PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2023

One of three swing bridges over the Vermillion River in Pontiac

Pontiac Mayor Bill Alvey speaks to the crowd at Wally's superstore off Interstate 55 on National Road Trip Day, May 26

of Interstate 55 at Route 116 on the west side of town. Not your typical truck stop, the 30,000-square-foot shopping and dining experience — “Home of the Great American Road Trip” — targets vacationing families and leisure travelers with squeaky clean bathrooms, 76 fuel pumps, electric charging stations and a beef jerky bar. Of all the communities along I-55, Wally’s chose Pontiac for one of its two locations. “They actually came to us and said, ‘We want to do this here,’” said Vincent. “They said, ‘There is energy here.’” The local economy has been bolstered by the reported $20 million invested in the project, which opened in 2020, and the tax revenue it produces. FARMING AND INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE Pontiac thrived long before Route 66. Like most communities on the Illinois prairie, it was built on farming. But it struggled to survive until the Chicago & Alton Railroad arrived in the 1850s. In the following decade, Livingston County grew from 1,500 to 11,500 people. Mills made use of local raw materials. Coal mining brought in more settlers. A young Abe Lincoln visited Pontiac frequently; a lifelike sculpture of the lanky lawyer is custom-made for selfies on the Washington Street side of the courthouse. After the Civil War, cigars, candy (the Lotta Bar), farm implements,

grain elevators and washing machines were all made here. Early in the 20th century, shoe manufacturing took off. Once upon a time, seven shoe factories operated in Pontiac. Today, Caterpillar is the domi nant employer, followed by OSF St. James/W. Albrecht Medical Center, LSC Communications (a survivor of the once booming printing industry) and Interlake Mecalux, Inc., maker of warehouse shelving systems. On the south end of town is the Pontiac Correctional Center, a state run prison employing about 550. The facility began as the Illinois State Boys Reformatory School in 1871. Today’s sprawling, 37-acre complex holds just over 700 medium- and maximum security inmates. “The prison has great value to the city,” said Alvey, the mayor. When Springfield politicians talk about shuttering the facility, as they frequently do, “we are always concerned for the well-being of the staff and what they provide the city. “We are fortunate to have a running state facility and it seems like it’s going to be with us for the foreseeable future.” AT THE MOVIES Arts and recreation play a big role in this active and outgoing community. Among the 10 parks are three pedestrian suspension bridges connecting river side green spaces and residential areas. From June to September, musicians of all sorts perform at Humiston-Riverside

Park in the Rockin’ at the River concert series. The Vermillion Players stage theatrical productions at the Chau tauqua Park Pavilion. Concerts, dinner theater, receptions and special events are on the bill at the Eagle Performing Arts Center. Some 23 outdoor murals grace downtown buildings, 18 of which were painted in just four days in 2009 by the Walldogs, an international group of sign painters and muralists. Hollywood came to town in 1984 with the filming of Grandview USA , with Jamie Lee Curtis and Patrick Swayze topping the marquee. The town also gained a degree of notoriety in 2015 when photos for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition were shot here. The theme that year centered on — you guessed it — Route 66. More recently, actress Jane Lynch came to Pontiac to film a tourism commercial for the state of Illinois. In May, travel show host Samantha Brown stopped by to explore Pontiac’s many attractions. It only takes an hour or two to understand why this town might be included as one of Samantha Brown’s Places to Love . As Rose Geralds, a docent at the Route 66 Museum and a lifetime Pontiac res ident, concludes, “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Scott Fishel is a senior communications executive at WTVP

60 JULY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE