An off-the-beaten-path Omaha neighborhood with distinctive homes sits on a stretch of North 58th Street between Maple and Pratt streets. Formerly known as Bensonhurst, the half-mile-long tract features numerous Craftsman bungalows from the 1920s and ’30s.
Bensonhurst was developed as a luxury suburb, with larger-than-average residential lots measuring 50 feet by 250 feet. The entrance is marked by two stone pillars.
Homeowners Lori Livingston-Hubbell and Jack Hubbell appreciate the beauty, solidity, and seclusion of their century-old brick bungalow and urban core sanctuary in the Benson area.
When Lori and her retired career US Air Force-husband resided overseas, they yearned to live in Benson when stateside. “I spent a lot of my childhood on North 58th,” she said. “We have fond memories of it.” Once they returned to Omaha, a real estate agent tipped them off that the home was for sale.
“We walked through the house and immediately fell in love with it,” she recalled of that day in 2002. “We made an offer that night. We knew it was going to be a labor of love. Years of nicotine were soaked into the walls. I scrubbed for weeks.”
The kitchen was in rough shape. The enclosed porch, originally exposed to the elements, required new windows. The full bath needed new tile and a shower.
“We knew we wanted to bring the place back to its former glory and give it a new life,” said Lori, an agent with Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate. “We’ve been working on it ever since. With an old house, it never ends. We’ve done pretty much everything on our own.”
Lori brought experience restoring older homes. The “they don’t build ‘em like this anymore” quality was worth the effort, she said.
“As a Realtor, I see a lot of new-construction houses put up in 180 days or less with No. 2 grade lumber and particle board. This house is very sturdy. It’ll probably be here in another 100 years. Our foundation is 18 inches thick.”
Like everything else, the porch is substantial with a stone threshold, capitols, and window sills. It serves as another room complete with a TV.
The home exudes the bungalow style with its pitched gabled roof, wide bracketed eaves, and large front porch. The main level features big exposed lintel beams, plus all-walnut woodwork and floors, and a large fireplace. Cornices adorn the ceilings and baseboards. The door and window trim is all walnut.
A vaulted brick room served as a cyclone and root cellar. The Hubbells use it as a storm shelter, but get more practical use of it as a wine cellar.
The bungalow’s many charms were noted by admiring visitors on the 2019 Restoration Exchange Omaha tour. Vintage home lovers who researched the history revealed the Hubbell residence was built by N.N. Galbreath, an early automotive dealer who insisted on a double garage. Bessie and Frank Ellison became its next owners. Frank and Carl A. Swanson formed what became C.A. Swanson and Sons, the originator of the TV dinner. Then there were the Andresens, Danish immigrants who owned a nearby farm.
The warm, cozy, story-and-a-half dwelling has seven rooms, including four bedrooms, a formal dining room, one-and-a-half baths, and nearly 2,000 square feet of finished space.
“It’s a simple, no-nonsense style of house with an early open concept featuring big open rooms that flow from one to the other,” Lori said. “We like its nice, sensible, traditional layout. There’s no wasted space. We have made modifications to modernize it, but we’ve also tried to keep as much original as possible to keep the character of the house.”
“For all its faults–we’ve got some wonky door frames from the house settling—we love it,” Lori added. “My husband likes things with soul, and I think the house and everything we’ve put into it has soul.”
Great care has also gone into the landscaping. Patios finished with stonework and art objects are nestled among trees and shrubbery. With all that curated space, she noted, “It’s kind of our own personal park.”
“When I turn onto 58th Street and drive past those pillars, I’m like, ‘I’m home, this is where I belong.’ We definitely consider ourselves very fortunate to have this house and to be stewards of it […] We’ve told our heirs they have to treat it with respect.”
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of Omaha Home magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.