Peoria station (Rock Island Line)

The Rock Island Depot and Freight House is a two-story railroad station and adjacent one-story freight house from the turn of the 20th century. It was constructed in 1899 directly besides the Illinois River in the American city of Peoria, Illinois. The depot and freight house are Peoria's last remaining historic reminders of the importance of railroading in the city's past.[1] The depot was built by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad as the terminus of a major branch line that delivered significant goods and passengers to Peoria. The 1900 opening of the depot was attended by "throngs of populous;" at its height before the depression of the 1880s, Peoria was a transportation hub.[1] The station's clock tower was removed in 1939.[3] The buildings were listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[2] The last Rock Island train out of the station was the Peoria Rocket in 1978, of the company's Rock Island Rockets series.

Peoria
Former Rock Island Line passenger rail station
Location	32 Liberty Street, Peoria, Illinois 61602
History
Opened	1899–1900
Closed	1978
Services
Preceding station   Rock Island Line   Following station Terminus Bureau – Peoria Mossville toward Bureau
Rock Island Depot and Freight House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	32 Liberty St., Peoria, Illinois
Coordinates	40°41′18″N 89°35′24″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1899-1900
Architectural style	Neo-Renaissance, Classical Revival, Italian Villa[1]
NRHP reference No.	78001180[2]
Added to NRHP	December 22, 1978

After the end of train service, the building became known as River Station, and has been a restaurant, and afterwards a set of restaurants and bars. Currently the building is occupied by Martinis On Water Street, and The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern. It is adjacent to the Peoria Riverfront Museum.

See also

• Prairie Marksman
• Rock Island Rockets
• Peoria Union Station — demolished station to the southwest

Notes

1. "Rock Island Depot and Freight House," (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, HAARGIS Database. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
3. Bobbitt, Charles A.; Bobbitt, LaDonna (1998). Peoria: A Postcard History. Arcadia Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7385-5469-3.

External links

• Martinis On Water Street
• The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern