National Register of Historic Places

St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot

Pekin, Tazewell County, Illinois
Listed
December 6, 2004
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
04001305

About this property

The St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot, previously known as the Pekin Depot or Chicago and Alton Depot, is a historic railroad station in Pekin, Illinois. The station is one of the only historic rail-related buildings remaining in Pekin. The depot is a one-story, rectangular building with a cross gable toward the north end. The original color of the wood siding may have been a grayish white with forest-green trim. The building is 1,935 square feet. The north section contains the waiting room, ticket office, hallway, and bathroom. The interior walls have wood wainscoting. The south section has a baggage room with four large double doors. The station was built in 1898 when the St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway (St. L. P. & N.) built a line into Pekin; the railroad had formed only two years earlier as an amalgamation of ten other railroad companies. The new railroad provided direct passenger routes to Springfield, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri and opened up better options for shipping freight north through Peoria. The depot was leased to the Chicago & Alton Railroad (C&A) on November 30, 1899 and sold on March 31, 1900 when C&A purchased the St. L. P. & N. line from Peoria to Springfield. The station served both passenger and freight traffic until passenger service ended in the mid to late 1930s; the railroad also served as an important part of Pekin's economy, both by employing residents and stimulating local industry. President Herbert Hoover made a campaign stop at the Pekin Depot on November 4, 1932. Everett Dirksen boarded the train at Peoria and stood next to Hoover on the locomotive platform. A crowd of over 7,000 people attended, including children who were dismissed from school to see Hoover. In 1979, the property was sold to Carl and Kathryn Wolfer. In 1999, Kathryn Wolfer sold the property to David and Louise Milam. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 2004. The station was located at 1408 Broadway Street, near 14th Street. In 2006, the depot was donated to the Pekin Parks Department. The building was relocated about one quarter-mile east to Mineral Springs Park at 1900 Broadway St. This site was originally the Santa Fe and Big Four Railroad Roundhouse, which burned in 1927. The depot building was set on a new foundation and renovated with reclaimed lumber from demolished historic buildings. Media related to Pekin, Illinois depot at Wikimedia Commons

Location

1408 Broadway St.
Pekin, Tazewell County, Illinois
40.56971, -89.63058

Categories

TRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
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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Nearby Historic Sites

Herget, Carl, Mansion
Industrial
0.9 mi
Tazewell County Courthouse
Industrial
0.9 mi
Pekin Federal Building
Early Republic
0.9 mi
North Eighth Street Plaza
Industrial
1 mi
Peoria Lock and Dam Historic District
Pre Contact
4.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot listed on the National Register?

St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 2004.

What type of historic resource is St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot?

St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot?

The period of significance for St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railroad Depot is recorded as the industrial era.

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