Booming Businesses in the Early 1900s

Booming Businesses in the Early 1900s. . , In the early 1900s, the southeast side of Second Street, between Washington and Jefferson streets, was a booming business and commerce center. It was also referred to as Railroad Avenue. Starting at the corner of Washington and Second streets heading east, the Sander's Store was the first building on the block, with a barber shop next to it, a shoemaker's shop (later the Blue Front Saloon, then the Fremont Brewing Company), a dual-purpose restaurant and meat market, and the Sarpy County Courthouse bookending the block on the east. , Brownie's Watering Hole , In 1903, a restaurant and meat market occupied the property at 125 E. Second St. The restaurant was razed in 1906 by the Storz Brewing Company and replaced with the Storz Saloon, owned and operated by Henry Niemann. Niemann owned several businesses in Papillion throughout the years. Many people owned the building over the years, but it remained a tavern until prohibition was in effect in Nebraska on May 1, 1917. , Following prohibition, the building was converted to the Alyce Movie Theater (also called the Alyce Moving Picture Theatre), a place for entertainment. The theater provided an exciting way for residents to enjoy an evening out that did not involve alcohol. The theater was renamed the Central Theatre in the early 1920s and had numerous owners through the years. , Charlie Peters converted the building to a tavern and pool hall known as Peter's Tavern shortly after prohibition was repealed in Papillion on July 23, 1935. , Articles from The Papillion Times indicate that the wooden bar in the Zeeck Hotel (117 N. Jefferson St.) was carried across Jefferson Street to Brownie's Watering Hole in late November 1933, where it is believed to remain today.