PEORIA, Ill. — The historic Scottish Rite Cathedral is undergoing renovations to become a home to the performing arts.
Jenny Parkhurst, the Executive Director of the Performing Arts for the KDB Group, said the time line for the renovation process is fluid, but they are looking at the second half of 2020 for booking.
“We’re already booking some gigs for the second half of this year, not only national touring companies, and bands, and road shows, we’re also looking at becoming a new home for local arts organizations here in the Peoria community,” Parkhurst said.
The stained glass windows that are in the cathedral will stay as a part of the history. In the theater space alone, there are six.
A few floors up, there is one large stained glass window that is being repaired by Bovard Studio out of Iowa.
“Mr. Blickenstaff is intent on maintaining the integrity of the building and the history of the building, while at the same time converting this into a performing arts center,” Parkhurst said.
The future theater space will be able to hold an audience of around 800 people.
The cathedral has the potential to be more than just a performing arts center.
“Most people don’t realize that there’s a full sized industrial sized kitchen in the lower level, and directly connected to that is a beautiful ballroom which accommodates 450 people,” Parkhurst said.
Also in the upper levels in The Scotty, are different conference type rooms.
“We have a beautiful library room that we hope to convert into our main bar area,” Parkhurst said. “And, that room as well has stunning beautiful stained glass windows.”
Parkhurt said that the cathedral is one of Peoria’s hidden gems.
Kim Blickenstaff is the process of making another purchase in Peoria, according to Mike Bailey, consultant for the KDB Group.
This building is a mansion located at 1509 N. Knoxville, also known as the Koinonia House.
“He [Blickenstaff] thought what a shame it would be with that kind of history and with arcitectural significance if it was torn down,” Bailey said.
Bailey said that the residence used to be a home for single Christians, but it has been unoccupied for many years. It does have some fire damage after a fire last year.
“But it’s right there across from the hospital complexes, OSF on the left and UnityPoint on the right as you look to downtown, it’s right on the bluff-top,” Bailey said.
Right now, because it is still early in the purchasing process, Bailey said that Blickenstaff has some general ideas for the building.
“He’s talked about an Airbnb type of facility or perhaps an apartment complex,” Bailey said. “Take advantage of the hospital medical complexes nearby, school of medicine, it would be a good place for young doctors or medical professionals of some sort who are looking for a place to stay close to work.”
Blickenstaff has an eye for older and more historic type buildings.
“He just loves it,” Bailey said. “He’s a buff, he’s an architectural buff. You make use of existing facilities, you don’t want to tear everything down.”
