With last week’s collapse and emergency demolition of the western section of the Pekin Township Building, and the fate of the remaining structure yet to be determined, the time is right to tell the story of this building – and to provide something of an “obituary” for the lost western section.
As many longtime Pekin residents know, before the Township moved into this building more than three decades ago, it previously was the home of a series of businesses, beginning with the Cottingham & Son Chevrolet dealership and garage which was founded by Olin L. Cottingham (1876-1941).
Olin L. Cottingham first appears in Pekin city directories in 1904, when he is listed as a resident of 200 S. Fourth St. working as a carpenter in Peoria. Afterwards, the directories from 1908 to 1914 list him as the proprietor of the “Giegelsgass” saloon at 216 St. Mary St. The directories those years also say he was a Ford agent or dealer. In those years, he and his wife Clara lived at 419 Elizabeth St.
In 19 Oct. 1916, Cottingham opened an automobile garage at 418 Elizabeth St. (formerly numbered “416”), across the street from his home and next door to the old First Baptist Church building that formerly stood at the corner of Fifth and Elizabeth. (Many will recall that Abraham Lincoln donated $10 to help build the original First Baptist Church on that site.) Cottingham Garage focused on Chevrolet vehicles. In the 1922 city directory, the business’ address is listed as 418-420 Elizabeth St.
The 1949 Pekin Centenary volume provides this historical summary of the Cottingham garage and dealership:
“The firm of Cottingham & Son was founded way back when the automobile was just getting its start. In the early days O. L. Cottingham sold such makes as: Stutz, Glider, Apperson Jack Rabbit, H.C.S. Special, Cole 8, and Dixie Flyer. In the year 1916, Mr. Cottingham started with Chevrolet and the name Cottingham and Chevrolet in Pekin have gone down through the years together. In those early days the name Chevrolet was not so well known but its popularity has grown until for the past 18 years it has been America’s LEADER in new car sales each year.
“Cottingham’s too have (sic) grown . . . Today the firm employees seventeen people and offers, in addition to the new and used car sales departments, a complete stock of genuine Chevrolet parts and a mechanical staff to care for your every need, a body and fender department and a paint shop.”
The original 1916 Cottingham Garage structure had only a 12-car capacity, but the 1925 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Pekin shows that by then the garage had not only been slightly enlarged, but evidently had its interior reworked to allow for a 35-car capacity. A photograph in the 1949 Pekin Centenary shows Cottingham Garage as it appeared in the 1920s, though whether the photo shows the original 1916 structure or the slightly larger structure of the 1925 map is uncertain.
The present Pekin Township Building – that which is still standing after this month’s collapse of the western section – seems to have been built about 1930, with Tazewell County Assessor records showing the 1931 construction of a 70.5 ft. x 97-ft. two-storey structure with a basement. A Depression-era photograph shows this building which had replaced the 1920s garage and dealership – in that photograph the western addition did not yet exist. The 1949 Pekin Centenary also shows a 1940s photograph in which Cottingham & Son looks much like the present Township structure – the right edge of that photo also indicates that the western addition had not yet been built.
Beginning with the 1926 directory, we see that Olin had gone into business at that location with his son Eugene Leigh “Gene” Cottingham (1911-1985) as his partner. “Cottingham & Son Chevrolet Automobiles and Service” operated until 1958, but after Olin’s death on 6 March 1941, Eugene took over as manager of the business. Gene and his wife Violet M. (Creighton) Cottingham (1915-2011) lived on Steinmetz Court. A longtime member of First Baptist Church which was adjacent to his business, Gene served as a deacon and was his church’s treasurer for more than four decades.
At some point in the history of the old Cottingham garage building, the residence behind it (on the west side) was torn down and an expansion was built in its place. As noted above, it is that expansion that collapsed and was demolished this month. The circa 1930 construction, evidently being of superior workmanship than the later addition, still remains.
I have not been able to determine when the now demolished addition/expansion was built, but a 1939 aerial view shows that the old residence was still there at that time, so it is clear that the addition/expansion must have been built after that. The addition may not have been built until the late 1940s or the 1950s. It is uncertain whether or not the addition/expansion is present in a later aerial view from circa 1950.
In the early 1950s, First Baptist Church built a new, larger church on S. Fourth St. They dedicated their new church in 1953, and their old building was razed – County Assessor records say the lot was paved over in 1951. Afterwards, the former site of the church has been a parking lot used by the businesses and the Township at 418-420 Elizabeth St.
Tazewell County Assessor records show that the Cottingham & Son building was sold on 23 July 1957. Likewise, in the 1959 Pekin city directory, we see that Gene had recently sold his Chevy dealership to Victor Williams, who with his wife Marjorie A. Williams lived at 1419 West Shore Drive. Victor Williams continued the business at 418-420 Elizabeth St. as “Vic Williams Chevrolet.” Gene, meanwhile, operated Cottingham & Son Automobile Financing and Insurance across the street in the Cottingham Building at 411 Elizabeth St.
Vic Williams Chevrolet only lasted for two or three years before closing its doors. The 1962 city directory lists the address as “Vacant.”
In the 1964 directory, however, we find that a new business had opened its doors at 418-420 Elizabeth St. – Leo’s TV & Appliance, owned and operated by Leo A. Woith (1922-2007). The directory entry that year says Leo sold Zenith, RCA, GE and Sylvania television sets, Maytag and GE washers and dryers, Tappan stoves, and GE refrigerators and air conditioners. Leo’s TV continued in business there until 1968.
County Assessor records show that the building was sold on 26 Aug. 1968, and so in the 1969 Pekin city directory, we find Lawrence K. Edgcomb (1917-1994) at 418 Elizabeth St. operating a men’s clothing store called The Toggery. Lawrence and his wife Thayess lived at 1400 N. Fourth St. The Edgcombs ran a successful business until 1983, when Dan McCann bought The Toggery and renamed it “Dan McCann’s Toggery.” The 1984 Pekin city directory lists Dan as company president, with Yvonne McCann as secretary-treasurer. Their directory entry mentions that they specialized in men’s clothing, sportswear, shoes, formal wear, and tuxedo sales and rentals, and were open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday but stayed open till 8 p.m. Fridays.
A few years later, the McCanns dropped “Toggery” from their store name. From the 1987 directory until 1991, the business was listed as just “McCann’s.” It shifted from men’s to women’s clothing in its latter years, and on 12 April 1991, as County Assessor records show, McCann’s Inc. sold their building to Pekin Township.
It is in the 1992 Pekin city directory that we first find that Pekin Township occupying the building at 420 Elizabeth St., and the Township offices have been located there ever since. In 1992, the original building at 418 Elizabeth was being used by the Campbell Superior Ambulance Service. Ambulance services continued to operate from 418 Elizabeth in subsequent years, until Advanced Medical Transport moved to its new facility on Park Avenue near Pekin Hospital about five years ago.
