Cherry Tree Shopping Center

Perhaps no other story defines the westward expansion of Washington in the 1970s more than the story of Cherry Tree Shopping Center, which first opened in late 1980. Its tentacles reach further back into the town’s history than you would think, and the development of that area continues to change Washington to the present day. As with many stories, there are twists and changes, all of which would have altered the landscape of the city we see today.

The Westlake Subdivision started coming together in the late 1960s.  With private roads, large lots, Westlake itself, and wooded visual barriers from the expanse of agricultural fields surrounding it, it appealed to an upper-middle-class clientele.

Not long after the sprouting of this subdivision, the westward expansion of Washington raced down Route 24.  During this development, forward thinkers were ahead of the actual brick-and-mortar.  It seemed like a game of leapfrog down Route 24 to the west.  Where was the town going, and how far would it go?

Some people didn’t like it.  The thought of good old Washington, which heretofore had been basically a geographic rectangle, accentuating development along Route 24 and becoming a “strip town” was disconcerting to those who loved the small-town feel of Lawndale to Wood Street.  This was a crucial time in Washington’s history.  How Route 24 was going to look in the future was in the hands of the leaders of that time.  There were supporters of business and commercial growth down the Route 24 corridor, and there were supporters of a more residential road.  The potential Route 24 bypass was another topic that clouded everything around that time.  Finally completed in 1995, in the 1970s, the bypass seemed like a road with a much shorter time frame for completion.  With a likely connection to the bypass at Cummings Lane, along with its proximity to the Route 8/24 intersection, the Westlake area caught the forward-thinkers eye.

The Washington-Tazewell Company was a group of investors/developers that had purchased a large chunk of land between Cummings Lane and Westlake.  Herman Essig was one of the developers in this group.  In 1974, the group had come up with a plat for the Brentwood Subdivision (single-family dwellings), Canterbury Manor (multiple-family dwellings), and Canterbury Estates, which was the land bordering Route 24 to the south.  In discussions with city officials to get these plans approved and later get the zoning changed, the conversation spoke to the future of Washington.  As mentioned earlier, some city officials, the most outspoken being Eleanor Hallinan, did not feel that Route 24 in that area should be for commercial development only.  She wanted Washington to be different than Peoria, and with the commercial strip developing in Washington, she saw too many similarities.

Eleanor wasn’t wrong, but neither were the developers. It was simply a matter of opinion but a choice that had to be made for the future of Washington.

Before zoning was approved, developers devised a plan for the commercial area south of 24 between Lakeshore Drive and Cummings Lane. On that land, the relocated Plaza Lanes, a new car dealership (possibly the relocated Essig Motors), and an Antique Shop in the then-existing barn structure were to be located.

The city council voted 7-1 to re-zone the property to commercial, with Eleanor Hallinan casting the only dissenting vote. “You have to try to establish the idea that this is basically a residential community,” she said at the meeting, referring to these businesses being at the doorstep of the town.  “This is a mistake.”

Construction of Brentwood Estates and Canterbury Manor began in earnest in 1975 and continued through 1977. The commercial property plan, however, never came to fruition, partially because a corner of the property was sold for the construction of a branch of the First National Bank.

The Washington-Tazewell Company also owned the land on the northwest corner of the Route 24/Cummings Lane intersection.  As residential construction was wrapping up in the Brentwood area, attention was turned to the north side in an area owned by Judge John Holtzman that was known to some people as “Holtzland.”  Early plans called for a 186-acre development, somewhat similar to the original plan on the other side of the road: single-family residential, multi-family residential, and commercial.  City officials were introduced to this plan in late 1977 and had grave concerns regarding water and sewer to the area.  In 1978, developers came before the city with a request to rezone 79 acres of that land as a combination of commercial and residential.  The city granted the commercial requests but denied the residential portions.  The city did not like the idea of combining the two types of properties in that area.  Ten of the acres zoned commercial became Washington Landscaping.

Once the land was zoned commercial, plans began for the shopping center to be developed by the David Joseph Company, but not much was made public. In August 1979, the Peoria Journal Star reported that the center would be called the Cherry Tree Shopping Center, and two of the stores would be Kroger and Super X Drugs. Construction began in October 1979.

After several miserable winters, the winter of 1979/1980 was very mild. That helped the center's construction, pushing the occupancy date for the first stores up nearly six months from its original expected date.

With construction in full swing, attention turned to the roads.  Originally, with the David Joseph Company foreseeing further development of the area to the west of Cherry Tree into a larger commercial area, the main entrance to the shopping center was to be an extension of Lakeshore Drive to the north with no improvements to Cummings Lane deemed necessary.  The plans for further development were seen as very optimistic because it was very easy to lease the stores early on.  Stores such as Radio Shack, Baskin Robbins, and Hallmark jumped in almost immediately. 

The Joseph Company was looking for an anchor store for the center, and they found one in Szolds, who committed to opening a store in the center in March 1980.  Also, in March, it was announced that K-Mart rounded out the large-scale stores to open in the center.

Some of the facets of the original plan did not occur, at least not at the beginning of the center. The original plans called for a real estate business in one corner of the parking lot and a family restaurant in the center. Another original plan that did not occur was the Lakeshore Drive entrance.

On July 5, 1980, a destructive storm blew through Washington and destroyed some of the walls of the Kmart and Szolds stores, which were already a few months behind in construction. This set their opening date back to 1981.

A couple of stores reported to be on target for opening in Cherry Tree Shopping Center were Jester’s Lounge and Noble’s Shoe Store. Neither of these businesses ever opened in the shopping center. Also, it was rumored that Red Lobster was going to be one of the first tenants in the shopping center, but that never materialized.

Kroger was the first store to open in Cherry Tree Shopping Center, and it held its grand opening on November 30, 1980.

The Business Directory section of Washington Rewind provides detailed accounts of the progression of businesses in the shopping center.

Once the stores in the center opened for business, it was clear traffic was going to be a huge problem.  On average, there were roughly two accidents per month at the intersection of Cummings Lane and Route 24, which at that time did not have a stop light.  The city approved the installation of a stoplight in May 1981, even before most of the stores had even opened yet, but it was going to take time for IDOT to complete the project.  In the interim, IDOT agreed to loan the city temporary signals.  Another issue was the speed limit.  In 1977, that area had a 50 MPH speed limit.  The speed limit was lowered to 45 MPH, and police officers manned the intersection during busy times at the intersection, especially after Kmart opened in June.

From those original stores that christened the Cherry Tree Shopping Center in 1980, we have seen many changes in the retail shops over the years. It would not be surprising if more changes are yet to come.