Parkview Motel & Harry Truman
The former Parkview Motel buildings sits at the corner of Pershing and 22nd Streets.
After closing as a motel, it served as an Adult Transition Center for the Illinois Department of Corrections starting in the late 1970's. The last inmates were transferred out at the end of 2012.
Now, it's going to serve as a homeless shelter for Decatur Cares Rescue Missions (DCRM), a ministry of Maranatha Assembly of God. DCRM also operates "Grace House" and "Water Street Mission" in Decatur. The shelter hopes to be up-and-running by the end of summer 2013.
In 1953, former President Harry Truman and his wife Bess spent a night at the Parkview Motel, during a cross-country adventure the 2 of them shared.
photo taken outside the Parkview Motel, 1953 |
read more about President Truman's trip to Decatur here: "Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure"