Straddling the city of Peoria and suburb of Peoria Heights, Grandview Drive offers panoramic views of Lake Peoria, a widening of the Illinois River as its wends its way through the prairie, buffeted by bluffs to the west. Originally envisioned in 1894, construction began in 1903 and was completed several years later. Laid out like…
Tag: Peoria
Down By The River and the South Side, Peoria, August 2023
The public housing down by the river, which I first spotted way back in December of 2008, are finally being demolished. I had discovered they were built when Peoria demolished the red light district where Richard Pryor had grown up. The new buildings going up are nice, and they even feature the latest navy blue…
Grain Elevators, South of Peoria
These massive grain elevators south of Peoria along the Illinois River are slated for demolition–or maybe they aren’t. They’ll probably sit around for a long time until they’re finally, or completely, demolished.
St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, Peoria, Interior
I was absolutely stunned and delighted to find some magnificent paintings on the interior of St. Mark’s when I went inside on a quiet Saturday. There’s a long story about how the parish renovated the church to undo changes done in the mid-Twentieth Century, but one of the major alterations was to embrace the work…
St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, Peoria, Exterior
Up the hill in Peoria away from the South Side is St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, which has roots going back to 1891. It is interesting in that it has only two front portals. As is typical of many German Gothic Revival churches, the spire is offset and transitions to an octagonal shape above the…
The South Side, Peoria
My trip up to Central Illinois in mid June took me to all sorts of random surprises, including several new churches and other sights, and that is why I enjoy doing what I do. It is often totally random. But sometimes my totally random path takes me through neighborhoods that tell stories that I don’t…
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, South Side of Peoria
Update: I went by the church again in August of 2023. Due to heavy demolition of the South Side, or Near South Side of Peoria in the mid to late Twentieth Century, the remaining churches in the area south of downtown are easy to spot, notwithstanding their spires, as I noted in regards to St….
Springdale Cemetery, Peoria
When I first drove into Springdale Cemetery, founded in 1855, I thought it was just going to be a standard burial ground with rows of normal tombstones. But that changed dramatically, as I soon hit narrow roads that dropped precipitously into deep hollows that stretch down into the river Illinois River valley. In the first…
Dan Fogelberg Memorial, Peoria
“Dan Fogelberg? Who’s Dan Fogelberg?” As at least one friend has remarked to me recently, Google Maps has been arbitrarily highlighting some features and ignoring other more important landmarks. Recently, while scanning around Peoria on Google Satellite, one such arbitrary landmark popped up near the shores of Lake Peoria: The Dan Fogelberg Memorial. Peoria, as…
Tomb of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Peoria
Located just northeast of downtown Peoria, the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception has recently gained greater prominence as the burial place of the Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. I’ve looked at some of the houses nearby, most recently back in July. The first St. Mary’s was completed in 1852, and was a…