Vietnam Tee

Logan Fontenelle Housing Project  aka Vietnam Projects

Opened in 1938 as Omaha’s first major public housing development, the Logan Fontenelle project was a New Deal-era Public Works Administration effort originally built for Eastern European immigrants fleeing oppression. Spanning more than 550 units and housing over 2,100 people near North 24th and Paul Streets, it was renamed after an Omaha tribal leader and featured long, courtyard-style buildings with a central playground. Within years, it became almost entirely African American amid post-WWII migration and strict segregation policies. The site witnessed the 1969 shooting of 14-year-old Vivian Strong, sparking days of riots that drew the National Guard and earned the complex the grim nickname “Little Vietnam.” Decades of neglect, overcrowding, and crime led to demolition starting in 1991; the entire complex was gone by 1995 after a landmark civil rights lawsuit forced redevelopment. Today, the site is the mixed-income Conestoga neighborhood of single-family homes.