Central Christian School / The Perfect Seal Building

1728 S 16th St. Omaha, NE.

The Industrial Foundation (1918–1970s)

Long before it held classrooms, 1602 S. 16th Street was built in 1918 for the Standard Chemical Manufacturing Company. Known for producing "Perfect Seal" livestock preparations and disinfectants, the building was a cornerstone of Omaha’s agricultural support industry. Its heavy-duty, reinforced concrete construction was designed to support massive chemical vats and industrial machinery, resulting in the incredibly thick walls and low ceilings that characterize the structure today.

A Mission of Education: Central Christian (1970s–2000s)

In the late 1970s, the building underwent a radical transformation. It became the home of Central Christian School, a private K-12 institution. For decades, the industrial floors were partitioned into classrooms, a library, and a gymnasium. The contrast was striking: children learning and playing inside a building designed for chemical manufacturing. At its peak, the school was a tight-knit community hub for South Omaha families, but declining enrollment and the massive overhead costs of the aging industrial structure eventually led to the school’s closure and relocation in the early 2000s.

The Era of "The Space" and Decay

Following the school's departure, the building entered a strange chapter as "The Space," a massive indoor flea market, storage facility, and artist collective. During this time, the interior became a labyrinth of plywood stalls and salvaged goods. However, fire code violations and structural concerns eventually shuttered the doors for good. Today, the building is a shell of broken glass and "reclaimed" copper. It stands as a gritty, grey sentinel at the edge of downtown, its hallways still littered with remnants of school workbooks and flea market debris—a jarring timeline of Omaha’s shifting economy.

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