Urban Artifacts, regional Peoria business, collects city’s classic signs
3 min readPEORIA — As the shuttered Sky Harbor Steak Household recently sold off all stock, Jon Walker noticed some matters he knew he experienced to have.
So, he plunked down $700 for three huge indications — two of “Sky Harbor,” the other of “Steak House” — that he hauled back again to his classic-wares store, City Artifacts, at 925 N. Sheridan Street in Peoria.
But he isn’t hunting for a return on his expense. The new acquisitions have turn out to be part of the store’s long-lasting display of previous indicators of area interest, kind of an informal museum harking to Peoria’s business and civic previous.
“There’s genuinely nothing at all else like this close to,” Walker reported.
For 9 years, the 52-12 months-outdated and his spouse, Angie Walker, have operate Urban Artifacts, which is jammed with pop-society mementos for sale. Lots of signs can be bought, but selected choices have no cost tag. He needs to hold on to them, a capture-as-catch-can attempt to preserve vestiges of Peoria background.
“You won’t want them to get away,” Jon Walker mentioned.
Signs are well-liked among the classic-memorabilia collectors, who — in particular person and on the web — scour the nation. Several are lured by signs’ background and age, not the origin. Hence, Peoria-centric merchandise boast an attraction considerably outside of central Illinois.
“Once a person buys anything, it’s gone,” Walker said. “It in all probability will not continue being in Peoria.”
His assemblage recollects the Peoria area’s key institutions (Pabst Brewing Co.), former landmarks (Rialto Theater) and historical footnotes (Red Diamond Batteries). Nonetheless, the collection is hardly curated or concise. Relatively, he places the signs up where by he can locate area, a challenge in particular for his bigger finds. In the hodgepodge show, the signs show up in two storefront display rooms, along with two back rooms.
“I’ve got so much things,” he explained, shaking his head with a grin.
Walker tends towards even larger signs, which — unlike smaller sized types — are tougher to re-make as faux-classic.
“There’s a good deal of fakes out there,” he reported right before pointing to an 8-foot-tall light-weight-up sign that as soon as stood exterior Szold’s office retail store. “Stuff like that is not fake.”
After a long time of dealing, Walker has an eye for rarities. For example, not long in the past he purchased a metal placard after at the Hiram Walker & Sons distillery — Peoria’s last from its period as “Whiskey Cash of the Environment.” It is worn and plain, however amazing as uncommon: When the business pulled out in 1981, rarely any person believed of the price of memorabilia four a long time later on.
“I like indicators like this,” Walker mentioned. “There possibly are not a lot of these, and it’s from Peoria.”
Not that he knows each individual backstory. For case in point, there’s a big pig named “Mr. G.,” apparently the mascot for some type of business enterprise — maybe in Peoria, possibly somewhere else. Its mysterious uniqueness has gained it a location on a shop wall.
“I do not know what the pig is,” he said with a chuckle. “The pig has a history, but we never know yet what it is.”
He isn’t absolutely sure the place he’ll put the next signal, as there’s very little extra area remaining at the retail store for the long term selection. That’s why he has to keep some at residence, meanwhile dreaming of the working day when he can spherical them all up for a permanent display.
“It’d be pleasant if we could have it all in just one spot,” he said. “That’s constantly been my intent.”
Phil Luciano is a Journal Star columnist. He can be achieved at [email protected] and (309) 686-3155. Adhere to him on Fb and Twitter.
