Old Postcards...

It all started in 2005 at an Antique Mall in Lincoln. I found an old post card of a stately old home in York, NE. I bought the card and brought it home. After driving around for quite awhile, we finally found the house on 6th Street. Then I found a post card of the old Court House at Beins Drug Store in York. (Beins Drug Store no longer exists.) Next was the antique show/flea market in Lexington. Looking through some old post cards I came across one that said, "Blackburn Ave, York, Nebraska - looking north" and I lived on Blackburn Ave... looking closer I thought I recognized the homes, kind of... well I narrowed it down to three I'd seen on my morning walks. I bought the post card; it was only a dollar. There was another one of a "Birdseye view of York, NE" I wanted too but it was $12. So I boutht the less expensive card and came home, went for a walk and after two or three trips up and down the blocks near the college, I decided which house had to be on the postcard. By this time I was pretty much "hooked" and now obsessed with finding old pictures of York. I couldn't get the Birdseye view card out of my mind and so I searched E-Bay for York, NE and lo and behold... there it was with several other cards available... none too cheap however. I discovered it was possible to click on the picture of the card and save it to a file. I "collected" old photos, mostly postcards, of York, Nebraska for several years, finding them on several sites on the internet. I just wanted to see what York looked like in the early days and how it hasd changed. I had only lived in York for 8 years and didn't recognize a lot of the scenes I was finding. I was quite sad to discover so many lovely, old buildings gone with newer more modern ones in their place. I had hoped to take a current photo showing the same scene, same street corner, same building as it looked today. Sadly, I moved away from York in 2009 and never finished this project, but I thought I'd go ahead and post what I did find in the few years I was looking and collecting. I hope you enjoy seeing York, Nebraska then and now: This is one of the earliest photos of York, Nebraska that I have found. I believe it says Public Square, York, Neb. 1876 looking N. It could be Public School also, but the following photo says Public Square. Birdseye View, Public Square, York, Nebr Looking southeast, I believe... Another birdseye view of York Taken from the top of the Court House (see the shadow), looking northeast... I believe the large white building on the left would be the Post Office Lincoln Ave - North of the square About 1906 6th Street and Lincoln Ave - looking north Corner of 6th Street and Lincoln Ave Post Office and City Hall Grant Ave - looking south Early 1900's The building on the right is at the corner of Grant Ave and 6th Street This is looking west down 6th Street Downtown York - 1905 6th Street and Grant Ave looking north Same corner - 6th & Grant The far building on the right is the old Oprah House The Opera House 1910 Across the street west of the Post Office Now there is a Mexican Restaurant in the NE corner of the building West side of the square - York, Nebr The corner of 5th Street and Lincoln Ave - looking up Lincoln Ave to the north Closer view of the same building and lady Lincoln Ave - looking north - 1940s East side of Lincoln Ave - looking south See the Court House peeking over the rooftops The trees are bigger now... looking northwest... The corner of 6th Street and Grant Ave... The white buiding is the Omega Center, The Opera House is north of it.