NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

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Groceteria
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NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Groceteria »

This one took some time. About 75% of the streets were renumbered in 1955-56 and I cross-checked the addresses for updates as closely as I could. I also did not have access to newspapers as a fall-back.

https://www.groceteria.com/place/us-illinois/peoria/
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

Wow...thanks for tackling this one!

Peoria is very much a microcosm of the midwest, and this list contains a rich trove of national and regional names to pore over: Kroger, A&P, National, Jewel, Cub Foods, Hy-Vee, Eagle, and more. Cub and Hy-Vee have too short a history to yield any interesting artifacts, but the other chains could be fair game for just about anything. Kroger wins the longevity prize for being in the city for 91+ years and counting. Who knows, maybe there's even a Black Widow Murderer Kroger building in the city? I'll dig in later in the week.
Groceteria wrote: 19 Dec 2021 13:49I also did not have access to newspapers as a fall-back.
I did find a small archive of Peoria newspapers, but it was so incomplete (with a seismic gap between 1953 and 1975) that it'd be almost useless for establishing address continuity.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

It's been a month. I think I'll dig in...

* Chains were well-established in Peoria by 1925, with both local names (Larkin, Poppen) and national names (A&P, Piggly Wiggly) setting up shop with multiple locations. Without having access to more information, it's probably impossible to know which of these names expanded first.

* Poppen contracted to a single store, which persisted into the 1960s. Larkin was already out of the picture by the end of the 1930s, with Kroger and Piggly Wiggly taking over most of their locations.

* A&P and National exited Peoria in roughly the same timeframe as other Illinois and Wisconsin cities (late 1970s/early 1980s). What is odd, however, is that several ex-National stores are listed in the 1975 and 1980 directories under the "Del Farm" name...even though I thought Loblaws had eliminated the "Del Farm" name as part of their 1972/73 rebranding. Were the stores divested, reverted to "Del Farm" branding to differentiate themselves from the stores Loblaws-National still owned, and left to soldier on a few years until Lowell's bought them up?

* The Piggly Wiggly name enjoyed a continuous presence in Peoria from 1925 through 1960. I would have expected some of these stores to be converted to Eisner and then Jewel, but there doesn't seem to be any continuity here. Jewel crashed and burned in the city by 1964...and you thought their tenures in Milwaukee were brief!
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

Time to do some chain-by-chain deep-diving into the city of corn and Caterpillar...starting with Kroger, the city's market leader:

* One of the early 1930-era Kroger locations was located on "John H Gwynn Jr. Ave" (although the street wasn't named that until later on). Our host's twin?

* 712 S Western Av opened by 1935, and was housed in an interesting two-tenant street-flush brick building. The store lasted through the late '40s, and I wonder if Kroger annexed the entire structure at some point?

* Another 1935-era store, 2422 Knoxville Ave, has extremely ornate contrasting brickwork on its parapet. I doubt that Kroger dictated the architecture, but even so, this building is a must-see!

* A 1943-era location, 2621 NE Adams St, is still selling groceries as an independent market. This building is also a must-see aesthetically, with glass block down the side and ridged buttresses and building corners.

* Yes, indeed: 3008 N Sterling Avenue is a former Kroger store location! It opened by 1960 (as expected), and closed by 1975 (also as expected).

* Other well-preserved 1940s and 1950s buildings stand at 1319 W Garden St and 330 N Western Ave (although the latter is compromised by Bavarian-style gingerbreading). 711 NE Jefferson St also dates to this era, although it's scarcely recognizable as a supermarket.

* A butchered 1960s store with traces of a 1970s Superstore remodelling stands at 2321 N Wisconsin Ave.

* A "virgin" 1970s Superstore at 1405 W Garfield Ave in Bartonville is still in operation in somewhat recognizable (albeit renovated) condition. I visited and photographed this store while en route through the city in 2016.

* A better-preserved, but inactive Superstore stands at 3013 N Sterling Av. I also photographed this store on my 2016 Illinois trip. It now houses a Big Lots store (which left some of the original interior decor intact), and the adjoining SupeRx was until recently still in business as CVS.

* A perfectly-intact 1980s greenhouse store (with original "Deli-Bakery" sign) at 201 S Main St is still open for business...at least for now. Unfortunately, I never got a photo of this one.

* An intact early-1990s wedge store stands at 3311 N Sterling Ave, astride the Superstore it replaced (and not far from the 1950s store that was the antecedent of both). It also remains open.

* Rounding out the Krogers are two near-identical late-1990s/early-2000s stores: 801 W Lake Ave and 9219 Lindbergh Dr. Not much to say about them, though by now I suppose enough years have passed to make these borderline-historical in their own right!

* No Black Widow Murderer stores, alas. Unless I overlooked an address...
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

A&P had the second-largest footprint of the major chains by store count. Yet in contrast to Kroger, the city has surprisingly little to show for it.

2245 NE Jefferson Ave might be the only freestanding pre-1960s A&P supermarket building that survives in Peoria...and it's been badly renovated.

Later stores include an odd fraken-Centennial at 4900 N University St, visible here.

And...well, that's all. It seems that by the end, A&P had only three stores in the city: The franken-Centennial, an early 1950s store (site of a recently-closed Walgreens in 2007, but now demolished), and an early 1940s store (in a location long subsumed by other development). They must have withdrawn from the market with a whimper.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

Even though they operated in Peoria for only an eyeblink of time, Eisner/Jewel left behind a sizable architectural legacy here. An ex-Jewel at 4103 SW Adams St survives; though if it once had porcelain enamel cladding, it's now gone. A renovated Jewel at 4425 N Prospect Rd still sells groceries as Save-a-Lot. And a third Jewel building survives at 123 W McClure Ave...with a wide pylon jutting out from the canopy! Not bad for a chain that was here and gone within the window of half a decade.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Andrew T. »

Now, for National. True to form, the chain emerged in Peoria fairly late and fairly scrappily, opening its first stores by 1960...and at least two of them were conversions from other grocers. 3127 N University St was originally a Piggly Wiggly, and the building still bears an interesting loop-shaped pylon that might be a Piggly Wiggly artifact. Another "charter member" National was located at 120 W McClure Ave in a surprisingly-ornate building with a rounded corner, glass block, and a series of square depressions in the brickwork...I can't imagine that National would have built a store this fantastic itself, so I'm guessing this was also a conversion from another retailer.

1823 W Lincoln Ave is a perfectly-intact late-1960s National store with original canopy. Other ex-Nationals survive at 2004 N Knoxville Ave and 4929 N Hamilton Road, although they've been renovated with a heavy hand.

I'll stop there, and allow everyone else a chance to catch up. Frankly, looking at these pictures and places is making me feel emotional, wistful, and nostalgic...not necessarily for Peoria specifically, but for the pre-2017 days when I was going on road trips through Illinois several times a year, and felt optimistic about the state of the world. *Sigh*
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Steve Landry »

Andrew T. wrote: 30 Jan 2022 13:10 Even though they operated in Peoria for only an eyeblink of time, Eisner/Jewel left behind a sizable architectural legacy here. An ex-Jewel at 4103 SW Adams St survives; though if it once had porcelain enamel cladding, it's now gone. A renovated Jewel at 4425 N Prospect Rd still sells groceries as Save-a-Lot. And a third Jewel building survives at 123 W McClure Ave...with a wide pylon jutting out from the canopy! Not bad for a chain that was here and gone within the window of half a decade.
That McClure store looks a bit streamline moderne.

Food Fair had many stores like that.

The Lincoln store seems to be a common design of the time. Food Fair as well had many of those.

:-)
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by rich »

Andrew T. wrote: 30 Jan 2022 13:27 Now, for National. True to form, the chain emerged in Peoria fairly late and fairly scrappily, opening its first stores by 1960...and at least two of them were conversions from other grocers. 3127 N University St was originally a Piggly Wiggly, and the building still bears an interesting loop-shaped pylon that might be a Piggly Wiggly artifact. Another "charter member" National was located at 120 W McClure Ave in a surprisingly-ornate building with a rounded corner, glass block, and a series of square depressions in the brickwork...I can't imagine that National would have built a store this fantastic itself, so I'm guessing this was also a conversion from another retailer.

1823 W Lincoln Ave is a perfectly-intact late-1960s National store with original canopy. Other ex-Nationals survive at 2004 N Knoxville Ave and 4929 N Hamilton Road, although they've been renovated with a heavy hand.

I'll stop there, and allow everyone else a chance to catch up. Frankly, looking at these pictures and places is making me feel emotional, wistful, and nostalgic...not necessarily for Peoria specifically, but for the pre-2017 days when I was going on road trips through Illinois several times a year, and felt optimistic about the state of the world. *Sigh*
The McClure store is probably from the early to mid-50s (given the rounded edges and other details) which would make it an acquisition from someone else. Lincoln Ave would have been circa 1960. By the late 70s they built stores with mansard-type roofs.

The Del Farm name lasted well into the 70s in Chicago and Indianapolis.
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Re: NEW: Peoria, 1925-2021

Post by Groceteria »

120 W. McClure is listed as Piggly Wiggly in 1957 and 1959. Nothing is listed at that address in 1955. This may mean either that Piggly Wiggly relocated just prior to National taking over the space or that (more likely) this block was affected by the 1955-56 "great renumbering" and that this is the same Piggly Wiggly store that was previously listed as 110.
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