HOME AWAY FROM HOME

                                       HOME  AWAY  FROM  HOME

                                               NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

A lot of you folks have driven past this old building over and over again and I bet very few of you have ever entered it or even wondered what goes on in there. Well I can tell you it has the richest history of any building in the City of Peoria except, perhaps, the Peoria City Hall.  It certainly is one of the oldest, no doubt about that. It is the home of the Peoria Women’s Club, and it was a club even before the venerable Creve Coeur Club where the men used to smoke their cigars, drink their bourbon and dine in style. The Peoria Women’s Club actually got its start way back when it was formally organized by twenty-seven ladies that had a vision. Some stories tell you twenty-four but I went back to the very first article and that author said twenty-seven. The ladies turned that vision into a dream and then reality when they incorporated the club on July 8, 1890. But that was just the beginning because once they were incorporated the real goal was to build a ‘Club House’ of their very own.  They not only wanted to build it they wanted to own it and the land it was going to be built on, which was unprecedented at the time.

 

Initially the ladies met at each other’s homes, having formal teas and electing officers and making plans. They grew rather rapidly so they sought other places to meet.  The first was the Pettingill’s Seminary a private school, and then they rented out the Y.M.C.A on Jefferson Street.  Boldly they purchased the Baptist Church which at that time was on the very site the ladies chose to build their home away from home later on. They also rented out some of the parlors located in the Old National Hotel.

 

The board formed a capital stock Company with assets of $25,000.00 selling most of the stocks to members but some was sold to other Peorians who had an interest in the venture.  They planned a modest building but soon agreed to take on a debt of $10,000.00 to enlarge and improve the Club.  The need was great here in Peoria and these ladies wanted to help the community and believe me they did. Their beautiful

brick building was to be located at Fayette and Madison and it was to be a grand and imposing Romanesque Revival style architecture by Jenne and Mundie and the craftsman skills of John L. Finn and Frank Hasbrouck.  In 1893 the corner stone was laid with great enthusiasm and hope for the future.  Astoundingly by 1911 the building’s mortgage was paid off and the ladies owned there own home away from home free and clear.

 

On the first floor were a large dining room, cloak room, pantry and sizeable kitchen.  On the second floor was a theatre and music room with 453 seats inside the theatre said to have had wonderful acoustics. The stage sloped towards the audience, called a ‘raked stage.”   The main foyer was where the president’s office was located with an auditorium and drawing room also located within the building. The building and Club quickly became the culture center for the City of Peoria offering educational and cultural programs not available in any other part of the city. Truth is that the ladies, even before they obtained their building and as early as 1886 offered unique programs to women of Peoria and the young ladies as well.

 

By 1894 the ladies were happily settled in their new home and the traffic in an out of the building and the marvelous horse drawn carriages caused quite a stir in town, I can tell you that. They also had gala events in the Club, along with Shakespearian plays and celebrities of the time appearing on the Clubs beautiful stage.  There was a grand staircase to the theatre where many pictures were taken over the years with Club members posing with the actors and entertainers.  Under the seats in the theatre were containers where hats to be stored during the show, with coat hooks available on the backs of the comfortable seats. The stage to this day has the original back-drops and curtains giving the place an air of elegance about it.  Local groups such as The Peoria Players, Peoria Symphony Orchestra and other musical groups adored the place. The Club hosted many celebrated actors and well-known people such as Victor Hugo, Carl Sandberg, just to name a couple. The ladies are presently seeking funds to restore the building and the theatre to its original grandeur and glamour of yesteryear. It is currently a registered landmark as part of the North Side Historical District.

 

At one time, perhaps this figure was a bit larger, the Club had well over 700 members and over the years the membership has been decimated to about 77.  The Peoria’s Woman’s Club is looking for new members, more visitors and folks to rent out the facilities.  If the place were refurbished it would be an excellent place for plays, operas, comedy, symphony and other orchestras and other forms of entertainment.   There are meeting rooms, a kitchen and wedding receptions would be ideal for the Women’s Club to host. In its heyday the Club was the center of art, music, literature, music and drama programs. The early programs taught social graces to young ladies and were a center for all kinds of social programs. Other clubs like the Amateur Musical Club and the Peoria Players were spin-offs of the programs originated in the Club.

 

Through the efforts of the Club and a lot of lobbying, The Bartonville Hospital for the Mentally Insane was established, along with programs for blind children. The Club members, with the help of other clubs, brought a Truant Officer to Peoria to look after the school kids.  The members of the Club established a Protective Agency for women and children as well as starting the first Kindergarten in Peoria. They initiated a Traveling Library which delivered books to the rural areas of Peoria County. They battled City Hall on all kinds of issues including street and city sanitation and became a very influential body of ladies who, acting as a lobbyist group could make a major difference in any  project in town when they put their collective power behind it.  They set out to make things change for the better and they did just that. There were a couple of Women’s Clubs in America in 1868, but the Women’s Club of Peoria was the first women’s club dedicated to the Arts and Literature with a major focus on culture. Clara Bourland, after an expansive trip to Europe and Paris came back to Peoria and brought up the idea of a women’s club here in Peoria and the rest, as folks like to say, is history. So, on January 20, 1886 the art students and teachers signed the charter for The Peoria Woman’s Club.

 

The costs is always interesting to people, especially compared to today.  The final costs for the PWC were $45,000.00 including the beautiful ornamental iron gates that ‘guarded’ the building and land.  Those gates were put up by a Peoria company that I think is still in business here in town named A. Lucas and Sons. There are to this day some valuable oil and water paintings inside the Club, and a wonderful old grandfather clock. It was a gift to the ladies in 1894 and has been restored to its Whittington Chimes and Strike.  The chime melody is often called “Saint Mary’s.”

 

On the second floor is the auditorium that played a major role in the Club’s social and entertainment affairs.  That fire in 1970 pretty much put an end to its use. Over the years different members headed up a multitude of programs meant to aid the community in one way or the other. Of course as the membership diminished so did the programs.  They still have elegant tea parties and try to maintain the dignity and the social graces that made the place so popular to so many women and young ladies over the years.  They have a program that is designed to make proper clothing available to young ladies seeking a job.  They gather it all up and an agency in town distributes the clothing to that young lady looking for a job that must face an interview properly dressed. Mrs. Bourland and her lady friends envisioned a place where the members and guest could come to study, socialize and learn about Art, Music and Literature. They had a long list of community projects, programs and public services they could choose from that all led to the betterment of the Peoria community. Today the loyal members are struggling to maintain the building and trying in every way to keep the Club open.  Just think, The Peoria Women’s Club has been an important part of Peoria, Illinois for 130 years and now they need help from the citizens of Peoria, Illinois.  They need donations and new members, young or old. They need new ideas and vibrant women who want to be part of the Club that has nothing but serving the community in mind and coming together as a unit of hope and help for Peorians and surrounding communities.

                                            A  PLEA  FOR  HELP

The present situation is that the 70 or so members that are still connected with the club need help.  The building needs renovation both inside and out.  The current members are trying to keep up a century plus tradition of helping the community and young women in the Peoria area.  They need new members, viable, active ladies that would join them in their quest to serve the community.  The annual dues are $50.00 per year which assures you companionship and your own home away from home. They need folks in the Peoria area to consider renting out the facilities for their meetings, weddings or parties. Donations are always needed and welcome. Please call Cheryl at 427-1180 or Esther at 692-5634 with any questions you may have about the building or the Peoria Women’s Club. Editor’s Note:

Norm is a Peoria Historian, author and monthly contributor to Adventure Sports Outdoors.   norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net