"I jokingly called it the reverse Joni Mitchell where — instead of paving paradise and putting up a parking lot, we literally did the reverse." That was Mia Jenkins, Lauritzen Gardens' director of marketing, talking to WOWT on the June morning Polina Gardens opened at 13th and Leavenworth.
Four months later, that converted lot sits at one corner of the small part of downtown that is easy to reach this fall. Farnam and Harney are lined with cones, trench plates and detour signs for the streetcar. A few blocks south, between Howard and Leavenworth and 10th and 13th Streets, the Old Market has collected most of downtown's new storefronts for 2026, both big art openings of the season, and a free harvest party. You can walk all of it without crossing a work zone.
Where the construction is this week
The streetcar's downtown footprint changes every few days, so the details below are as of the Omaha Streetcar construction update for the week of October 12. The update lists these closures:
- 24th Street from Howard to Douglas, plus Farnam and Harney from 20th Street to 24th Avenue, closed for about two months of utility work. The project says it will convert some one-way streets to two-way traffic to keep access open.
- Lane closures on the north side of Farnam and the south side of Harney for mainline track construction, with cross streets closing as the work moves along.
- 16th Street closed between Harney and Farnam and between Douglas and Dodge, with a Douglas-to-Farnam closure to follow in late October.
- Track and pole-foundation work on Harney from 13th to 18th, with a pedestrian crossing kept open on the west side of 16th for Orpheum Theater patrons.
Some of this ends soon. The project calls the 24th Street closure "the last major closure for utility work," and says downtown utility work is 90% complete. Track work runs longer. The Farnam work zone from 14th to 18th is expected to finish in summer 2027. The project timeline has mainline track construction running from 2026 through 2028 and service starting in 2028, without giving a specific day.
None of those closures reach Howard, Jackson, Jones or Leavenworth east of 13th. That stretch, south of Harney's track work, is where this fall's new places and events are.
A parking lot became the block's front yard
Polina Gardens is Lauritzen Gardens' first satellite location. It has four sections: a grass lawn, a gathering area with picnic tables, a rain garden and a whimsical garden. It's open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Tuesdays, and private events and guided tours are available after hours.
What it replaced matters for the rest of this story. Peter Scherr, a staff member at KANEKO across the street, told WOWT that the site was "a hot, asphalt parking lot that was, you know, often used for events throughout the old market," and that the garden is "about a thousand times better than that." His coworker Parker Harrell told the station he expects the garden to bring more people to the arts at the Bemis and KANEKO.
So the Old Market already held events on this corner. Now they happen on grass. The first big test is the Old Market Harvest Party on Saturday, October 17, from 2 to 7 p.m. at Polina Gardens, 727 South 13th Street. The Nonprofit Association of the Midlands listing says it's free and lists live music by Parfait, a DJ, games, pumpkin carving, food trucks, seasonal drinks and giveaways.
Both art houses open their fall a week apart
The garden sits across the street from KANEKO, and the Bemis Center is a block over at 724 S. 12th Street. Their fall seasons open a week apart, and the Harvest Party falls the day after KANEKO's opening.
KANEKO, at 1111 Jones Street, opens three exhibitions on Friday, October 16:
- Jun Kaneko: CRY, through January 17, 2027
- Misha Gordin: SHOUT, through January 17, 2027
- Visual Language Bars·Sticks·Lines Jun Kaneko, through February 14, 2027
General admission is $10. The KANEKO Soirée 2026 is that same opening night, from 6:30 to 10 p.m.
The Bemis Center's free Benefit Art Auction Exhibition is already up and runs through October 30. Hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Thursdays open until 9 p.m. The exhibition leads up to the auction itself on October 30, and the Bemis events calendar adds more dates around it.
Combined, the two calendars fill most of the next five weeks:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct 15 | OMA ARTalks: Auction Edition, 7–8 p.m., then Live @ LOW END: Horse Lords, 8–9:30 p.m. | Bemis, 724 S. 12th St. |
| Fri, Oct 16 | Three exhibitions open; KANEKO Soirée 2026, 6:30–10 p.m. | KANEKO, 1111 Jones St. |
| Sat, Oct 17 | Old Market Harvest Party, 2–7 p.m. | Polina Gardens, 727 S. 13th St. |
| Sat, Oct 24 | Open House / Open Studios, 1–5 p.m. | Bemis |
| Fri, Oct 30 | 2026 Benefit Art Auction, 5:30–9:15 p.m. | Bemis |
| Thu, Nov 5 | Live @ LOW END: Gabie Strong, 8–9:30 p.m. | Bemis |
| Sat, Nov 7 | Some Days The Sky Is Heavy, a chamber operetta; conversation 6:30 p.m., performance 7:30 p.m. | KANEKO |
| Thu, Nov 12 | Live @ LOW END: Magic Tuber Stringband, 8–9:30 p.m. | Bemis |
On Thursday, October 15, Bemis has a talk and then a concert back to back. The next two days bring a gallery opening night and then a free afternoon party across the street. A single block hosts all three.
The storefronts filled in around the garden
The same blocks changed a lot this year, mostly before the garden opened, and Grow Omaha tracked each change.
Anthem, a Tex-Asian pub from Flagship Restaurant Group, opened April 16 at 1205 Howard Street in the former Plank Provisions space. Its only other location is in Austin, Texas. Grow Omaha quoted its description as a "design-savvy eatery for Latin & Asian pub fare, plus tiki drinks & sake bombs."
Monty's Bar & Bottle Shop opened at the start of May at 1037 Jones Street, in the former Wine Beer and Spirits space on the ground floor of the Old Market Lofts Building. Charles "Monty" Carter runs it. In the same May report, Grow Omaha noted that PaCs Popcorn and Cocktails at 1118 Howard Street had closed for good.
South O Sandwich Co. was 11 days into business at Howard and South 13th when KMTV covered it in July. The shop is owned by Stephen Center and doubles as a workforce training program.
Next door to the old PaCs space, Kilwins plans its first Nebraska store at 1112 Howard Street. Grow Omaha reported in September that a renovation permit had been filed for the space, which has had Kilwins window signs for years, with an opening planned for this winter. No opening date has been confirmed.
The alleys are getting use as well. On October 2, the Omaha Downtown Improvement District Association brought Downtown Alley Alive back for its second event and its own 20th anniversary. This time it was in the alley behind Ika San | Ramen at 1114 Jones Street, between Jackson and Jones and 11th and 12th, with live music from Jason Hinze and drinks and food from Ika San. The first event, in May, used the alley between Howard and Jackson in the same two-street span. ODIDA hasn't posted any more dates for 2026.
Mapped out, the year's changes on these blocks fall between 10th and 13th Streets and between Howard and Leavenworth: a new pub, a new bar and bottle shop, a sandwich shop, a confectioner on the way, two alley events, and a public garden.
Where the season goes from here
The weekly anchor for this part of town has already wrapped. The 2026 Old Market Farmers Market at 11th and Jackson ran from May 2 to October 10, so last Saturday was the final market of the year. From here until the holidays, the south end's calendar comes from the Harvest Party, the KANEKO and Bemis dates above, and whatever the new storefronts schedule.
After Thanksgiving, attention shifts a few blocks north and east. The Holiday Lights Festival lists its 2026 Lighting Ceremony for Saturday, November 28, at Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront, with music at 5 p.m. and the ceremony at 6 p.m. The light show projected on the Performance Pavilion and the Burlington Building runs about seven minutes and repeats every hour on Fridays and Saturdays through the season. The festival's New Year's Eve fireworks on December 31 lists the RiverFront and the Old Market as the best viewing spots.
The streetcar's Farnam work zone between 14th and 18th Streets is not expected to finish until summer 2027.
If you live downtown or in Midtown and the streetcar work has you thinking about how the route might change your block over the next couple of years, Avid Realty is glad to talk it through with you, from what's on the construction schedule to what we're seeing near the line. Reach out to Schedule a Consultation whenever you're ready.
