Hotel Kewanee

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Kewanee Hotel
Image Historic Kewanee Hotel.jpeg
USA Illinois location map.svg
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Location 125 N. Chestnut St.,
Kewanee, Illinois
Coordinates 41°14′44″N89°55′42″W / 41.24556°N 89.92833°W / 41.24556; -89.92833 Coordinates: 41°14′44″N89°55′42″W / 41.24556°N 89.92833°W / 41.24556; -89.92833
Built 1916
Architect Hewitt & Emerson
Gibson, B.K.
Architectural style Classical Revival
NRHP reference # 05001605 [1]
Added to NRHP February 1, 2006

The Hotel Kewanee is a former hotel in downtown Kewanee, Illinois, located at 125 North Chestnut Street.

Kewanee, Illinois Place in Illinois, United States

Kewanee is a city in Henry County, Illinois, United States. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,916 at the 2010 census, down from 12,944 in 2000.

Contents

History

The Hotel Kewanee was built in 1916. It is a four-story brick building, and during its heyday it featured over 100 guest rooms, a restaurant, a full bar, a lounge, a ballroom, and many local businesses in its storefronts on the ground floor. Peoria architects Hewitt & Emerson designed the building, which cost $150,000. At the time of its opening in 1916, it was known as The Parkside Hotel. This moniker lasted until the 1950s, when it was renamed The Hotel Kewanee following a major renovation. [2]

Peoria, Illinois City in Illinois, United States

Peoria is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, and the largest city on the Illinois River. Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, and is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007. The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 373,590 in 2011. Until 2018, Peoria was the global and national headquarters for Caterpillar Inc., one of the 30 companies composing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and listed on the Fortune 100; in the latter year, the company relocated its headquarters to Deerfield, Illinois.

Hewitt & Emerson was an architectural firm based in Peoria, Illinois. Frank Emerson and Herbert Hewitt established their partnership in 1909. Richard Gregg became a partner in 1919, establishing Hewitt, Emerson & Gregg.

Longtime proprietor Charlie Summers, Sr. and his family owned and operated the hotel from 1962 to 1992. During this time, the hotel hosted a full-scale restaurant, bar, and lounge that were open to the public. It also hosted private functions in its ballroom until 1977, when the ballroom was replaced with additional hotel rooms. The Hotel Kewanee hosted many famous guests over the years, including: U.S. Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (R-IL); Governor Richard Buell Ogilvie (D-IL); Maureen Reagan, daughter of President Ronald Reagan; Margaret Whiting, pop singer; Bob Crosby, bandleader and brother of actor Bing Crosby; Suzy Bogguss, country music singer; U.S. Senator John Tower (R-TX); and Marjabelle Young Stewart, author and etiquette expert.

Maureen Reagan American actress

Maureen Elizabeth Reagan was the first child of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. Her brother was Michael Reagan and her half-siblings were Patti Davis and Ron Reagan, from her father's second marriage to Nancy Davis.

Margaret Whiting US-American singer

Margaret Eleanor Whiting was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.

Bob Crosby American dixieland bandleader and vocalist

George Robert Crosby was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats was a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younger brother of famed singer and actor Bing Crosby. Bob Crosby guest-starred in The Gisele MacKenzie Show and was a regular on The Jack Benny Program. He also hosted his own afternoon variety show, The Bob Crosby Show, which aired from 1953 to 1957. Crosby received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on February 8, 1960, for television and radio.

WKEI, a Kewanee-based radio station, had its studios on the fourth floor of The Hotel Kewanee from 1961 to 1981.

WKEI

WKEI is a radio station broadcasting a News/Talk format. Licensed to Kewanee, Illinois, United States, the station serves the Quad Cities area. The station is currently owned by Fletcher M. Ford’s Virden Broadcasting Corp.

In 2006, it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

The Henry County Housing Authority acquired the building in the early 2000s. It has been renovated for use as senior citizen housing and was renamed Parkside Apartments.

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References

  1. National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service.
  2. Russo, Edward J.; Mann, Curtis R. (October 15, 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Kewanee Hotel" (PDF). Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved February 20, 2016.