Photo Courtesy of the Peoria Historical Society Collection Bradley University Library and Michael Doyle

by H Wayne Wilson

The names on signs going up the hill along Peoria’s Main Street were well-known—Egolf, Mitchell and Castle, Earl Johnson, Travis and Jim Smith were among the many new car dealers lining the way toward Bradley University. Some of the cars carried names that no longer exist—Hudson, Nash, Edsel and even Tucker. As the brands changed, so did some dealer names, but for nearly four decades beginning in the late 1930s, central Illinoisans bought their new vehicles on top of the bluff. Gas stations, auto parts dealers, tire stores and body shops supplemented what became known as Peoria’s first auto row.

The selling of vehicles prior to that time was largely centered in downtown Peoria, albeit not in a row. Auto dealers found downtown a good place to do business with a concentrated population and thriving retail businesses like department stores. About 1910, Reliant Motors, owned by the Metzger family, sold Hupmobiles across from Peoria City Hall. A building on Adams, now a banquet facility, still carries the name of the car sold there—Packard Plaza. Rosetter Ford was initially at 7th Street and Franklin, while Murphy-Clark Chrysler/Plymouth was three blocks away at 4th and Franklin. And an appropriately named dealership, Franklin C. Hackshaw DeSoto/Plymouth, was in fact on Franklin at
Washington Street.

As residents found new homes in the bluff areas of the city, car dealers followed, although not immediately. They eventually opened stores on Main Street. Many of those buildings still stand. The structures with possibly the richest auto history still sit on the north side of Main Street between Garfield and Frink. There were several brands of cars, including an early electric auto, sold from those buildings over time. Bucher and Sauer was located at that site. Later, you could buy an Edsel, if only for the model years 1958 through 1960. Still later, Paul LeCours sold Volvos and Toyotas. Today, you see a Muir sign overhead, for Muir Omni Graphics. It is ironic that Muir provides markings and decals for on-highway and off-highway vehicles, continuing the Main Street link to transportation.

Photo Courtesy of the Peoria Historical Society Collection Bradley University Library and Michael Doyle

Other brand names peppered the street. Nearest Bradley, where the Campustown Shopping Center now sits, Tucker automobiles were offered briefly in 1948. It’s not clear if any Tuckers were actually sold at that location, although at least one was ordered. There were only 51 Tuckers built before the company folded in early 1949. Anchoring the other end of auto row, at the bottom of Main Street Hill, were Bower Buick, Downtown Chevrolet which became McComb Chevy and moved to North University around 1960, and Pere Marquette Motors sporting the Lincoln-Mercury brand. It eventually became Heidrich-Bibler. At the top of the hill was Egolf Motors where the URS building still sits. At Orange Street sat Johnson Chevrolet. Two of the salesmen there were Tom Smith and Bill Kallister, who later would start S & K Chevrolet. The body shop for Johnson Chevy now houses Kauth & Mayeur, which services import automobiles. The McDaniels Used Car lot sat at Orange and Main, but many used car lots were actually in an auto row of their own, along Jefferson Avenue between First Street and Western Avenue.

There were a few parts stores like Dependable Auto Parts selling Chrysler parts, a tire store selling the Firestone brand and plenty of gas stations, including a DX station where MacDonald’s Shell currently operates. Diagonally across the street was a Standard station where the McDonald’s Restaurant is now located. Down the street a half block was Buck Hanchett’s Phillips 66. He prided himself in not only cleaning your windshield, but also checking the air pressure in your tires. Cohen Gas sat at the intersection with Sheridan Road. Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe is named for the daughters of the owner. And the most interesting owner of a service station was Bob Doyle. He was a meat packer before opening a Shell station at Douglas and Main next to Johnson Chevy. The station did auto repairs in the 1950s and 60s although Bob did not have a mechanical bone in his body. Fortunately, three of his five sons—Mike, Terry and Denny—did, and worked for their father at various times. Terry then worked for several dealers on Main Street before starting his own business in 1974, Doyle Automotive, a block off Main. He retired two years ago.

While some automotive related work still exists on Main Street, like Stecher’s Automotive Repairs, the majority of auto row began to fade in the early 1970s. Car companies were demanding bigger showrooms, regardless of how successful a dealership might have been. The buildings on Main Street didn’t allow for expansion, and the city’s population was moving north. And an auto row followed, just like 75 years ago.

These memories don’t recall the earliest automotive enterprise in the area. We must go back to the 19th century for that. The Duryea Motor Trap, a three-wheeled car with one tiller to control steering, shifting and throttling, was first built in 1898 on Barker Avenue, a few blocks south of Main Street. One of the early Traps currently sits at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.