National Register of Historic Places

North Eighth Street Plaza

Pekin, Tazewell County, Illinois
Listed
May 17, 2015
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
15000226

About this property

The North Eighth Street Plaza is a historic strip mall located at 1500-1532 North Eighth Street in Pekin, Illinois. Orfeo Gianessi built the mall in 1950; at the time, its location was just outside the built-up area of Pekin. The mall was the first of its kind in the Pekin area and signified the onset of post-World War II car culture, as it was designed to draw in automobile traffic from Eighth Street rather than neighborhood foot traffic. It also predates any strip mall in the nearby larger city of Peoria and is one of the oldest strip malls in Illinois; the building type soon became quite common, and over 60,000 strip malls exist in the United States today. The building's design, a single-story straight row of joined storefronts, was typical of early strip malls and is still representative of the International Council of Shopping Centers' official classification of the strip mall. The mall was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 2015.

Location

1500-1532 N. 8th St.
Pekin, Tazewell County, Illinois
40.58128, -89.64078

Categories

ARCHITECTURECOMMERCE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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The Community
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Rivers & Rail
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Literature
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Nearby Historic Sites

Tazewell County Courthouse
Industrial
0.9 mi
Pekin Federal Building
Early Republic
0.9 mi
St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot
Industrial
1 mi
Herget, Carl, Mansion
Industrial
1.2 mi
Peoria Lock and Dam Historic District
Pre Contact
3.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was North Eighth Street Plaza listed on the National Register?

North Eighth Street Plaza was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 17, 2015.

What type of historic resource is North Eighth Street Plaza?

North Eighth Street Plaza is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for North Eighth Street Plaza?

The period of significance for North Eighth Street Plaza is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near North Eighth Street Plaza?

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