Editing East Peoria, Illinois (section)

== Economy ==

=== Manufacturing ===

==== Peoria Brick Company ====
Among the natural resources available to extract were clay and shale—important for brickmaking. While numerous small brickmaking plants were scattered around East Peoria in the 1880s, F.R. Carter Brick Yard (later known as Peoria Brick & Tile, and Peoria Brick Company) would sustain itself to the present. In 1899 Frederick R. Carter purchased the Spurck Paving Brick Plant, manufacturing paving and building bricks and shipping them via the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In the beginning, the brick yard had 60 employees and could produce up to 40,000 bricks a day.<ref>LaKemper, Daniel A., ed. (1984). ''The Centennial History of East Peoria''. East Peoria Centennial Commission. p.&nbsp;17.</ref> In 1909, Carter expanded the business to include an additional plant on Cole Hollow Road; the new location featured 10 dome-like brick kilns that were 30 feet in diameter and 16 feet tall. In addition, Carter purchased Rapp Clay Products in April 1925.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=https://peoriabrick.com/our-history/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Peoria Brick Company - Central Illinois |language=en-US}}</ref> Subsequently, Carter decided to close the original plant and had all brick manufacturing occur at the Cole Hollow Road location. By 1939, the company increased daily production to 65,000 bricks a day. They also transitioned from fuel sources such as coal and wood to gas, and used electricity to operate machinery rather than horsepower.

Although brick manufacturing ceased in 1982, the company has diversified its offerings in accordance with community needs. Now, they offer a wide variety of masonry and landscaping materials and have a much broader customer-base. Tom said, "Approximately 40 percent of our sales come from landscaping. You have to have diversity in order to stay with the times". In May 2013, Peoria Brick & Tile was renamed to Peoria Brick Company and expanded again by opening a new location in Mossville, Illinois.<ref name="Lynn">{{Cite web |last=Lynn |first=Greg |date=2013-07-30 |title=Keeping It in the Family |url=https://www.peoriamagazine.com/archive/ibi_article/2013/keeping-it-family-2/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Peoria Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

The business has remained under the Carter family's management since its creation. Frederick's sons Charles, Raymond, and Ben, and Frederick's son-in-law Harry Maw, joined him in operating the plant. In 1966, the son-in-law of Charles, Thomas J. Carney, purchased the company. Thomas' son Tom Carney Jr. said, "After my grandfather, Charles Carter, passed away in 1964, the business transferred to my mother, Jane Carter, and father, Tom. I started in 1970, and my sister, Mary Pat Turner, and her husband Steve started in 1978. They retired in 2010".<ref name="Lynn"/> As of 2023, Tom Carney Jr., his daughter, and his son-in-law maintain operations.<ref name=":0" />

==== Caterpillar Inc. ====
{{See also|Caterpillar Inc.}}The [[Holt Manufacturing Company]] in [[Stockton, California]], had successfully built crawler-type tractors and in 1909 began looking for manufacturing facilities closer to the vast agricultural markets in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] farm belt. Company President [[Benjamin Holt]] dispatched his nephew, Pliny E. Holt in March 1909 to find another plant. He met [[Murray M. Baker|Murray Baker]], an implement dealer, who knew of a factory already equipped to manufacture farm implements and steam [[traction engine]]s that had belonged to the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria.<ref name="acmoc2">{{cite web |title=Caterpillar History |url=http://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235759/https://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=2 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2010 |df=mdy}}</ref>
[[File:Interior Holt Caterpillar factory East Peoria Illinois 1910.png|left|thumb|The interior of the Holt Caterpillar factory in East Peoria, 1910]]
Pliny inspected the Colean factory and learned Colean had spent at least $450,000 on the relatively new building and machinery. Holt bought the assets on October 25, 1909, for the $50,000 note held by a trust company.<ref name="gordon">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Paul |date=February 16, 2010 |title=Cat hits 100-year milestone: Holt Caterpillar started operations in East Peoria in 1910 with 12 employees |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-locations/13937416-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721040841/http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-locations/13937416-1.html |archive-date=July 21, 2010 |access-date=February 28, 2010 |publisher=Journal Star |location=Peoria, Illinois}}</ref><ref name="leffingwell">{{cite book |last=Leffingwell |first=Randy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_HbnkbSVhoC&q=holt%20model%20120%20tractor&pg=PA60 |title=Classic Farm Tractors: History of the Farm Tractor |publisher=Crestline Imprints |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7603-0246-0}}</ref> and began operations on February 15, 1910<ref>{{cite news |last=GORDON |first=PAUL |date=February 15, 2010 |title=Cat hits 100-year milestone |newspaper=Journal Star |url=http://www.pjstar.com/business/x1999159909/Cat-hits-100-year-milestone |access-date=May 28, 2011}}</ref> with 12 employees.<ref name="gordon" /> The "Holt Caterpillar Company" was [[Incorporation (business)|incorporated]] in both Illinois and California on January 12, 1910.<ref name="acmoc2" /><ref>{{cite news |date=January 13, 1910 |title=Form Company to Manufacture Engines |page=11 |newspaper=The San Francisco Call |publisher=San Francisco Call Company |location=San Francisco, California |url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cdnc/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19100113.2.87.27&cl=search&e=13-01-1910-13-01-1910--en-Logical-20-SFC-1----engines-all--- |access-date=December 7, 2010 |quote=Articles of incorporation of the Holt Caterpillar Company were filed with the county clerk today....a branch company of Holt manufacturing company...}}</ref> East Peoria became Holt Manufacturing Company's eastern manufacturing plant, competing with the nearby [[Avery Co.|Avery Tractor Company]].<ref name="rice">{{cite book |last=Rice |first=James Montgomery |url=https://archive.org/details/peoriacitycountyi02rice |title=Peoria City and County, Illinois: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement |publisher=S.J. Clarke Publishing Company |year=1912}}</ref> Holt was credited with producing the first practical [[continuous track]]s for use with [[tractor]]s and he registered "Caterpillar" as a trademark in 1911.<ref name="acmoc2" />[[File:Holt Caterpillar factory in East Peoria in March 1910.png|thumb|Holt Caterpillar factory in East Peoria in March 1910]]The Peoria facility proved so profitable that only two years later the Peoria facility employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to [[Argentina]], Canada, and [[Mexico]].<ref name="idch">{{cite book |author=Jay P. Pederson, editor. |url=http://www.enotes.com/company-histories/caterpillar-inc/roots-late-19th-century-endeavors-best-holt |title=International Directory of Company Histories |publisher=[[St. James Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-55862-508-9 |volume=63 |location=[[Farmington Hills, Michigan]] |chapter=Caterpillar Inc: Roots in Late 19th-Century Endeavors of Best and Holt}}</ref> In April and May 1925, after a period of financial difficulty, the financially stronger C.&nbsp;L.&nbsp;Best merged with the market leader Holt Caterpillar to form the [[Caterpillar, Inc.|Caterpillar Tractor Co.]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Tractor History |url=http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/tractor-brands/best/best-tractors.html |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref> Clarence Leo Best assumed the title of CEO, and remained in that role until October 1951.<ref name="ohecat">{{cite web |year=2007 |title=Caterpillar On-Highway Engines: About Us>History>Growth |url=http://www.ohe.cat.com/cda/layout?m=85360&x=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804223846/http://ohe.cat.com/cda/layout?m=85360&x=7 |archive-date=August 4, 2007 |access-date=February 24, 2010 |work=ohe.cat.com |publisher=Caterpillar Inc |quote=The Holt Company manufactured their own gasoline engines at the original "engine division," the Aurora Engine Company,...a subsidiary company set up for that purpose.}}</ref> The new company was headquartered in San Leandro until 1930, when under the terms of the merger it was moved to Peoria.<ref name="gordon" /> The Caterpillar company consolidated its product lines and went on to supply the Allied armies with artillery tractors during World War I, the first use of crawling type tractors for military purposes.

When [[World War I]] broke out, with the problem of [[trench warfare]] and the difficulty of transporting supplies to the front, the pulling power of [[Continuous track|crawling-type]] tractors drew the attention of the military. In British trials, the {{convert|75|hp}} Holt tractor was found to be better suited than its competitors to haul heavy loads over uneven ground. The War Office was suitably impressed and chose it as a gun-tractor.<ref name="historic">{{cite web |title=Holt Caterpillar |url=http://www.historicroadways.co.uk/s-007.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204121517/http://www.historicroadways.co.uk/s-007.htm |archive-date=December 4, 2009 |access-date=February 27, 2010}}</ref> Holt Caterpillar tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British tank, which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics.<ref name="laird">{{cite web |last=Pernie |first=Gwenyth Laird |date=March 3, 2009 |title=Benjamin Holt (1849-1920): The Father of the Caterpillar tractor |url=http://www.wastehandling.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&id=47C5DE563581487B9E4394B939909F9E&tier=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803071138/http://www.wastehandling.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&id=47C5DE563581487B9E4394B939909F9E&tier=4 |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |df=mdy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2007 |title=HOLT CAT - Texas Caterpillar Dealer Equipment Sales and Service |url=http://www.holtremix.com/company/history.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419135813/http://www.holtremix.com/company/history.asp |archive-date=April 19, 2007 |url-status=usurped |access-date=February 24, 2010}}</ref>

=== Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino ===
{{See also|Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino}}
Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino is a riverboat casino located on the Illinois River off Illinois Route 116/U.S. Route 150 in East Peoria, Illinois, United States. Originally opened in 1991 in Peoria, it moved to East Peoria in 1993.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Colindres |first=Adriana |date=November 21, 1991 |title=Par-a-Dice Embarks on First Cruise>High Hopes for Economic Revival Ride with Floating Casino. |page=A1 |work=Peoria Journal Star}}</ref> While it was established through investors, Boyd Gaming purchased the casino in 1996 for US$175 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Olsen |first=Dean |date=December 4, 1996 |title=Par-a-Dice Sale Wins Ok>Gaming Board Approves Sale of East Peoria Casino for $175 Million. |page=A1 |work=Peoria Journal Star}}</ref>

From 1991 to 1999, Par-A-Dice cruised the river daily, until Illinois removed the requirement for riverboat casinos to leave their docks. This was reversed in June 2010 with the new U.S. Coast Guard annual requirement, and the riverboat set off along the river for the first time in 11 years.<ref>Williams, Leslie (2010-06-22). "Par-A-Dice will take first cruise on the river in 11 years". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois: Gatehouse Media.</ref>

In 2020, East Peoria's adjusted gross revenue from casinos dropped by 34.6% from $74.5 million to US$48.7 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Channick |first=Robert |date=October 9, 2020 |title=State gambling revenue tax falls 13.4%. |page=A3 |work=Peoria Journal Star}}</ref>

=== Levee District ===
The main commercial area of East Peoria is the Levee District. Located just across the river from downtown Peoria, it is a mixed-use project with a wide variety of restaurants, shopping malls, and accommodations. For the bulk of the 1900s, the area was a Caterpillar manufacturing site. In 1998, it was razed to the ground and all that remained was a concrete slab. The land was bought by the city for redevelopment in 2000, creating an opportunity to transform the industrial downtown into a commercial hub. East Peorians previously would have to travel to Peoria for dining and shopping; with the creation of the Levee District, residents could do so locally.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lynn |first=Greg |date=2014-01-29 |title=The Rise of the Levee District |url=https://www.peoriamagazine.com/archive/ibi_article/2014/rise-levee-district/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Peoria Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-29 |title=CENTRAL ILLINOIS ROAD TRIP: East Peoria's Levee District booming |url=https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/ci-road-trip/central-illinois-road-trip-east-peorias-levee-district-booming/ |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=CIProud.com |language=en-US}}</ref> A range of both national and local restaurants can be found in the Levee District.

In concert with the renovation of remaining Caterpillar buildings, the development of the downtown Peoria Riverfront Museum and Caterpillar Visitor's Center, and the renovation of Interstate 74 and of the area's bridges, East Peoria's downtown and urban area have developed substantially.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-29 |title=CENTRAL ILLINOIS ROAD TRIP: East Peoria's Levee District booming |url=https://www.centralillinoisproud.com/ci-road-trip/central-illinois-road-trip-east-peorias-levee-district-booming/ |access-date=2023-02-17 |website=CIProud.com |language=en-US}}</ref>