Location: 100 NE Monroe St, Peoria, IL 61602
Building History
In 1845, Peoria, Illinois, was chartered on the west bank of the Illinois River, 160 miles southwest of Chicago. As the city grew, it became a shipping center for hogs, corn, and corn products, in particular, corn liquor. In 1825, the first post office was established, and it occupied various private business spaces during the ensuing sixty years. By the 1880s, the population had reached 30,000, and in 1889 a Romanesque Revival style federal building was completed at Monroe and Main streets to provide postal and other services. Although an addition was completed in 1910, by the 1930s the 1889 building could no longer accommodate Peoria, and a new building was planned.
Howard Lovewell Cheney prepared the plans under the supervision of Louis A. Simon, supervising architect of the U.S. Treasury Department. Originally from Chicago, Cheney also designed a number of other federal buildings and the main building at Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. In April 1937, the Romanesque Revival federal building and several adjoining businesses were demolished to clear the site for new construction. The original contract cost was $879,000, with an added $128,000 spent for the purchase of additional land. A cornerstone laying ceremony was held in December 1937, and construction proceeded quickly. Federal employees occupied the completed building in August 1938. Commissioned by the Section of Fine Arts, a New Deal program, bas-relief sculptures by Freeman L. Schoolcraft were installed on the facade in 1939. At the time of construction of the new building, the post office had 250 employees and 15 substations, with 4 business and 2 residential deliveries a day, and 6 rural delivery routes.
The post office relocated in 1981, and mail related spaces were altered for use by the courts and other federal agencies. In 2012, the building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building was rededicated in August 1987.
Building Facts
- Architect: Howard Lovewell Cheney
- GSA Building Number: IL0154ZZ
- Landmark Status: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
U.S. General Services Administration
