Glen Oak (Amusement) Park, Peoria, Illinois. (1895-early 1930s)

Work began in April of 1895 on Glen Oak Amusement Park. It was dedicated September 7, 1897, with an estimated 30,000 people in attendance. More than 2,500 public school children attended the first Field Day held in 1897. It is located on Prospect Avenue. The formal sunken gardens along Perry Avenue  were added in 1911. The park had a miniature railroad and a petting zoo. The petting zoo evolved into the Peoria Zoo, which is located in the park to this day.

Grand View Drive – A linear park that is really a drive along the top of the bluffs in what was at the time Prospect Heights. It broke ground in 1903 and was completed in 1905. It was put on the National Register in 1996.

Grand View Drive at the top of the bluff had a path (Gibson Pathway) down the bluff to Al Fresco Amusement Park.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.