Hilltop Tee

Hilltop Homes Public Housing Projects  

Built in 1952 on the former site of a brickyard at North 30th and Lake Streets, Hilltop Homes was part of a wave of mid-century public housing meant to serve returning veterans and low-income families. Its 225 units in 46 two-story buildings initially welcomed a mix of African American and European immigrant residents before becoming fully segregated. A 1969 multi-service center dedication brought civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer to speak, and Jesse Jackson campaigned there in 1988. By the 1980s–90s, however, the isolated “maze-like” layout became infamous for gangs, drugs, and violence, turning it into one of North Omaha’s most notorious blights. Demolished in 1995 as part of the Omaha Housing Authority’s shift to scattered-site housing, the 14-acre site now holds Salem Baptist Church, a Walgreens, and contributes to the surrounding Highlander “urban village” redevelopment.