Peoria YWCA featured in latest issue of Historic Illinois

SPRINGFIELD - The YWCA chapter founded in Peoria during 1893 is featured in the latest issue of Historic Illinois, a publication of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA). The magazine also highlights Dixon's Lowell Park.

The city of Peoria was a booming industrial city when the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) opened a chapter there in 1893. Throughout its 114-year history, the Peoria YWCA has brought together a diverse group of women, sponsored activities and training, and provided a safe and enjoyable place for young women to live. The YWCA offered numerous programs ranging from domestic training to physical exercise. The organization also encouraged patriotism, and during World War I the national YWCA urged women to get behind the war effort. The original YWCA building at 301 Northeast Jefferson was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in May 2007. The article was written by IHPA Preservation Services Division intern Hanna Collier.

Lowell Park is a local nature sanctuary in Dixon that rivals big-city parks with its natural beauty and carefully planned layout. Carlotta Lowell donated the land to the City of Dixon in 1906 to use as a park. Her father, Charles Russell Lowell Jr., had purchased the land in 1860 but was killed in the Civil War battle of Cedar Creek in 1864, and as a result the family never lived on the property. Ms. Lowell hired famed park designers the Olmsted Brothers to visit Dixon and recommend how to develop the site. The City Beautiful Movement in vogue at the time espoused the belief that the influence of nature would refine and cultivate citizens, and following this concept Lowell Park's design kept much of its natural areas. Roadways were laid out with large curves and shelters made of local stone and wood dotted the park. Dixon residents have made good use of the park in the ensuing years, including Ronald Reagan, who was a lifeguard at the Rock River Beach from, 1926 to 1933. The article was written by IHPA Publications Editor Cynthia A. Fuener.

Historic Illinois is a bimonthly IHPA publication that features historically significant sites in Illinois. Subscriptions are $10 per year, which includes six issues of Historic Illinois and one full-color Historic Illinois Calendar. For more information, call (217) 524-6045, visit www.Illinois-History.gov, or write: Historic Illinois, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701-1507.