Sporting District, Omaha | |
|---|---|
Vice district | |
  Sporting District Location within Nebraska | |
| Coordinates: 41°15′23″N 95°56′14″W / 41.2565°N 95.9372°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Nebraska |
| County | Douglas |
| City | Omaha |
| Years active | late 19c - 1933 |
| Notable people: | |
| Politicians | Tom Dennison "Cowboy" James Dahlman |
| Brothel owners | Anna Wilson Mae Hogan Ada and Minna Everleigh |
| Gambling house operators | Dan Allen Charles Bibbins H.B. Kennedy Charles White Jack Morrison |
The Sporting District was an area near 16th and Harney Streets in Omaha, Nebraska where city boss Tom Dennison kept the majority of his gambling, drinking and prostitution interests from the late 19th century until the end of his reign in 1933.[1] "Cowboy" James Dahlman was reputedly voted to the first of eight terms as mayor of Omaha because he was more tolerant of the Dennison's "Sporting District" in the middle of the city.[2]
The term sporting was a common 19th-century euphemism for gambling and/or prostitution. Many communities around the U.S. used this term; brothels were often referred to as sporting houses.
- ^ Menard 1989, p. 107.
- ^ Wolff 2007.