118 Peoria Street

This property in Washington has been a significant spot throughout the town's history. As early as 1837, a schoolhouse existed on the property. The original schoolhouse was rebuilt in the latter half of the 19th century, along with a building in the back for recreation that locals at the time called "the gymnasium," although the dimensions of the building would hardly qualify it as a gymnasium nowadays.

This second schoolhouse, referred to as Holland School, served Washington well. Washington's legendary teacher Mary Italin spent most of her career teaching there.

When Washington Grade School was reconstructed in the early 1950's, it was determined that the Holland School was insufficient for the needs of the students going forward, and the district sold the property in 1953 to Earl Zimmerman, contractor and then-Mayor.

Zimmerman's first chore was to clear the lot. He sold the school building to John Blumenshine, a student of Mary Italin in that school, and Blumenshine dismantled the school and used the timber and shingles to construct the garage at 404 N. Wood Street, which still stands. Blumenshine originally used the garage as his bicycle shop.

Zimmerman got to work on constructing a commercial plaza on the site, which ended up being a $70,000 project. In 2022 dollars, that would be over $750,000. The building neared completion in late 1953 with six offices available for lease.

Upon the opening of the Professional Building four tenants were secured: Dr. George Cohen, dentist Dr. Bud Engel, insurance man Terry Burns, and attorney Mel Moehle. Within a year, the other two offices were filled by optometrist Dr. John Lichtenwalter and chiropractor Dr. A.A. Scoggin.

Businesses came and went over the years, including Dr. Julio Barron who came to Washington in 1960, and Dr. Phillip Baer, who arrived in 1973.

With interest in the Professional Building fading from a tenant perspective, Dr. Joel Lovell and Washington Dentistry purchased the site and in 2019 completely renovated the building to meet their needs.