Welcome to Peoria, Illinois, the county seat of Peoria County and a city built along the Illinois River. French explorers raised Fort Crevecoeur here in 1680, and Henri de Tonti’s settlement of 1691 made Peoria the oldest permanent European settlement in the state. The 2020 census counted 113,150 residents, which ranks Peoria eighth in Illinois, and the city anchors a metro area of roughly 400,000 people. Hospital staff, Bradley University students, engineers, and families all share its bluffs and riverfront, and that mix is a big reason people put down roots.

Signature sights include the Peoria Riverfront Museum downtown, the bluff-top curves of Grandview Drive, and the Bradley University campus on the West Bluff. Residents get real culture, relatively affordable historic housing, and a Midwestern pace that keeps errands short. Those same blocks keep a steady flow of new arrivals, and the city’s practical side shows up in everything from its hospitals and schools to trusted movers in Peoria for the households relocating every year.

Peoria’s River City Character

Built on bluffs above the Illinois River, Peoria climbs quickly from the downtown riverfront to the neighborhoods above it. Housing runs from 19th-century mansions along Moss Avenue to postwar bungalows and newer subdivisions in the far north, and downtown has drawn newcomers lately with restaurants, galleries, and renovated historic buildings. Caterpillar made its name here for more than a century, and OSF HealthCare and Carle Health now give the city a large medical district near Interstate 74 and Knoxville Avenue.

The Peoria Civic Center, designed by architect Philip Johnson and opened in 1982, hosts Bradley Braves basketball and touring shows. The Peoria Symphony Orchestra ranks as the 14th oldest in the country, and the Peoria Players is the oldest community theater in Illinois. Annual traditions include the Steamboat Classic, billed as the world’s largest four-mile race, the Heart of Illinois Fair, which has run every year since 1949, and the Peoria Santa Claus Parade, which dates to 1888.

The Peoria Park District was the first park district in Illinois and today looks after about 9,000 acres, the largest park system in the state. Grandview Drive follows the bluffs above the river, Glen Oak Park holds the zoo and botanical garden, and the Rock Island Greenway stretches 13 miles of trail north toward Toulon. Bradley Park has a disc golf course and a dog park, and the Illinois River Bluff Trail links Camp Wokanda, Robinson Park, Green Valley Camp, and Detweiller Park.

Neighborhoods and Zip Codes of Peoria, IL

Peoria’s neighborhoods stack up along the bluffs and spread north across the city, so the right fit often depends on whether you want blocks near the river or a quiet subdivision with a driveway. The five areas below show the range, from the downtown core to the family neighborhoods of North Peoria.

Downtown Peoria (61602): The riverfront core holds the Peoria Riverfront Museum, Dozer Park, and the Peoria Civic Center, along with the restaurants of the Warehouse District. It suits people who want an apartment or loft within walking distance of events.

East Bluff (61603): A historic neighborhood above downtown that runs out to Glen Oak Park, home of the Peoria Zoo and Luthy Botanical Garden. The John C. Flanagan House, built in 1837, stands here as the oldest standing house in Peoria.

West Bluff (61606): Bradley University anchors this district of Victorian and Queen Anne homes along Moss Avenue and High Street. The area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and keeps campus shops and restaurants close by.

North Peoria (61614): A broad residential area of mid-century and newer single-family homes along Knoxville Avenue, Sheridan Road, and University Street. Families like the yards and the quick drive to the shopping along War Memorial Drive.

Far North Peoria (61615): Much of this area sat outside the city limits before the 1990s, and today its subdivisions near Willow Knolls Road and Illinois Route 91 sit close to The Shoppes at Grand Prairie. Many of these blocks fall in Dunlap School District 323.

Education and Schools in Peoria, IL

Peoria Public Schools District 150 is the largest district in the city and serves most of Peoria, while parts of the far north belong to Dunlap Community Unit School District 323 and smaller districts cover pockets along the edges. Reservoir Gifted School, one of District 150’s middle schools, ranked fifth among Illinois middle schools in 2025. Private options include Peoria Notre Dame High School and Peoria Christian School.

Peoria High School: Known as Central, this District 150 school is the oldest high school in Illinois.

Richwoods High School: Another District 150 high school, Richwoods offers the competitive International Baccalaureate program of study.

Bradley University: A private university on the West Bluff, founded in 1897 by Lydia Moss Bradley as Bradley Polytechnic Institute. Its 97-acre campus sits about one mile from downtown.

Illinois Central College: The community college runs its Peoria campus on North University Street and its main campus in nearby East Peoria.

Public Transportation and Major Highways in Peoria, IL

Getting around Peoria means choosing between the river bridges, the bluff-top arterials, and a bus network that reaches the main corridors. Interstates tie the city to the Quad Cities and Bloomington-Normal, and a commercial airport sits west of town.

Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (CityLink): CityLink runs 18 fixed bus routes serving Peoria, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Peoria Heights, West Peoria, and points toward Pekin.

Interstate 74 (I-74): The interstate runs northwest to southeast through downtown and crosses the Illinois River on the Murray Baker Bridge, linking Peoria with the Quad Cities to the west and Bloomington-Normal to the east.

U.S. Route 150 (War Memorial Drive): The main arterial across the north side, it carries traffic past Northwoods Mall and the Shops at Grand Prairie and enters the city from the McClugage Bridge.

Illinois Route 40 (Knoxville Avenue): This north-south route runs through the center of the city and leaves downtown across the Bob Michel Bridge toward East Peoria.

General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA): Located west of the city, PIA offers commercial nonstop flights and is the closest airport for anyone flying in for a move.

Things To Do in Peoria, IL

From riverfront museums to historic mansions, Peoria offers something for everyone within easy reach of 114 W Stratford Dr.

Peoria Riverfront Museum

The Peoria Riverfront Museum sits on the Illinois River at 222 SW Washington Street and gathers art, science, history, and achievement under one roof. Its five major galleries rotate exhibitions from touring shows to the permanent collection, which includes a Duryea Motor Wagon Company car and a large set of folk art wildfowl decoys. A 40-foot dome planetarium and a Giant Screen Theater, the largest known film society screen in the country, round out a visit. Outside, the museum anchors a scale model of the solar system with a 46-foot Sun. Families and curious adults both find a full afternoon here.

Peoria Zoo

Peoria Zoo fills 14 acres of Glen Oak Park with about 100 species from around the world. The Africa exhibit, which opened in 2009, runs along a boardwalk past giraffes, gazelles, zebras, rhinos, and lions, while the Asian area follows Siberian tigers and Sichuan takins. In the Australia walkthrough, wallabies and emus share the path with you. Smaller buildings house reptiles, amphibians, and primates, and the Contact Barn lets younger visitors meet donkeys and goats. The Peoria Park District runs the zoo beside the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum, so many families spend the whole day in the park.

Luthy Botanical Garden

Luthy Botanical Garden has grown in Glen Oak Park since 1951 and packs 15 themed gardens onto about 5 acres. Paths pass a rose garden, an herb garden, perennial beds, a viburnum collection, and a wildlife garden, while a 2,500-square-foot conservatory shelters tropical plants and orchids. Seasonal shows keep the calendar full, from the spring lily show to the autumn chrysanthemum display and the December poinsettia show with candlelight walks. It is an easy stop for a slow weekend stroll or a quiet break between errands. Gardeners, photographers, and anyone who wants green space beside the zoo will feel at home here.

Dozer Park

Dozer Park has been home to the Peoria Chiefs, the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, since it opened in May 2002 as O’Brien Field. The downtown ballpark seats about 7,500 and sits a few blocks west of the Illinois River with views of the city skyline. Caterpillar’s naming rights gave the park its bulldozer-inspired name in 2013, and a renovation between 2023 and 2025 added new lights, clubhouses, and a new playing surface. Bradley University’s baseball team plays its home games here too. A summer night at the park pairs minor league baseball with the restaurants of the nearby Warehouse District.

Pettengill-Morron House Museum

The Pettengill-Morron House Museum at 1212 W Moss Avenue shows what life looked like in the West Bluff’s grand Victorian era. Moses Pettengill, who opened Peoria’s first hardware and stove store, built the 11-room Second Empire house in 1868, and a Colonial Revival porch followed around 1900. Its last resident, Jean Morron, left the home and its contents to the Peoria Historical Society, so the rooms still hold furniture, paintings, and textiles from the families who lived there. The society offers guided tours, and the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History fans and architecture lovers can follow the visit with a stroll along Moss Avenue.

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