The Kickapoo Building was originally built as a “brewery-tied saloon” that was allowed to sell only Anheuser-Busch products. Photo from National Parks Service

An old brewery building in Peoria and an archeological site with Native American carvings near Chillicothe are among 23 Illinois sites that have been named to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency recently released a list of all 23 sites that have been named to the National Register, a prestigious distinction that frequently helps communities in planning and revitalizing local economic development efforts. Two such examples are Peoria’s Kickapoo Building and the Warehouse District, whose landmark status was announced several months earlier, which are both undergoing renovation that will include residential units.

“Placement on the National Register can make buildings eligible for tax incentives that help pay for renovation and restoration,” said Chris Wills, public relations officer for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. “It’s often easier to save buildings and find new uses for them if they’ve been recognized for their historic value.”

Income-producing properties listed in the National Register either individually, such as the Kickapoo Building, or that contribute to a historic district, like the Peoria Warehouse District, are eligible for a 20 percent Federal Historic Tax Credit for rehabilitation.

“Peoria is one of a few communities in Illinois that are participating in a pilot program in which these properties also qualify for a 25 percent state income tax credit for rehabilitation,” Wills said. “The Kickapoo Building is in the process of applying for both the state and federal tax credits and we anticipate more projects from the Peoria Warehouse District.”

The Kickapoo Building was originally built as a “brewery-tied saloon” that was allowed to sell only Anheuser-Busch products. The saloon was demolished when a gas station was created under the second story. The property did not have sufficient integrity as a brewery-tied house, yet it does have enough integrity as a flatiron building, a triangular-shaped property type which resembles a cast-iron clothing iron, according to Wills.

“These building types were constructed to maximize the amount of space they occupied on angular street junctions,” he said. “This is the Kickapoo Building’s most striking feature, and there really aren’t any other buildings like it in Peoria.”

The Peoria Warehouse Historic District is significant for both the architectural styles and property types represented in the district and for its commercial history. The district is “the largest and most intact concentration of industrial, warehouse and commercial buildings in the city,” according to the National Register application for the building.

Other area buildings and sites included on the list are the Lincoln Branch of the Peoria Public Library, a 1910 Classical Revival building constructed with monies from industrialist/ philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and the Marshall Site near Chillicothe. The latter is considered a significant example of Native American petroglyphs, or engraved images, that represent a previously unidentified technique not found in any other Native American rock sites, according to the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Report.

COLLAR COUNTIES

David Hall House, Lake Villa

Elgin Downtown Historic District, Elgin

William and Helen Coffeen House, Hinsdale

COOK COUNTY

Chrysler Village, Chicago

Oak Park Village Hall, Oak Park

Portage Park Bungalow Historic District, Chicago

Jesse L. Strauss Estate, Glencoe

Polish National Alliance Headquarters Chicago

DOWNSTATE

Heimberger House, Springfield    

Glen Carbon School, Glen Carbon

Marshall Site, Chillicothe vicinity

Jacksonville Historic District, Jacksonville

Great Western Railroad Depot, Springfield

Morrison Main Street Historic District, Morrison

Lincoln Branch of Peoria Public Library, Peoria

Peoria Warehouse Historic District, Peoria

Kickapoo Building, Peoria

Broadview Hotel, East St. Louis

Union Trust Bank Co. Building, East St. Louis

Downtown East St. Louis Historic District, East St. Louis 

West Belleville Historic District, Belleville

Civilian Conservation Corps camp, near Lerna

Martin House, Fulton