{"nrhp_refnum":"95000984","name":"Peoria Automobile Club","other_names":["Shore Acres Park Clubhouse"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 Park Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chillicothe","county":"Peoria County","state":"IL","lat":40.903374488000054,"lon":-89.49004858499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-08-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wood-frame clubhouse built in 1915 in Shore Acres Park on the Illinois River at Chillicothe, Peoria County, Illinois, for the Peoria Automobile Club. Designed by Hotchkiss & Harris, Architects, of Peoria, it has a Classical Revival design.","why_significant":"The building is significant under Criterion A in the area of Entertainment/Recreation. It reflects the early twentieth-century trend of automobile clubs that promoted road improvement, touring and social life. It has served continuously as a place of recreation and entertainment since its 1915 dedication.","narrative":"Built in 1915 on the bank of the Illinois River in Shore Acres Park, south of Chillicothe, this wood-frame clubhouse was designed by Hotchkiss & Harris of Peoria for the Peoria Automobile Club. It has a gabled central pavilion with a two-story portico, Corinthian pilasters, French doors and balconies, flanked by two gambrel-roofed wings. Inside, a two-story ballroom has a balcony and a 1925 mural of the river valley by Peoria artist Erick Arons. The club formed around 1911 to improve roads, promote touring and offer hospitality to motorists. Members campaigned for better roads between Peoria, Chillicothe and Chicago. The building hosted dances, weddings, picnics and fraternity and sorority formals through the 1920s and 1930s. The club later became a country club, and the property was sold at auction in 1935 after bankruptcy. The building has been in continual use since 1915 and is significant locally for its role in recreation and entertainment.","period_of_significance":"1915-1935","architect_builder":"Hotchkiss & Harris, Architects","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Still in use as a park pavilion and clubhouse; part of the south wing is used as a residential apartment and the north wing rooms are used for storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.675335-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/8938/28893870/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/95000984.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000984/fa70b91773-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000984/fa70b91773-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Ronald Maac","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shore_Acres_Chillicothe_IL_17_Feb_13.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Ronald Maac</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shore_Acres_Chillicothe_IL_17_Feb_13.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893870","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria_Automobile_Club","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14688010"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/peoria-county/peoria-automobile-club-95000984/"}