Distillery Row, which once stretched for miles along the southern Peoria riverfront, is now little more than a memory. The easy transport of corn to make whiskey is now no longer good enough. But one section of the riverfront still operates as an Archers Daniel Midland ethanol plant. The old warehouses of the distilleries still…
Tag: Peoria
Cedar Street Bridge
Update: See East Peoria here, which lies under the eastern approaches of the bridge. Completed in 1933, the soaring Cedar Street Bridge ironically no longer carries Cedar Street across the Illinois River; it’s now called the MacArthur Highway. I find it interesting in that it is probably one of the first major bridges in the…
Power Substation, Bartonville
What is this station? It seems to be a power substation that serves the factories still lining the river in Bartonville.
Anheuser Busch/Kickapoo Building, Peoria
Completed in 1911, the Kickapoo Building was a local tavern associated with Anheuser-Busch, back when breweries were still allowed to own saloons. Designed by Albert Keifer and constructed by John Hartwig, the building has seen new life as a coffee shop on the near end. Unfortunately, at the other end of the “flatiron,” there is…
Peoria State Hospital, Bartonville
Update: Demolished in 2017 after the owner defaulted on a loan to the City of Bartonville. The building’s stone was salvaged and sold off. See another state institution in Lincoln. There are still several buildings left of the old Peoria State Hospital in Bartonville, which is just southwest of Peoria on the Illinois River. As…
Civil War Memorial, Peoria, Illinois
Dedicated in 1899, the stunning Civil War Memorial in Peoria is one of the more unique and memorable monuments to the war I have seen, and I can assure you I’ve seen plenty living in Washington, DC. The monument was sculpted by Fritz Triebel, cast in Pistoia, Italy (not Pistojo [sic] as mentioned in some…
Hale Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, Main Street, Peoria, Illinois
Update: Demolished in late August of 2022. Due to the much appreciated help of a reader, this church has been identified and the title updated. Right at the intersection of Main and High Streets, this magnificent church sits in splendid abandonment. It’s strange, since it sits right at the entrance of the West Bluff Historic…
Up on the Bluffs, Peoria, Illinois
Update: I returned to the street in August of 2019 to photograph more houses. The West Bluff Historic District, sitting high up on the bluffs above downtown Peoria and just off of Main Street, is one of the most spectacular and well-preserved late-Nineteenth Century neighborhoods I have seen. Below are the various houses I shot…
Down by the River, Peoria, Illinois
Update: I’ve continued to revisit this corner of Peoria on multiple occasions, including September of 2015, again in August of 2019, and then yet again in July of 2021. Peoria is really a cool city; architecturally it reminds me of a lot of mid-sized Illinois cities: lots of four-squares and wood, balloon frame houses with…
Water Treatment Plant, Peoria, Illinois
I don’t know much about this building, other than it seems to still be in use as a water treatment facility. It’s a great example of Romanesque Revival architecture.