The Nebraska State Historical Society

The Society has changed more than its address. Legislation made it a state agency in 1994. In 2009 a $6.2 million renovation closed the library, archives and reference room in this 1953 building for about 18 months, to bring its systems up to standard and make it more accessible. Its smooth, rounded limestone front is a Moderne design. In 2018 the agency took the name History Nebraska, and on September 3, 2024, it returned to Nebraska State Historical Society, a name its interim director said had been synonymous with Nebraska history for 140 years.

What the plaque says

The Nebraska State Historical Society In 1878 public-spirited citizens, led by former governor Robert W. Furnas, organized the Nebraska State Historical Society. The legislature desig- nated the Society a state institution in 1883 and began providing financial support. The Society's offices, library, and museum occupied various Lincoln locations until 1953, including the old university library (present Architecture Hall) and the state capitol. This building, designed by Lincoln architect Ellery Davis and funded by a special tax levy, opened in 1953. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Nebraska State Capitol — 0.6 mi
  Bertram Goodhue's 400-foot tower on the prairie, built in four phases from 1922 to 1932 and paid off on completion, home of the only one-house legislature in the country.
• Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum — 24 mi
  Two hangar-sized halls beside I-80 near Ashland holding the bombers and reconnaissance planes of the command that ran America's nuclear force from Offutt, south of Omaha, from 1948 to 1992.

More markers nearby

• The Lewis-Syford House — 0.2 mi
• Pershing Rifles — 0.3 mi
• The University of Nebraska — 0.3 mi
• Lincoln's Founding Block — 0.4 mi