{"nrhp_refnum":"80001412","name":"Pekin Federal Building","other_names":["Old Post Office"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"334 Elizabeth St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pekin","county":"Tazewell County","state":"IL","lat":40.56891342000006,"lon":-89.64852739199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-10-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick post office and federal building at Elizabeth and South Capitol Streets in Pekin, Tazewell County, Illinois, built in 1905 and opened in 1906, with first-floor and basement additions in 1930-31.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a fine local example of Renaissance Revival federal architecture, designed by the Treasury Department's Supervising Architect's Office. It served as Pekin's post office and housed federal offices, including Internal Revenue, tied to the nearby distilleries. It also reinforces the character of the courthouse square.","narrative":"Located at Elizabeth and South Capitol Streets in Pekin, Illinois, this red brick building was constructed in 1905 as the Pekin Federal Building and opened as the post office in 1906. The Treasury Department's Supervising Architect's Office designed it, and the first floor and basement were enlarged in 1930-31 in matching style. Details include arched first-floor windows with limestone and terra cotta trim, a projecting bracketed cornice, and a limestone cartouche above the main entrance. Inside, the lobby retains plaster moldings, terrazzo and marble finishes, and a marble stair with cast iron rail. The second floor held federal offices, including Internal Revenue, important locally because of nearby distilleries. The post office staff grew from a handful of carriers and clerks to 72 people before it moved in 1966. Later used for warehousing, the building faces the Tazewell County Courthouse and helps define the courthouse square streetscape. It was valued as a local example of Renaissance Revival design.","period_of_significance":"1900- (Original - 1906; Addition - 1930)","architect_builder":"Original: James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect, Treasury Department; V. Jobst & Sons (contractor), Peoria. Addition: J. A. Wetmore, Acting Supervising Architect, Treasury Department; James McHugh Sons (contractor)","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival with Italian influences","criteria":[],"status_note":"Used for warehousing/storage by the previous owner; unoccupied with work in progress; the new owner plans rental space on all floors. Lobby in bad repair and roof leaks have damaged the second floor.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.728569-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8941/28894186/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/80001412.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001412/510eb32deb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80001412/510eb32deb-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Ammodramus","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pekin,_Illinois_Federal_Building_from_E_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ammodramus</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pekin,_Illinois_Federal_Building_from_E_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894186","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pekin_Federal_Building","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21028304"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/tazewell-county/pekin-federal-building-80001412/"}