Discover the Charm: Top 8 Fun Facts About Peoria, IL You Can't Miss!

1. Prohibition? Peoria Didn't Care

"Prohibition? Never heard of her," said the distillery buildings in Peoria as they turned a blind eye and kept the booze flowing: The city was once the U.S. alcohol capital in the late 1800s, producing a staggering 40% of all alcohol nationwide and deftly maneuvering through Prohibition by providing medicinal liquor to Walgreens, thanks to their limestone-filtered water supply from the Sankoty Aquifer.
Source => peoria.org

2. Feminist Firecracker Friedan

Who said housewives can't stir the pot?: Betty Friedan, Peoria's own feminist firecracker, cut her teeth as a feisty journalist in her hometown before blowing the lid off gender norms in her groundbreaking book, "The Feminine Mystique." Raised in the city's middle-class Bluff neighborhood, Friedan dished out praise to World War II vets back in 1955 for their fight against local corruption in a Reader's Digest article, proving she knew how to spice things up way before she became the leading lady of feminism.
Source => becomingrichardpryor.com

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=> Fun Facts about Texas

3. Caterpillar's Earth-Shaking Start

Well, as luck would have it, the world's meow-ghest builder of bulldozers and excavators once prowled the labyrinthine streets of Peoria, Illinois: Caterpillar Inc., notorious for their earth-shaking, mind-moving machinery, headquartered in Peoria until they dug their way to Deerfield in 2017, and eventually purred over to Irving, Texas in 2022. Before they grew into the manufacturing colossus roving factories in Russia, Brazil, India, and China, these titanic earthmovers had humble beginnings as steam-powered tractors, plowing through the soil in 1890, eventually merging with C. L. Best Tractor Company to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company we admire today.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Oldest Illinois Community Theater

Once upon a midnight dreary, while Peorians pondered, weak and weary, Edgar Allan Poe-ria's faithful players stood with bright-eyed glee, performing Shakespeare or something more contemporary: The Peoria Players Theatre in Peoria, Illinois, has been regaling audiences since 1919 as the oldest continuously running community theater in Illinois and the fourth oldest in the United States.
Source => peoriaplayers.org

5. Wildlife Parties & Cozy Paw-facts

In a town where the wildlife parties harder than the people, you might just stumble upon Peoria: an unsuspecting Illinois gem, boasting one of the finest small zoos alongside a riverfront museum that's as packed as a clown car with interactive exhibits and an IMAX theater. Once a cozy home for Native American tribes, this industrious city now proudly bears its manufacturing legacy while staying as artsy as a herd of paint-covered elephants.
Source => nationalcivicleague.org

6. Mary Poppins' Golf Envy

Peoria, Illinois: where golf clubs outnumber umbrella-slinging penguins - who knew Mary Poppins would be green with envy? Here's the scoop: the city hosts 5 municipal golf courses, including the oldest one, Madison Course, created in 1909 by Tom Bendelow. In total, there are 14 golf courses within a 20-mile radius, offering 7 public, 4 municipal, and 3 private courses. The longest one, Metamora Fields Golf Club, stretches out for a whopping 7,100 yards. Fore!
Source => golflink.com

7. Spectacular Madison Theatre Comeback

If you thought Peoria was just a punchline to an old vaudevillian joke, then we have news for you: it's actually home to one of America's most spectacular theatres, the Madison Theatre. In its heyday, this ornate Italian Renaissance gem housed everything from vaudeville acts and comedy giants like Sam Kinison and Jerry Seinfeld to concerts and dinner theater. Today, there's a massive $35 million restoration effort in motion to return the Madison Theatre – ravaged by a 2016 arson fire – to its former glory by late 2024. So, in a few years, Peoria might be ready for its close-up once again!
Source => peoriamagazine.com

8. Museum Masterpieces & Monocles

Well, brush off the dust of your monocle and tighten your Victorian top hat: the Peoria Riverfront Museum has a spectacular permanent collection of over 16,000 works of art and natural sciences, featuring masterpieces by renowned artists and homegrown talent from Illinois and the Midwest since 1964.
Source => peoriariverfrontmuseum.org