Grand View Drive, Peoria, Illinois, USA
Grandview Drive sometimes spelled Grand View Drive is a two and a half mile scenic road with adjacent park areas through Peoria and Peoria Heights, Illinois.
Major portions of the road give a view of the Illinois River and its valley as well as clear views of some of the most prestigious and historic homes in the area.
Houses along Grandview Drive are among the best known in the city; the residential area on the west of Grandview Drive, opposite the river, was added to the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 1996.
A large amount of land on the valley side of Grandview Drive is owned by the Peoria Park District and is undeveloped except for park benches. The district’s legal name, “Pleasure Driveway and Park District of Peoria”, is a reflection of Grandview Drive’s original prominence in the Peoria park system. Of particular note, the drive is said to have been one of the first “linear parks” of its time.
President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have proclaimed it the “World’s Most Beautiful Drive” during a 1910 visit. Grandview Drive was the original location of WMBD (AM); although the WMBD callsign was assigned in FCC sequence, the callsign is associated with Roosevelt’s comment.
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