Name This Peoria Landmark

Peoria Landmark #297

Peoria (area) Landmark #296

407 N Walnut St, Princeville.

During the pastorate of Father McGair, the parish again having outgrown the limits of the old frame church, the building of a new church was agitated. In 1889 both pastor and people, working together in harmony and with much zeal, soon obtained sufficient funds to enable them to lay the foundation, and in the summer of 1890 the new church was completed and dedicated.

Read more {here} and {here}.

Thanks, Tom.

Peoria Landmark #295

Msgem: Jubilee College

aka Jubilee College State Historic Site.

Jubilee College State Historic Site preserves a remnant of the school founded in 1839 by Philander Chase (1775-1852), the first Episcopal Bishop of Illinois. At one time, Jubilee College occupied a dozen or more structures on a 3,500-acre tract. The school included a theological seminary, a college, a classical preparatory school for boys, and a “seminary” for girls, as well as small farming operations.

The site’s centerpiece is an L-shaped building, the design of which was adapted from an Anglican chapel near London, England. Constructed between 1839 and 1844, the two-story native sandstone building housed the school’s chapel, classrooms, and dormitory space. Today the “restored” building’s chapel wing contains representations of an 1840s Episcopal chapel, a first-story chapel extension that served during the week as classroom space, and a second-floor dormitory room. The recreated schoolmaster’s office and library are located in the larger west wing, which also contains a video theatre and museum exhibits. In 1972 the Jubilee College site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Jubilee Cemetery, which adjoins the site, is private property.

This might shock some of you, but this was the first time I had ever been out there. Dang - pretty darn cool place. I can’t wait to go back and take the tour.

*Photo courtesy of A. Janson

Peoria Landmark #294

Recently, teachers and students of the shuttered Richland Grade School (NTPL #99) have been sharing their memories of being a “River Rat,” which I have really been enjoying. The Richland Bottoms seems to be a very nice close knit community. A little town unto itself which used to have its own neighborhood school being brought back to life by memories of those who attended.

A comment got me curious though…

Our brother Larry helps take care of the mowing around the union hall and our side of the tunnel. It is still there but closed off at both ends. Red Butler still lives in his house across the street from the school. Soo many memories.

The tunnel? I inquired…

The highway extension for which the tunnel was built connected to the Cedar Street Bridge. It was to allow access to Richland School but what it accomplished was to ultimately close the school and leave the Richland area abandoned.

I drove around the neighborhood for a good twenty minutes looking for the school before I finally broke down and asked someone. Of course! It’s on the OTHER side of the Cedar Street bridge - hence the need for the tunnel to connect the neighborhood to the neighborhood school.

If you want to find it, it’s on Maple Street.

Thank you to the passerby for directing me back to the school and to the young man who showed me where the “Old Tunnel” is, as he called it.

(Josh & Scio - you have obviously been paying way too much attention.)

Peoria Landmark #293

Yes, this is the infamous basketball court that Alexis Khazzam built and then rebuilt. I understand the argument, but if you’ve even driven down this stretch of  Beach Street, as I did when I found and took this photo, you know it is nothing more than a glorified alley.

If you have a library card you can look up the Journal Star archives; barring that, here’s some other reading material on the issue:

http://peoriachronicle.com/2006/07/11/dear-alexis-xxoo-love-phil/

http://peoriapundit.com/blogpeoria/2006/06/29/zone-defense-in-the-heights-leave-kids-in-the-lurch/

Peoria Landmark #292

Forgive me, but I just couldn’t help laughing at the sign that says “Deforestation” while a pile of logs lay in the background. To be fair, the Peoria Park District did re-use as many of the trees as they could in building the Africa exhibit as is evident to anyone who visits.

Here’s some other pictures. It’s quite nice, but the “older” section appears to be now closed.

Peoria Landmark #291

While looking up information about “The Castle House,” which is located on Grand View Drive next to the Peoria Country Club, I found this website which published some emails regarding it.  This one is particularly interesting…

I lived in the Grandview Drive Castle from about 1962 to 1972. My family owned it and restored it. The Haase’s bought it in the 1970’s when Dad became ill as I recall.

My father, Walter F. Dexter, bought it for the princely sum of $50,000 from the Lusk family who had owned it since it was built in 1928. By 1962, the home had been used little and was in need of serious major renovation, which took a couple of years and an investment many times the purchase price.

It will alway remain for me the source of many fond memories, good times and spooky fun! It was said to be haunted, and well — we did hear plenty on stormy nights! -Dan Dexter

This home is also featured in the current (May, 2009, Issue 38) issue of Numero magazine which has this fun snipped - “A secret playroom for young children has a window to the outside, but there is no obvious entrance from the inside - unless you know where the hidden door is located.”

According to Numero, the small stone bridge fronting the house was used to cross the moat, which was drained in the 1950’s.

It was also the inspiration for the Children’s book “Melinda’s Doll House” by Bess Edmundson, and (I’ll take MAWB’s word for it) was described in Dorothy Cannell’s “Thin Woman Series.”