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Peoria Magazine is no longer in production. Publication ended with the November 2023 issue.

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Peoria Retro

Dick Oakford’s collection of memorabilia of Aaron S. Oakford

Peoria’s ‘most useful citizen’

Steve Tarter October 27, 2023

We talk about the development and disruption that occurs in our daily lives these days as if other generations never...

Eureka College, Founded by Religious Abolitionists

Steve Tarter September 27, 2023

Reviewing the origins of Eureka College, a school founded in 1855, provides a history lesson that involves religion, an opposition...

A likeness of Norma Jean sits atop the grand monument at the elephant's gravesite in Oquawka, where the circus performer was struck by lightning

Norma Jean, we hardly knew ye

Phil Luciano August 28, 2023

The village of Oquawka barely knew Norma Jean but will never forget her.The circus elephant was in town less than...

Cruising Peoria’s Main Street

Steve Tarter June 27, 2023

Depending on your point of view (and maybe your age), it was either a motorized rite of passage for central...

When Corn Conquered All in Peoria

Phil Luciano May 22, 2023

Once upon a time in Peoria, corn was king. It even had a palace.For six years around the turn of...

If only that outfield wall could talk

Phil Luciano April 27, 2023

How much local history do we obliviously ignore?Though Peoria loves its sports, countless passersby zip past a landmark of the...

The Symphony of Flight … Conducted from an Octave Below

Gary Wright March 31, 2023

The letter, dated May 13, 1900, was astonishing in its directness and abruptness. It lacked even the customary salutation. “For...

‘The Peoria Watch’

Steve Gossard March 31, 2023

It wasn’t just any company.Indeed, the Peoria Watch Company became “the story of success and failure followed by success and...

The Demetriou Plan

Mike Bailey February 28, 2023

Of all the redevelopment blueprints commissioned by the City of Peoria over the last half century, one stands alone as...

What’s in a name?

Scott Fishel January 30, 2023

Gregory Wilson, former Peoria Public Schools Board president, says the names of schools should reflect the values of the students...

‘A Place for Special People’

Steve Tarter January 1, 2023

Most museums make it easy for visitors to drop by. But there aren’t any road signs directing you to the...

A statue on campus of Lydia Moss Bradley

Peoria’s most influential woman ever?

Madeleine Trolinger November 29, 2022

Some 125 years since Lydia Moss Bradley established her Bradley University, the school continues to cultivate seeds of knowledge in...

Role models of leadership

Chris Kaergard October 27, 2022

Some of the most prominent public servants central Illinois has sent to the national stage have left footprints for future...

Peoria’s Architects and the Jewels They Left behind

Linda Smith Brown October 1, 2022

We go by them every day, the treasures left to us by professionals of a bygone era. Peoria has been home...

On May 1, 1909, piers broke under the Lower Free Bridge (also known as the Franklin Street Bridge), causing much of the span to tumble into the Illinois River. Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Center, Bradley University Library

Rickety, Risky Bridges

Phil Luciano October 1, 2022

Click on photos to enlarge Peoria is known for its good fortune in having a multitude of sturdy bridges. But...

Vintage photos of a line of horse riders and an ad for the Young Buffalo Wild West Show

When the Wild West ruled the stage in Peoria

Steve Gossard September 1, 2022

A little known but sensational part of Peoria’s history is that the city hosted a popular Wild West show in...

Black and white photo of a football game

Peoria Stadium has a rich – and racing – history

Phil Luciano August 1, 2022

As early as 1910, automobile races were held at Peoria Exposition Park, built as a...

Original front entrance of Peoria High School

Historic Peoria High, still making history

Steve Tarter August 1, 2022

There are few high schools anywhere with more of a story to tell than Peoria High, still affectionately known as...

A painting of Rep. Everett McKinley Dirksen in a corn field with the US capital in the background

Political Clout Gave Peoria Its Ag Lab

Chris Kaergard June 24, 2022

When federal officials decided 85 years ago to build four state-of-the-art research laboratories, three ended up in or near big...

Peoria Retro: ‘The Most Tragic Night’ of East Peoria’s Existence

Mike Bailey May 24, 2022

The rain began to fall at about noon almost 95 years ago to the day — May 18, 1927.The ground...

Cook Medical building on a portion of the old IH site

Remembering International Harvester

Steve Tarter April 28, 2022

CANTON — There’s an illustration on display at the Canton Area Heritage Center from a 1936 issue of the Canton...

From Peoria to Prominence

Phil Luciano April 1, 2022

Central Illinois can boast key contributions to revolutionary innovations. A list of inventors could be topped by the Duryea brothers,...