Tag Archives: PeoriaIllinoisan

Blogosphere, City of Peoria

PeoriaIllinoisan looks at Peoria then and now

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Local blogger PeoriaIllinoisan has started a new series of posts he’s calling “Peoria Then & Now.”

Using old photographs and postcards, I will attempt to recreate the shot using as close to the same angle as possible to show how much things have change, and sometimes maybe even stayed the same.

It’s both interesting and disheartening to see a lot of these transformations. You’ll see plenty of public gathering places in the older pictures — retail stores, cafeterias, movie theaters, etc. The newer pictures show vacant buildings, private offices, assorted blank facades with greenery, and lots of parking lots/decks. Downtown has functionally turned into a suburban office park, for the most part.

The stark contrast between what Peoria was and what it has become, as so vividly portrayed by PeoriaIllinoisan, should spur us to question whether these changes were good or bad, inevitable or preventable, reversible or permanent.

Click here for the first Then & Now entry.

Museum Block, Peoria County

PI reports on latest county advocacy meeting

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I couldn’t make it to the latest museum advocacy meeting held at Bradley University Monday night. But PeoriaIllinoisan was there and turned in his own report. He doesn’t know it, but he’s a mighty fine citizen journalist. I found this particularly interesting:

One of the speakers pointed out that several fliers and information was available at the back of the room, which they were, and just to show that he was fair, he said a flier of a dissenting opinion was also there… it was… on another table was a small stack, blocked and shielded from view by a very enthusiastic Museum supporter who made snide remarks about Merle Widmer, Gary Sandberg, and anyone else who dared to question the “facts”.

Classy.

UPDATE: I’ve been told by another source that it was county board member Andrew Rand — not Richerson — who made the comment about the flyers. PI has corrected his report and that correction is reflected in the quote above.

Peoria Park District

Some of the oldest oak trees in the city may have to go for Family House

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I knew Family House was going to build a new home, but I had no idea it where it was going to be. That is, not until I read PeoriaIllinoisan’s post today. It looks like it’s going to be built on land that was once purchased specifically to prevent it from being developed — land near Glen Oak Park that was once eyed for acquisition by the Park District. Land with some of Peoria’s oldest oak trees, according to a 1998 Journal Star article. Very interesting story!

Blogosphere, Peoria Journal Star

Readers’ Choice? Not hardly

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PeoriaIllinoisan doesn’t mince words:

The Reader’s Choice Awards are a joke. A tool. A way to bring in and reward advertisers. It has nothing to do with the readers and there is hardly much choice involved.

He’s got a point. After reading his post, I took a look at the Journal Star Readers’ Choice Award ballot, and out of 56 categories, 38 (68%!) had only one business from which to “choose.” Looks like a sham to me.