On your left, look for the compact, temple-like limestone building with tall columns framing green doors, an arched stained-glass window above, and a little stack of cannonballs out front.
This is the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall… though it also goes by the Greenhut Memorial, carved right into the stone. It went up in 1909, designed by Hewitt and Emerson in that confident Classical Revival style-Corinthian columns, arched windows, and limestone eagles perched like they’re still on watch. For a veterans’ meeting hall, it’s dressed like it’s hosting a summit. Which, in a way, it was.
The hall honors Peoria’s Civil War soldiers and is dedicated to Joseph B. Greenhut, a captain in Company K of the 82nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Here’s the part that makes the building feel personal: Greenhut put up $15,000 of the $22,000 total cost-about two-thirds of the bill. That’s roughly $500,000 to $700,000 in today’s money… a serious check to write so the place could open debt-free.
Inside, there are six stained-glass windows, including one with the GAR emblem, and in the main ballroom their motto is spelled out: “Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty.” You’ll also find portraits of Greenhut and his wife, plus a marble bust of General John Logan by local sculptor Fritz Triebel.
By the 1950s, the GAR organization faded as its members passed on. In the 1970s, local preservationists stepped in, restored it, and rededicated the hall in 1979-so it could keep doing what it does best: remembering, and gathering.
When you’re set, the YWCA Building is a 4-minute walk heading northwest.
