| John Gottschalk Freedom Center | |
| Building Type: | Production facility |
| Architectural Style: | Modern |
| Location: | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Owner: | Omaha World-Herald |
| Completion Date: | August 31, 2001 |
| Architect: | HDR, Inc. |
The John Gottschalk Freedom Center is a newspaper production facility located at 14th Street and Capitol Avenue in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Built for the Omaha World-Herald, the building is considered to be one of the most automated and technologically advanced newspaper facilities in the world.[1] [2] [3] The Freedom Center has been labeled a "catalyst" in the redevelopment of Downtown Omaha,[4] [5] along with such other new downtown development as the opening of the Missouri riverfront, the First National Bank Building, the CHI Health Center Omaha and the Gallup University campus.[6] The facility covers four blocks, and houses the new shaftless printing presses, material handling center, assembly equipment, and a parking garage.[7]
The facility was opened in August 2001, and cost almost $125 million to build.[8] It consists of three structures designed by HDR, Inc. They include a five-level, 321000square feet press hall featuring 3 MAN Roland presses from Germany; a 20000square feet paper-storage facility capable of storing 3,000 rolls of newsprint and a 600-stall parking garage. Large portions of the exterior are glass, allowing downtown traffic to see the storage facility and presses.[9]
The storage facility/press hall is connected by a tunnel than runs underneath 13th Street. Most newspaper facilities of this size have been built on greenfield sites. The Omaha World-Herald was dedicated to keeping its newspaper facilities downtown, which required a more vertical structure, and the tunnel. Transfer Vehicle System (TVS) robotic vehicles are used to deliver newsprint to the press.[10] [11]
The presses weigh 1,661 U.S. tons and can produce 75,000 newspapers per hour. The John Gottschalk Freedom Center produces four editions of the Omaha World-Herald daily, in addition to a Sunday edition and daily editions of the Daily NonPareil for neighboring Southwest Iowa.
Construction of the modern facility served as the impetus for redesigning the layout of the actual newspaper.[12]