PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

buildings, schools, churches, places of commerce, etc. Even for people of more modest means, there was a value placed on craftsmanship and on the artisans who delivered it. In the 1960s and ‘70s, under an activist City Council and business community, the Demetrious Plan reimagined Peoria’s Downtown, with the Civic Center being one result. “Look at the investment that went into 416 (Main) when it was built,” or into the old Block & Kuhl building that now houses OSF, said Baker. “It was the closest we had to walking into Marshall Field. “They were making a statement.” Meanwhile, buildings constructed to last do last, retaining their value even as their uses evolve. The “stunning” OSF HealthCare Mission Headquarters, once perilously close to demolition, may be the best example. It's harder today. Sometimes there is a lack of consensus, with ongoing

tension between the desires of the existing power structure and those at the grass roots, with fewer mobilizing forces behind the decision-making. The communication can fall short. What will it take to get our groove back? “It’s multifaceted,” said Corso. “There has to be leadership and there has to be vision and you have to bring people together to let them know why it’s important … It’s a slow-moving process, “If you don’t have place affinity, if you don’t love where you live, you don’t fight for it,” which can have other unwelcome ramifications, said Corso. “When it’s done well, people love it, they keep coming back,” said Kouri. “When it’s not, they avoid it,” which has consequences for everyone from residents wanting to keep a lid on their tax bills to employers seeking skilled workers. to get everybody on board.” Why does any of it matter?

People want “an emotional attach ment,” said Misselhorn. “I do think the built environment – the streets and the buildings and how they come together … and the communities they create — that’s what makes that.” ‘ IF YOU DON'T LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU DON'T FIGHT FOR IT’ “It can be modern or it can be 150 years old, if it’s the right experience and the right scale and it’s walkable …,” said Corso. It may be a subconscious thing, but at the end of the day, that environment “makes people feel good,” said Baker. Let the discussions begin. — Anthony Corso

Mike Bailey is editor in chief of Peoria Magazine

The Peoria Area’s Architectural Top 10

7. Obed & Isaac's, Peoria (formerly 2nd Presbyterian Church, Donmeyer Temple, etc.) – Completed 1889, architect W.W. Boyington (Chicago), Richardsonian Romanesque Revival 8. Frances W. Little House, 1505 W. Moss Ave., Peoria – Completed 1903, architect Frank Lloyd Wright (Chicago), Prairie Style 9. Rock Island Depot/River Station, Peoria – Completed 1900, architect unknown, Neo-Re naissance, Classical Revival, Italian Villa 10. St. Mary's Cathedral, Peoria – Completed 1889, architect Casper Mehler (Chicago), renovation Daprato Rigali Studios (Chicago), Neo-Gothic HONORABLE MENTION: St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Peoria – Completed 1959, architect Frederick Dunn (St. Louis), Mid Century Modern Motherhouse, East Peoria/rural Germantown Hills – Completed 1967, architect Cletis Roy Foley (Peoria), Mid-Century Modern

1. Peoria Civic Center – Completed 1982, architects Johnson Burgee (New York), style Post-Modern 2. 416 Main, Peoria (formerly Peoria Life Insurance, First National Bank, Commerce Bank) – Completed 1924, architects Hewitt & Emerson (Peoria), Chicago Style, Beaux-Arts 3. Madison Theatre, Peoria (all the grand theaters of yore) – Completed 1920, architect Frederick Klein (Peoria), ornate Italian Renaissance 4. Westlake Hall, Bradley University, Peoria – Completed 1897, renovated and expanded 2012, architect Henry Ives Cobb (Chicago), PSA Dewberry (Peoria), Collegiate Gothic 5. OSF HealthCare Mission Headquarters, Peoria (formerly Schipper & Block, Block & Kuhl, Jefferson Bank, etc.) – Completed 1905, original architect unknown, renovation by PSA Dewberry (Peoria), Chicago Style, Beaux-Arts 6. Peoria City Hall – Completed 1897, architects Reeves & Baillee (Peoria), Flemish Renaissance

OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE 33