{"nrhp_refnum":"12000878","name":"U.S. Post Office and Courthouse","other_names":["Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 NE. Monroe St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Peoria","county":"Peoria County","state":"IL","lat":40.69648119900006,"lon":-89.59153077299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-10-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story federal post office and courthouse at 100 Northeast Monroe Street in Peoria, Illinois, built 1937-1938 with a steel and reinforced concrete frame clad in limestone and granite.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an excellent, monumental example of Moderne public architecture, often called Public Works Administration Moderne. It is distinguished by its exterior and interior ornamentation, including bas-relief sculpture, marble, bronze and terrazzo. It was designed by Howard L. Cheney with plans from Supervising Architect Louis A. Simon.","narrative":"Built in 1937-1938 at 100 Northeast Monroe Street in Peoria, this federal building originally housed the post office and the U.S. District Court, with other federal offices on the upper floors. Its steel and reinforced concrete frame is faced in limestone and granite above a grey granite base. Howard L. Cheney of Chicago was the architect of record, working from plans by Louis A. Simon, Supervising Architect of the Treasury. The design is a representative example of Public Works Administration Moderne, with irregular massing of geometric forms. Exterior details include carved eagles flanking the entrances, bronze grilles and light fixtures, and bas-relief panels by sculptor Freeman L. Schoolcraft on the Main Street side. Inside, marble walls, terrazzo floors and stenciled ceilings survive in the public corridors and key chambers. The post office moved out in the 1980s, the first floor was remodeled for bankruptcy and district courts, and the building still serves as a courthouse.","period_of_significance":"1938","architect_builder":"Cheney, Howard Lovewell, Architect; Simon, Louis A., Supervising Architect of Treasury","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently used as a federal courthouse and government offices. The post office left the building and the first floor was renovated in 1986; windows were replaced with matching aluminum ones in the 1990s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.292418-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/8938/28893833/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/12000878.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000878/0c2f87d9bb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000878/0c2f87d9bb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exterior,_street_view_of_Federal_Building_and_U.S._Court_House,_Peoria,_Illinois_LCCN2013634271.tif\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Exterior,_street_view_of_Federal_Building_and_U.S._Court_House,_Peoria,_Illinois_LCCN2013634271.tif"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100002825","name":"Downtown Peoria Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/downtown-peoria-historic-district-100002825/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893833","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Post_Office_and_Courthouse_(Peoria,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23303008"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/peoria-county/u-s-post-office-and-courthouse-12000878/"}