Peoria IL Illinois
Frequently Asked Questions
At the foot of downtown on the west bank of the Illinois River. The landing opens directly onto the riverfront, a linear park where residents walk dogs and push strollers among sculptures and pavilions.
Yes. The whole centre is walkable: the streets climb gently from the bank, lined with brick buildings from the industrial golden age, and the renovated Warehouse District holds craft breweries, restaurants and artists' studios.
The Riverfront Museum steps from the pier, an hour or two depending on the planetarium; the Caterpillar visitor centre right across the way; then a wander through the Warehouse District. With time to spare, the excursion to Grandview Drive is worth it.
From New York theatre people, who asked it before every tour: if an act pleased Peoria, it would please all of America. The phrase made this Illinois city a byword for the country's heartland.
A museum combining art, science, regional history and a planetarium under one roof. Its collections run from American landscape painters to interactive exhibits on the Illinois River, its ecosystem and its founding peoples, including the Peoria who gave the city its name.
The maker of the yellow machines was born here and long had its headquarters in the city. Its visitor centre, across from the museum, lets you climb into the bed of a mining truck more than three storeys tall, camera in hand.
A paddlewheeler whose stern wheel genuinely drives the hull, which has become rare. She sails from the same stretch of river as the cruise vessels, and catching sight of her white and red silhouette adds a period note to the scene.
A scenic road laid out in 1903 along the wooded bluffs north of downtown. Theodore Roosevelt, passing through in 1910, is said to have called it the world's most beautiful drive, and locals still quote the line with undimmed pleasure. The overlooks open onto the Illinois valley and its meanders.
The US dollar, and cards work at the museum, in restaurants and craft breweries. Some cash remains handy for tips.
Very much so. The Riverfront Museum and its planetarium, the giant-screen theatre and above all the Caterpillar mining truck you can climb into will keep children occupied for an entire morning.
