Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau 456 Fulton St. Ste. 300 Peoria, IL 61602 (309) 676-0303 Population 113504 Time Zone Central Latitude/Longitude 40.69° /-89.58° Today's Forecast HIGH: 60 LOW: 40

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Attractions

Teddy Roosevelt dubbed it "The World's Most Beautiful Drive" back in 1910, and in many ways the tour down Grandview is still the city's most singular feature. As the prairie vista unspools in the distance, Grandview Drive winds along the Illinois River bluff, passing fine homes of interesting architectural detail. Picnic areas and park benches allow visitors to stop and linger over the splendid canopy painted below.

Many travelers come to attend functions at the Peoria Civic Center, the city's main cultural venue and one its most important business locales. The home of Peoria's symphony, opera and ballet companies as well as the site of conventions and tradeshows, top-name musical concerts, and sporting events, the Civic Center saw a major, four-year expansion come to completion in 2007.

Also seeing considerable expansion, Peoria's Glen Oak Zoo is going ahead with plans to open its new Africa! exhibit (scheduled for 2008) and triple the zoo's present size. The zoo is located in Glen Oak Park which is also the site of Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden, a five-acre conservatory that offers floral displays in all seasons, and an amphitheater where concerts are offered in summer.

The performing arts are also on tap in Upper Bradley Park, where Corn Stock Theatre presents year-round community-oriented entertainment at their big-top home. In the revitalized waterfront district, the Contemporary Art Center offers exhibits by working artists plus music, dance and other types of performance.

Also noteworthy, the world's largest scale-model of the solar system is at the Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences. The museum has exhibits of folk art as well as a fine collection of African art and a planetarium with laser light shows. The Peoria Historical Society offers tours of some magnificent homes from an earlier era. The John C. Flanagan House, built in 1837, is the oldest standing house in the city; it has authentic furnishings, a costume collection, antique tools, china and glassware. Also open to visitors, the Pettengill-Morron House, built in 1868, is filled with furnishings from mid-Victorian times. Take an old-fashioned riverboat ride on the Spirit of Peoria, a replica 19th-century paddle wheeler that plies the rivers from Starved Rock to Cape Girardeau. The banks of Peoria Lake also offer dockside gaming at the Par-A-Dice Casino.

O'Brien Field, which opened in 2002, provides a new waterfront home for the Peoria Chiefs, the Class A Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. With seating for 7500, the ballpark's modern amenities include 18 luxury suites, an outfield video screen, and kids' play area. Sports fans can also take in the exploits of Bradley University men's basketball team and hockey action from the AHL Rivermen, both of whom play at the Civic Center.

For visitors seeking a return to nature, the Forest Park Nature Center offers seven miles of hiking trails through prairie and woodland settings plus a natural history museum. For something even wilder, visit the bobcats, buffalo, bears and other native species who inhabit Wildlife Prairie State Park ten miles west of the city. The 2,000-acre park has walking trails, a butterfly garden, museum, train rides and a country store.

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