Grandview Drive facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Grand View Drive
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One view across the Illinois River from Grandview Drive, 2008
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 Location in Illinois
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| Location | Peoria and Peoria Heights, Peoria County, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Area | 181.52 acres (73.46 ha) |
| Built | 1906-1925 |
| Architect | Oscar F. Dubius, Frederic Klein |
| Architectural style | City Beautiful Movement |
| NRHP reference No. | 96000399 |
| Added to NRHP | September 27, 1996 |
Grandview Drive (sometimes called Grand View Drive) is a beautiful road about two and a half miles long. It runs through Peoria and Peoria Heights, Illinois. This special road has park areas next to it.
Many parts of the drive offer amazing views of the Illinois River and its valley. You can also see some old, important homes along the way. The houses on Grandview Drive are very well-known in the city. The neighborhood on the west side of the drive was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. This means it's a special historic area. Much of the land on the river side of Grandview Drive belongs to the Peoria Park District. It's kept natural, with just a few park benches for people to enjoy the view.
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History of Grandview Drive
The story of Grandview Drive began a long time ago. On March 15, 1894, the Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Peoria was created. It was the first of its kind in Illinois. This district helps manage parks and scenic roads.
How the Drive Got Its Name
The official name of the park district, "Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Peoria," shows how important Grandview Drive was. It was one of the first "linear parks" of its time. A linear park is like a long, narrow park, often built along a road or river.
President Theodore Roosevelt visited in 1910. He is said to have called it the "World's Most Beautiful Drive." This isn't an exact quote, but it captures what he thought. The radio station WMBD (AM) was first located here. Its call letters, WMBD, are linked to Roosevelt's famous comment.
Building and Designing the Drive
The park board hired Oscar F. Dubuis to design the landscape. Dubuis was from Switzerland. He learned a lot from Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York's Central Park. Dubuis worked for the West Park Board of Chicago for 23 years.
In 1896, plans for Grandview Drive started. The park board began getting the land ready. In 1902, Dubuis began his design work. He wanted to keep as many original trees as possible. These included different kinds of oak, hickory, sugar maple, and sycamore trees.
Construction started on October 14, 1903. No machines were used back then! Workers used only their hands and horses. They worked on the hilly land, which was covered in plants. One year later, the road was cut. The first road was made of gravel and sand. This became dusty and bumpy when cars became popular. In the mid-1930s, the road was paved with asphalt, making it smoother.
A five-story observation tower was built between 1905 and 1906. It stood for about 40 years. In 1942, the tower was taken down because it was rusty and too expensive to fix. Its metal was used to help with the World War II effort. Today, a special marker called the Pimiteoui marker is on the site. The Peoria Park District placed it there in 1975.
Where Grandview Drive Is Located
Grandview Drive goes from Prospect Road to Illinois Route 29. It's a winding road with many spots to stop and enjoy the view. Along the drive, you'll find the Peoria Country Club. It has a golf course and tennis courts. There's also a big park called Grandview Park.
The northern end of Grandview Drive is close to Tower Park in Peoria Heights, Illinois. When North Grandview Drive meets North Prospect Road, its name changes to East Kingman Avenue. This area is also near where the first gasoline-powered car in America was built. It was the Duryea automobile, made in 1893 by Charles Duryea. The drive's north entrance is about 792 feet above sea level.
The southern end of Grandview Drive is near the Peoria Waterworks building. This building is also on the National Register of Historic Places. At its lower entrance, the drive is about 450 feet above sea level.
