Dreamland Ballroom
Located on the second floor of the Jewell Building, the Dreamland Ballroom was the premier nightclub for big bands and jazz in Omaha. James Jewell, Jr. booked the original Nat King Cole Trio for $25 a person for one show. Dreamland closed in the 1960s. Other performers included Dinah Washington, Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Lionel Hampton. A variety of Omaha music legends including Preston Love, Anna Mae Winburn and Lloyd Hunter also played at the Dreamland.
An influential man in the black community, James Jewell invited activist Whitney Young to speak in the 1950s at Dreamland Hall about the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. Young started in Omaha and became the national director of the Urban League.
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