Those who patronize Maquet’s Rail House at 221 Court St. not only enjoy a popular downtown Pekin bar-and-grill, but they also get an in-person experience of a success story in efforts to preserve and maintain Pekin’s historic downtown buildings.
Several of the buildings in the 200 block of Court Street – including 221 Court St. – have been standing for nearly a century and a half. By the early 2000s they had begun to suffer the advanced wear and tear of their age, but were subsequently stabilized and saved through the efforts of Todd Thompson. Maquet Inc. moved into 221 Court St. about eight years ago, and Dustin Maquet opened his bar-and-grill a few years after that, expanding into the adjacent building in 2019.
Dustin Maquet recently asked me to do a deep-dive into the history of his building to find out the businesses that have operated out of that location. The following account has been constructed from sources such as Pekin city directories and the old Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Pekin.
The Sanborn maps indicate that the buildings that historically have been numbered as 221 and 223 Court St. were already standing by the mid-1880s. The maps show that there was a barbershop in the east half of Maquet’s building in 1885, 1892, 1898 and 1903. Unfortunately, I have not been able to identify the barbershop. Old city directories mention several barbershops in those years, but none have addresses that match this building.
In 1898 we see the Pekin Electric Supply Co. had moved into the west half of the building – that company was owned by Charles A. Hoheimer.
In 1903, the city directory shows that the west half of the building was the site of the Vienna Bakery, owned and operated by Mrs. Alma Neuhaus (widow of Ernest Neuhaus). The 1903 Sanborn map says it was a “Confy,” that is, a confectionery, a bakery that made cakes and sweets.
The bakery didn’t last long at that site, because in the 1907 directory we find that H. A. Hovenden, a machinist, was making use of the whole building, perhaps as an office or for storage. The 1908 city directory then says it was the site of C. A. Hardt & Co., an advertising agency, also known as the Hardt Bill Posting Co., where one could order handbills to be posted around town.
Again, that business does not seem to have lasted long at that address, because the 1909 Sanborn map says only that the west half was an “office” and the east half was the site of a plumber’s business.
The 1913 and 1914 city directories say the Maquet building was then owned by John Jansen of the Jansen & Zoeller general contractors. My guess is that Jansen & Zoeller were using the building as a supply shop for their business, which helped to lay many of Pekin’s old brick streets.
The 1916 Sanborn map says 221 Court St. was then the site of a clothing store. That was T. J. Dwyer, a clothing store owned and operated by Thomas J. Dwyer. The store is listed in the Pekin city directories beginning in 1922. By 1926, Thomas J. Dwyer and Theodore J. Dwyer were operating the “Pekin Army Store” at 221 Court.
From 1928 to 1932, the Nash Garage dealership was operated by Rudolph E. Joerger (whose wife was Nellie T. Joerger). The Depression years were hard on the businesses at 221 Court St., for the city directories show a rapid succession of businesses there during the 1930s: in 1934 it was Samuel Adler, brewers agent (wife Mary); in 1937 it was the Pekin Bakery owned and operated by Mrs. Cora Thompson, widow of Edward T. Thompson; and from 1939 to 1941 it was the Bell Clothing Store (men’s clothing) owned and operated by James P. Yiakos.
The city directory record for 221 Court St. was fragmentary during the early 1940s, but the 1943 directory says the building was then vacant.
However, beginning with the 1946 directory we see that the building had become the home of the Railway Express Agency, which is listed under that name at that address until 1959. William O. Toler (wife Myrtle) was the agent from 1946 to 1950, and Harold G. Stone (wife Ruth) was the agent from 1952 to 1958; and Russell T. Wieburg (wife Emily L. Wieburg) was the agent beginning in 1959, with Horace A. Wieburg (wife Alberta) serving as the agency’s driver that year. Starting in 1961, however, the Railway Express Agency bore the new name “REA Express,” with Russel T. Wieburg continuing as agent there until 1964.
The following year, in the place of REA Express Agency we find Pekin Auto Sales Used Cars, operated by Frank D. Wrhel Jr. (wife Barbara) – the city directory misspells his surname “Urhel,” though. He ran his used car business at 221 Court St. until 1968.
The final longstanding business to operate from 221 Court St. prior to Maquet’s Rail House was Pekin Plumbing & Heating Co., which first appears at that location in the 1969 Pekin City Directory. The directory entry for the business that year says: “Pekin Plumbing & Heating Co., Russell H. Riedlinger, Pres., A. Dean Riedlinger, Vice Pres., Carroll A. Haueisen, Sec.-Treas., Plumbing and Heating Contractors, Supplies, We Sell and Install, Service Guaranteed, 221 Court St., Tel. 346-9644.”
Russell H. Riedlinger passed away in 1972, so after that we find that A. Dean Riedlinger becomes President of Pekin Plumbing & Heating Co., with Carroll A. Haueisen as Vice President and Sarah Riedlinger as Secretary/Treasurer. The directories show that the Riedlingers continued to operate Pekin Plumbing & Heating Co. at 221 Court St. until 1987, which is the last year that business appears in Pekin city directories.
In the 1988 directory, it just says the address is “Vacant.” In 1989, however, it shows the “Plumb Pretty” craft shop at 221 Court, operated by Mrs. Doris J. Riedlinger, with same phone number as the former Pekin Plumbing & Heating Co. The shop apparently was not successful, though, and in 1990 the building is again vacant.
Then in 1991, Doris Riedlinger reappears at this address. From 1991 to 1997, the directories say 221 Court St. was the “private office” of Doris Riedlinger. In 1998, the directory shows the Riedlinger Gift Shop at 221 Court St.
And that is the last time any of the Riedlingers appear in association with 221 Court St. From 1999 to 2005, this address is not even listed in the directories, nor does Doris Riedlinger appear. She apparently had died, because her husband Albert D. Riedlinger continues to appear in the directories without her.
In 2006, the directory merely says “No Current Listing” for 221 Court St. Then from 2007 to 2014 this address again does not appear anywhere in the directories.
At last in 2015 we see Maquet Inc., at 221 Court. That same listing is repeated until 2021, when we find “Maquet Inc computer software.” It is not until the 2022 Pekin city directory that we at last find an updated entry for “Maquet’s Rail House” restaurant at 221 Court St.
