Yesterday was Tuesday and I realized around 11:37 in the morning that it would soon be noon and I’d have to skeedaddle to go get a blog done before I had to go to my night job. Then I realized something and that something that I realized was the following realization: If it’s Tuesday, this must be...Winkler Lofts, LLC. So it’s off I went and here we go...
And here we are at the Winkler Loft building. How do I know that this is the Winkler Loft building you may be wondering? Hey, I’m a seasoned pro, I know how to look for these historic buildings here in Peoria. I’ve been doing this blog for over four years now and I’ve developed a journalistic sixth sense for this kind of thing...
Plus there’s this sign out front. That always helps! Now let’s take some shots of different angles of this beautiful building here in Peoria’s historic Warehouse District.
This building has been standing tall here on Washington Street since it was Roswell’s Dairy back in 1920. Larry Winkler opened up a local grocery store and meat market in the early '60's and Winkler Meats moved in here in the mid ‘90’s. Now it’s the Winkler Lofts, see how this works? The top photo is the front of the building then below that is a view from the back and a vertigo shot of the lamppost that runs parallel to the building in the front. The entrance is in the back on the side parking lot over here. Let’s go in and see what’s going on in here on this Tuesday afternoon. Gosh, I feel just like one of the Moody Blues all of a sudden and I have to confess, it’s making me feel a little queasy!
There’s a foyer out front and a hallway that leads inside and there’s a vintage Winkler Meats sign from days gone by. And there in the front office is none other than the founder of Winkler Meats, Larry Winkler! Larry told me how he started with a grocery business in 1961 that grew into Winkler Meats and now it’s evolved into The Winkler Lofts. I saw a flyer on the wall and took a few photos of it...
And here they are! Larry told me that these are original flyers from the Winkler Grocery store from 1961! I love looking at stuff like this from the past. As you can see the store was located on Perry Street in downtown Peoria and check out some of those prices!
Here’s Larry with Mark Wagner who’s a Managing Broker with Jim Maloof Realty. He’s the professional manager for the building and the man you need to speak to about renting an apartment or space here. All the information is here on their website. Mark and Larry said they’d give us a little tour of the building, so let’s go!
Mark and Larry took me down to the basement where they’re working on possible spaces for art studios down here. There’s one that’s a work in progress and this is an idea they’re just now working on. I hope this becomes a reality and they said when they have more information, they’ll let me know, so stay tuned for that!
A lot of the apartments and lofts here are leased already, but we took an elevator up to a vacant one bedroom to have a look. On the way up, I ran into James who’s a friend and he’s living here now! Great to see him and now let’s go in and see one of these living spaces in here!
It’s really nice in here! All the appliances are new and state of the art and I love the wooden floors! The bedroom is spacious and there’s also a loft area for another bed or for storage. And the real thing I love is the huge windows that these lofts have! The view is spectacular!
Here’s another space we visited and it’s really nice too and just like the other loft, the view in here is unbelievable! The building, like all of them here in the Warehouse District is an historical building, so there’s original brick on the walls on all of them giving the spaces a nice urban feel. And I love looking out the windows from in here!
Mark took me down the stairs and down on this landing there’s the old freight elevator barricades, original meat locker doors and a scale from Winkler Meats. Very cool! Right up the street is Dozer Park and Zion Coffee. Also within walking distance is Sugar, Thyme, and other nightspots along the riverfront including Kelleher’s, Blue Duck BBQ Tavern and Martini’s. The Caterpillar Visitor’s Center and Peoria Riverfront Museum are also within hoofing distance down here. The Winkler Lofts have studio and one bedroom units and utilities and parking are included in the rent. Check out the website below or call the number for more information. Thanks to Mark and Larry for letting me see this historic building and I’m glad to see it’s been remodeled and is being put to good use here in the Warehouse District. This now concludes our Tuesday afternoon and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
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733 SW Washington Street
Peoria
309-645-7666
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