Streator
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Streator

Streator

Small Illinois prairie city with Gilded Age glass-and-coal history and a proud Clyde Tombaugh connection

A small city on the Vermilion River in the prairie farmland of north-central Illinois, about 80 miles southwest of Chicago. Streator punches above its weight for community events: the "Roamer Cruise Night" car show on Labor Day weekend draws over 600 cars and 18,000 visitors, the "Arts on the Prairie" fair fills City Park each September, and the "Pipe Dreams" festival in February features performances on seven pipe organs in area churches.

Streator's interest is in its history as a Gilded Age glass-and-coal town. The Carnegie-era Public Library, the restored Majestic Theatre, and the Queen Anne mansions of the Silas Williams and Ruffin Drew Fletcher houses date from the town's boom years. The town's astronomical claim to fame — Pluto's discoverer Clyde Tombaugh was born here — is commemorated downtown.

Guide

Things to Do

Streator's interest is in its history as a Gilded Age glass-and-coal town turned community-event capital of the prairie. Walk the short historic downtown around Main Street, stop at the Streator Public Library — a small Carnegie-funded gem from 1903 — and circle the Queen Anne mansions of the Silas Williams and Ruffin Drew Fletcher houses just east of the centre. The restored Majestic Theatre anchors the cultural calendar.

For a green hour, City Park along the Vermilion is the heart of community life and the venue for the September Arts on the Prairie fair. The town's astronomical claim to fame — Pluto's discoverer Clyde Tombaugh was born here — is commemorated with a small marker that's worth seeking out.