The Four Sides

During the time between the years 1900 and 1912 a German born architect by the name of John Latenser created a masterpiece at 124 North 20th Street in Omaha, Nebraska. For thirty years this had been the location of a single building that housed Nebraska’s most populated high school. In 1901 Mr. Latenser created a new structure adjacent to its front facing east. He then followed with a creation of a second building a few years later that connected to the first; it faced south. A number of years later he finished yet another structure that connected to the south building facing west. Finally, in year twelve of this project he completed a fourth building that connected to both the south and west facing structures. It faced north. With all four buildings completed the old original structure was now fully encased. Soon after it was raised, leaving an empty space inside the square now formed by the four buildings. The space eventually became a courtyard that accessed all four buildings. The buildings were eventually referred to as sides in the order of their creation. The first creation was the building facing east and it became the 1side. The second building which faced south became the 2side. The third building which faced west became the 3side. The last building that sealed the square faced north and completed the project in 1912…It has since been called the 4side. The story inside this book originated and played out within these four structures, thus the title The Four Sides. Even after all these years as we have both long since moved on it is still the place that bonds us.