Park Possible

History: Trewyn Park, originally named South Park, is one of the first 5 parks in the Peoria Park District system. This neighborhood park is 10 acres in size, and featured the District’s first play structure. In 1913, the pavilion that currently stands was built.

Trewyn Park’s mature tree stand, grand boulevard and stately pavilion lend to a beauty that is not found in newer neighborhood parks. These unique features, in addition to a wide variation of topography and pathways help to shape how the park can evolve over time.

Future Focus:  With that in mind, the Park District is looking to make several improvements to Trewyn Park. These include the addition of a new playground, two new basketball hoops, as well as a shelter. While the shelter will be entirely new to the park, the playground and basketball hoops will replace existing in different locations. Thank you to the City of Peoria for allocating $600,000 to the project on 1/11/2021.

More resources: 

• Concept 
• Cost Estimator
• Estimated Timeline for Trewyn Park Rehabilitation 

History: Built in 1894, Glen Oak Park was the first park in the Peoria Park District system. Today, it is home to Peoria Zoo, Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum, Luthy Botanical Garden, Glen Oak Lagoon, Glen Oak Amphitheatre, Rotary Adventure Grove, three playgrounds, two shelters, as well as tennis courts and pickleball courts. With all of these amenities, Glen Oak Park ALSO serves as the neighborhood park for the East Bluff and North Valley neighborhoods.

Acting as both a regional draw and a neighborhood park with usable green space of only about 42 acres, the District recognizes the need to reimagine the park in order to maximize its impact for both groups.

As part of its COVID response in 2020, the District suspended operations at Glen Oak Amphitheatre, which is home to an average of 15 large public gatherings per year. The remainder of the year, the large footprint of the amphitheater is inaccessible behind a barbed wire fence, which also obstructs sight lines to the Glen Oak Lagoon.

Upcoming Opportunities: District staff and board are facilitating a process for public input that began with the press announcement in early August that will continue through mid-September that will guide decision-making and resource allocation. The next public input session/Talk About It Tuesday/Thursday are listed above. You can also join us each Friday at 10am for a 10 minute live Q&A with PPD Executive Director, Emily Cahill. You can pre-submit questions to us via Facebook or during the live in the comments!

View the recorded Public Input Session here from August 16th in Glen Oak Park.

Future Focus: The proposed plan includes a new fully accessible playground, new recreation shelters, new restrooms, and new basketball courts.

More resources:

• Glen Oak Park Staff Recommendations 
• Glen Oak Park Map with Staff Recommendations

Contact: Please e-mail us at [email protected]

At this time, Pavilion In the Park has withdrawn their request for Peoria Park District Trustee Consideration. If you would like more information, please contact them directly at PavilioninthePark.com