnades and low-pitched roofs of Renaissance-era buildings with the specific characteristics of Mannerist and Baroque-themed architecture. Perhaps the most significant structural component of a Renaissance Revival-style building involved the installation of a grand staircase in a vein similar to those located at both the Château de Blois and the Château de Chambord in France’s Loire Valley. This particular feature served as a central focal point for the design, often directing guests to a magnificent lobby or exterior courtyard. But the nebulous nature of Renaissance Revival architecture meant that its appearance varied widely across Europe. Historians today sometimes find it challenging to provide a specific definition for the architectural movement. Regardless, Renaissance Revival architecture today remains one of the world’s most enduring, appearing in countless places across the globe.