Logan Fontenelle Housing Project - History

History

The housing projects were named in honor of Logan Fontenelle, an Omaha chief. Built by the Public Works Administration during the Great Depression, Logan Fontenelle was originally built as no-cost or low-cost housing for working-class families, chiefly of European descent, including Germans, Italians and Czechs, many of them 20th century immigrants. Many young people in Logan Fontenelle during this period regarded the projects as a haven as they were a considerable improvement over previous housing they had. After supporting limited public housing in Omaha in 1936, the city's business community became adamantly opposed to Logan Fontenelle by the time it was completed in 1938.

In 1947, the maximum income allowed for a family of four at Logan Fontenelle was $2,200 per year, and they would pay a maximum rent $34.50 per month. The family was asked to find other housing if they exceeded those limits. The projects were segregated through the 1950s, with restrictions against African Americans living there.

Later, when the projects were opened to African Americans, the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects were used together with race-restrictive covenants and redlining to keep African Americans living in North Omaha. Community programs at Logan Fontenelle included the Kellom Girls Club, which moved there in 1973 after operating at Omaha's Hilltop-Pleasantview Public Homes since 1966.

Although the projects had originally been built as transition housing for working-class people, a steep decline in jobs in Omaha during the 1950s and 1960s meant that many residents had to go on welfare. Tens of thousands of jobs were lost as railroads and the meatpacking industry restructured. The projects became a concentration of poor families with few immediate options. The rate of crime and violence began to increase in the area.