How we got our name
The Name “Peoria Heights”
Several years before there was a Village of Peoria Heights, the Prospect Heights Land Company was formed. Its founders promoted a new subdivision overlooking the Illinois River, where the view from the bluff was among the most breathtaking scenes along the river. The area was developed in 1898 and incorporated as Prospect Heights.
Three years later, residents discovered that another community near Chicago had already chartered the name. The young Village then adopted the name Peoria Heights.
Riverfront recreation
Al Fresco Amusement Park
Built along the Illinois River in 1906, Al Fresco was one of the Midwest’s earliest amusement parks. Its attractions included a giant Ferris wheel, a figure-eight roller coaster, a merry-go-round, and a boat dock. The park welcomed an estimated 10,000 visitors a day during busy summer periods before closing after World War II amid recurring river flooding.
American innovation
The Duryea Automobile
Peoria Heights is recognized as the birthplace of America’s first gasoline-powered automobile, built in 1893 by Charles Duryea and the Duryea Motor Wagon Company. The historic vehicle is preserved by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.
Explore the Smithsonian collection