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Peoria, Illinois (named after the Peoria tribe) is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County,[1] Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 112,936. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 369,161 in 2005, making it the second largest metropolitan area in the state behind Chicago.[2] Peoria has become famous as a representation of the average American city because of its demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwestern culture. On the Vaudeville circuit, it was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, it would work anywhere. The question "Will it play in Peoria?" has now become a metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public, and Peoria is often used as a test market for new products, services, and public policy polling.[3] Peoria is also headquarters for Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
[edit] HistoryPeoria is one of the oldest settlements in Illinois, much older than Chicago, as explorers first ventured up the Illinois River from the Mississippi. The lands that eventually would become Peoria were first settled in 1680, when French explorers René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and Henri de Tonti constructed Fort Crevecoeur. This fort would later burn to the ground, and in 1813 Fort Clark, Illinois was built. When the County of Peoria was organized in 1825, Fort Clark was officially named Peoria. [edit] IndustryPeoria's first major industry started in 1830 by John Hamlin who constructed the flour mill on Kickapoo Creek. In 1837 another industry paved the way with E.F. Nowland's pork planting industry. Many other industries started slowly after in Peoria including carriage factories, pottery makers, wholesale warehousing, casting foundries, glucose factories, ice harvesting, and furniture makers. Peoria became the first world leader for distilleries thanks to Andrew Eitle (1837) and Almiron S. Cole (1843). During this time, Peoria held 22 distilleries and multiple breweries. Together, they had produced the highest amount of internal revenue tax on alcohol of any single revenue district in the entire U.S. Peoria also was one of the major bootlegging areas during the prohibition and home to the famed mobsters, the Shelton brothers. This great success placed Peoria into a building boom of beautiful private homes, schools, parks, churches, as well as municipal buildings. In addition to the distilleries, came farm machinery manufacturing coming into existence by William Nurse in 1837. Also, men by the names of Toby and Anderson brought the steel plow around 1843 which gained success right off the bat. The dominant manufacturing companies in Peoria were Kingman Plow Co., Acme Harvester Co., Selby, Starr & Co., and Avery Manufacturing Co. In 1889, Keystone Steel & Wire developed the first wire fence and has been the nation's leading manufacturer for over a century ever since. Around the 1880s businesses like Rouse Hazard Co. in Peoria, were dealers and importers of bicycles and accessories worldwide. Charles Duryea, one of the cycle manufacturers, developed the first commercially available gasoline-powered automobile in the U.S. in 1893. At this time, agricultural implement production declined which led the earth moving and tractor equipment companies to skyrocket and make Peoria in this field the world leader. In 1925, Caterpillar Tractor Co. was formed from the Benjamin Holt Co. and the C.L. Best Tractor Co. Robert G. LeTourneau's earth moving company began its production of new scrapers and dozers in 1935 which evolved into Komatsu-Dresser, Haulpak Division [4] [edit] GeographyPeoria is located at (40.720737, -89.609421).[5] [edit] TopographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.6 square miles (120.8 km²).Land comprises 44.4 square miles (115.0 km²) of the area, and 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²) (4.78%) is water. Peoria is bounded on the east by the Illinois River except for the enclave of Peoria Heights, which also borders the river. Four bridges run directly between the city and neighboring East Peoria. On the south end of Peoria's western border are Bartonville and the newly established city of West Peoria. Local municipal plans indicate that the city intends to continue its expansion northwest, into an area unofficially considered part of Dunlap, Illinois.[citation needed] [edit] Environment[edit] Climate
[edit] Culture
The city of Peoria is home to a United States courthouse, the Peoria Civic Center (which includes Carver Arena), and the world headquarters for Caterpillar Inc.. Medicine has become a major part of Peoria's economy. In addition to three major hospitals, the USDA's National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, formerly called the USDA Northern Regional Research Lab, is located in Peoria. This lab was where mass production of penicillin was developed.[7] Peoria's downtown area includes corporate, governmental, convention, educational, and medical facilities. It also boasts the Peoria Civic Center, Apollo Theatre, and O'Brien Field, as well as an arts, dining, and entertainment area near the riverfront. The downtown area now also includes high-rise residential developments such as condominiums, apartments, and riverfront lofts. Some of these were office buildings and warehouses converted to residential use.[8][citation needed] Grandview Drive, which Theodore Roosevelt purportedly called the "world's most beautiful drive" during a 1910 visit[9], runs through Peoria and Peoria Heights. In addition to Grandview Drive, the Peoria Park District boasts 9,000 acres (36 km²) of parks, including Glen Oak Zoo and five public golf courses. There are also several private and semi-private golf courses. The Peoria Park District, the first and still largest park district in Illinois, was the 2001 Winner of the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation for Class II Parks.[10] Museums in Peoria include the Lakeview Museum for the Arts and Sciences and the Wheels o' Time Museum. A new Museum Square, under construction downtown, will house a new regional museum, a planetarium, and the Caterpillar World Visitors Center.[11] The Steamboat Classic, held every summer, is the world's largest four-mile (6 km) running race and draws international runners.[12] Peoria's sister cities include Friedrichshafen, Germany; Benxi, China; and Clonmel, Ireland. Peoria has also recently adopted Biloxi, Mississippi, as a sister city to aid in its recovery from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[13][14] [edit] Performing arts
The Peoria Symphony Orchestra is the 10th oldest in the nation. Peoria is also home to Opera Illinois, the Peoria Municipal Band, the Peoria Area Civic Chorale, the Central Illinois Youth Symphony, and two ballet companies: Peoria Ballet and Illinois Ballet. Several community and professional theatres have their home in and around Peoria, including the Peoria Players, which is the fourth-oldest community theater in the nation and the oldest in Illinois.[15] The Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, and the Peoria Art Guild and Galleries, host of the Annual Art Fair that is rated as one of the best professional art fairs in the nation,[16] are in Peoria. Peoria is also home to two community theatres. Peoria Players Theatre is the fourth oldest theatre in the nation and continues to produce great seasons year after year. Corn Stock Theatre is another theatre in Peoria, it being the only outdoor theatre in the round in Central Illinois. Comedy clubs, and several venues for a variety of traveling shows and concerts including Broadway touring companies, are located in and around Peoria.[17] Peoria has embarked on major renovations and expansion to Peoria Zoo at Glen Oak Park. When finished, the new zoo improvements will triple the size of the zoo and will have a major African safari exhibit. Work began in the fall of 2006. In addition, The Peoria Playhouse — An Interactive Children's Museum, spearheaded by the Junior League of Peoria — is planned in conjunction with the zoo expansion and further enhancements to Glen Oak Park campus.[18] [edit] Tourism[edit] Registered historic places
[edit] SportsPeoria is home to the AHL Peoria Rivermen. The current hockey team is the third team to use the name Peoria Rivermen, and they started play in October, 2005 at the Peoria Civic Center.[19] The Class A Minor League Baseball team Peoria Chiefs home venue is O'Brien Field, a stadium near downtown Peoria. This team is affiliated with the Chicago Cubs, and plays in the Midwest League.[20][21] The Peoria Sunday Morning League is the longest running semi-pro baseball league in the nation. It has been running for 91 years. The league boasts many former Major Leaguers such as Kirby Puckett, Mike Dunne, and Jim Thome. Peoria is also home to the Arena Football League 2 (AF2) professional football team, the Peoria Pirates. In 1946, the Peoria Redwings were created as part of the All-American Girls Baseball League (which was officially the American Girls Baseball League after 1950). The Redwings were the 9th team of 12 to enter the league, and were in the league for 6 out of the 12 years of the league's existence. The Redwings folded after the 1951 season, and the league disbanded in 1954.[22] The Peoria Rugby Football Club is the first rugby club in Peoria Illinois. [23] Since 1974 Peoria has hosted the annual Steamboat Classic event, a running race featuring 4 mile and 15K events. In 2007 the race drew over 4000 participants. [edit] MediaPeoria is the 150th largest radio market in the United States[24] and the 117th largest TV market in the United States.[25] The area is served by over 20 commercial radio stations, 3 non-commercial radio stations, 6 TV stations and two daily newspapers. [edit] Civic Center
The Peoria Civic Center includes an arena, convention center, and theater, and was completed in the early 1980s, was designed by the famed late architect Philip Johnson. The three structures are connected via an enclosed glass panel arcade for all-weather protection and aesthetics.[citation needed] As of 2007, it has completed a $55 million renovation and expansion based on demand for larger conventions and entertainment venues. [edit] Renaissance ParkRenaissance Park is a research park originally established in May 2003 as the Peoria Medical and Technology District. It consists of nine residential neighborhoods, Bradley University, the medical district, Caterpillar world headquarters, and the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research. The Peoria NEXT Innovation Center opened in August 2007 and provides both dry and wet labs, as well as conference and office space for emerging start-up companies. Over $1 billion in research is conducted in Peoria annually.[26] [edit] Museum Square
A $100+ million Museum Square is proposed as a 6.8 acre development in downtown Peoria along the Illinois River. As of July, 2008, the museum project is on hold. Much of the space is currently being used as a temporary parking lot. [edit] Economy[edit] Well-known Peoria businesses
[edit] Demographics
There were 45,199 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 15.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. Individuals made up 33.2% of all households, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04. In the city the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,397. The per capita income for the city was $20,512. Some 18.8% of the population was below the poverty line. Special censuses were conducted in 2004 and 2007 that noted a total increase of 8,455 in the city's population since the 2000 census,[30] mainly in the northwest corridor making the current population at 121,391. The metropolitan area has a population of 370,000, which includes Peoria, Tazewell, Woodford, Stark and Marshall counties. Suburbs and towns in this area include Bartonville, Bellevue, Creve Coeur, Dunlap, East Peoria, Germantown Hills, Groveland, Marquette Heights, Metamora, Morton, North Pekin, Pekin, Peoria Heights, Tremont, Washington, and West Peoria.[citation needed] [edit] Law and government
[edit] Township of the City of Peoria
The Township of the City of Peoria (sometimes called City of Peoria Township) is a separate government from the City of Peoria, and performs the functions of civil township government in most of the city. The border of the township matched the Peoria city limits until 1991[citation needed], when it was frozen at its current state; the City of Peoria itself has continued expanding outside of the City of Peoria Township borders into Medina and Radnor Townships. In the years before the freeze, the Township of the City of Peoria had grown to take up most of the former area of Richwoods and what is now West Peoria Township. [edit] HistoryPeoria was incorporated as a village on March 11, 1835. The city did not have a mayor, but they did have a village president. The first was Rudolphus Rouse who served from 1835 to 1836. A town marshal handled all the problems. The first Chief of Police was appointed in 1837; he was John B. Lishk. No records were kept on the size of the department. The city was incorporated on April 21, 1845. This was the end of a village president and the starting of the mayoral system. First mayor was William Hale. Each time a new mayor is chosen, a new Chief of Police is inducted. Peoria is now served by Steven Settingsgaard Chief of Police, inducted March 9, 2005. Peoria is served by a mayor and ten city council members. The city is divided into five districts. Five council members are elected at-large. The present city clerk is Mary L. Haynes. Bonnie P. Gavin is the current city assessor. City treasurer is Reginald A. Willis. [edit] Education
Peoria is served by four public K-12 school districts:
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria currently runs six schools in the city: five grade schools and Peoria Notre Dame High School. Non-denominational Peoria Christian School operates a grade school, middle school, and high school. In addition, Peoria Christian School, Concordia Lutheran School, Peoria Academy, Christ Lutheran School, and several smaller private schools exist.[citation needed] Bradley University, Midstate College, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, the Downtown and North campuses of Illinois Central College, and the Peoria campus of Robert Morris College are based in the city. [edit] Awards
[edit] Other notable buildings
[edit] Infrastructure[edit] Health and medicineThe health-care industry accounts for at least 25% of Peoria's economy.[citation needed] The city has three major hospitals: OSF Saint Francis Medical Center , Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, and Proctor Hospital. In addition, the Children's Hospital of Illinois, the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, and the Midwest Affiliate of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are located in the city. The hospitals are all located in a medical district around the junction of Interstate 74 and Knoxville Avenue, adjacent to downtown in the southeast of the city, except for Proctor Hospital in the geographic center of the city. The surrounding towns are also supported by Proctor Hospital, Pekin Memorial Hospital, Eureka Hospital, and the Hopedale Medical Complex. [edit] Transportation
[edit] Interstate and U.S. RoutesThe Peoria area is served by two Interstate highways: Interstate 74, which runs from northwest to southeast through the downtown area, and Interstate 474, a southern bypass of I-74 through portions of Peoria and the suburbs of Bartonville and Creve Coeur. I-74 crosses over the Illinois River via the Murray Baker Bridge, while I-474 crosses via the Shade-Lohman Bridge. The nearest metropolitan centers accessible on I-74 are Galesburg to the west, and Bloomington-Normal to the east. Also, I-155 runs from Morton (suburb)southward to connect to I-55 which leads to St. Louis. From 2004 to 2006, Interstate 74 between Interstate 474 on the west and Illinois Route 8 on the east was reconstructed as part of the Upgrade 74 project. In addition, U.S. Route 24 runs along the bank of the Peoria side of the Illinois River, becoming a major arterial downtown as part of Adams Street and Jefferson Avenue, and then continuing southwest towards Bartonville as Washington Street, which turns into Adams Street on the south end of Peoria. U.S. Route 150 serves as the main arterial for the northern portion of the Peoria area, becoming War Memorial Drive before heading west towards Kickapoo. Both of these routes enter from the McClugage Bridge; east of the bridge, U.S. 150 runs southeast to Morton, while U.S. 24 runs due east to Washington. [edit] State RoutesThe following state routes run through Peoria:
The planned Illinois Route 336 project will also connect Illinois 336 with I-474 between Illinois 8 and Illinois 116. Construction on the segment nearest Peoria has not started, nor has funding been allocated. [edit] Rail transportationMetro Peoria is served by ten common carrier railroads. Four are Class 1's: BNSF, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. The last one, Union Pacific, has a north-south oriented line which skirts the west edge of the city but a line branches off of it to enter Peoria. One Class II/Regional, Iowa Interstate, serves the city, coming out of Bureau Junction. Five Class III/Shortline railroads: Central Illinois Railroad (which operates a portion of the City-owned Peoria, Peoria Heights and Western Railroad), two Genesee and Wyoming-owned operations, Illinois & Midland Railroad (the former Chicago and Illinois Midland, comes up from Springfield) and Tazewell and Peoria Railroad (leases the Peoria and Pekin Union Railway from its owners — Canadian National, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific), Pioneer Railcorp's Keokuk Junction Railway (which now owns the Toledo, Peoria and Western's West End from Lomax and La Harpe in Western Illinois, plus the branch from Keokuk) and finally, RailAmerica's Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway, which uses BNSF trackage to reach Galesburg and its own line to reach Logansport, Indiana.[citation needed] [edit] Public TransportationPublic bus service is provided by the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District, which goes by the name CityLink. CityLink operates 20 bus routes that service the city, Illinois Central College and much of East Peoria, Illinois, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, and points between Peoria and Pekin, Illinois.[36] Most routes run between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with a handful of routes running as late as 1 a.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on Saturdays. No Sunday or major holiday service is provided.[citation needed] [edit] AviationThe General Wayne A Downing Peoria International Airport serves Peoria and surrounding communities. The airport is served by 5 passenger airlines (United, American, Delta, Northwest and Allegiant Air) and numerous cargo carriers. Nonstop destinations include Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, Denver, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Phoenix, and Tampa. Cargo carriers serving Peoria include FedEx, UPS and Airborne Express (now DHL). Mount Hawley Airport, on the north end of the city, also accepts general aviation. Numerous other general aviation airports are located in the tri-county region.[citation needed] Pekin Municipal Airport in Pekin, Illinois across the river also serves the area. [edit] Famous connections to Peoria[edit] People born or raised in Peoria
[edit] Other famous Peorians
[edit] Famous events
[edit] See also
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] References
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