peoria players theater History
1919-2023
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Peoria Players Theatre in Peoria, Illinois, is the oldest continuously running community theater in the state and the fourth oldest in the nation. Founded in 1919 in the Peoria Women's Club, our first production was The Maker of Dreams.
Soon after, Peoria Players moved to an empty firehouse on Jackson Street. In 1957, when the I-74 corridor was built through downtown Peoria, the Jackson Street theater was demolished, and Peoria Players moved to its present building at the intersection of University Street and Lake Avenue. Our current theater was designed by the late Peoria architect Les Kenyon. Through the years of the Great Depression, World War II, the Boom Years, and into the 21st Century, we have never closed our doors -- for 104 straight years! |
Peoria Women's Club
Firehouse on Jackson (photo courtesy of the Peoria Historical Society)
Current Building - since 1957
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