PEORIA MAGAZINE April 2023

H O M E T O W N

‘OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW’ From the Festival of Lights to the Levee District, East Peoria has reinvented itself to be a major regional player

BY SCOTT FISHEL PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON AND TODD PILON

S tanding at the roundabout in East Peoria’s Levee District, one would never imagine that the surrounding neighborhood was ever anything but a bustling commercial center. Central Illinoisans of a certain seniority know otherwise. This is the sacred ground where Holt Manufac turing Company — a predecessor of Caterpillar Inc. — put down roots and put East Peoria on the map. Today, the Levee District is Exhibit A in an ongoing tale of transformation that has enveloped East Peoria for more than a century. From two swampy,

flood-prone burgs known as Bluetown and Coleville, to industrial powerhouse, to destination city for diners, shoppers, athletes and hopeful gamblers, East Peoria has repeatedly reinvented itself. MAKING THINGS HAPPEN “Instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen, East Peoria has always tried to move things forward,” Mayor John Kahl said recently at his office in the Levee District. “Our city leaders have gone out and sought ways to revitalize the city.”

East Peoria Mayor John Kahl

72 APRIL 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE