Fleming Potter was once a thriving business in downtown Peoria and a lot of People worked there, myself included. I worked there for thirteen years in the Art Department as a film stripper. In 1993 I quit to pursue other dreams in New York City.
Sadly Fleming Potter went bankrupt in 2003, but many of us still have memories of that building on the corner of Adams and Persimmon. Below are two articles, one about Fleming Potter and another about Gemco, a subsidiary business of Fleming Potter.
Then there’s six MBIP links about this historic Peoria business that I’ve posted in the past years here on the blog.
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Fleming Potter Links
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This is a story for Peoria Magazine about the history of Fleming Potter, written by Marilyn Leyland. This article was published in 2016 and it ends on a lofty note!
Here’s the history of Gemco, which was a subsidiary of Fleming Potter. I guess they’re still in business in Morton. I could’ve researched this more, but I didn’t really want to!
This is a blog post from 2013 when the old Fleming Potter building was just sitting vacant and no one had any plans for it. I thought I’d take pictures of it because I was afraid it was going to get torn down and I wanted to have some documentation of the building I worked in for 13 years.
In 2016, I found out that the Fleming Potter building was being renovated into a downtown apartment building. Trevor Holmes was heading the project up for The Becker Company and he kindly gave me a tour before it was totally redone on the inside. There’s also some historic photos and some from 1998 supplied by my friend and former co-worker at F&P, Tim Carrey!
Link: This Used To Be Fleming Potter Part II—The Inside Job!
Later on in September of 2016, I went back to get some “in-progress” photos of the building and brought my dad with me as he worked there too. In fact he got me my job there!
Link: Fleming Potter: The Third Time Around (From Fleming Potter To Persimmon Lofts)
On March 1, 2017, the transformation from Fleming Potter to Persimmon Lofts was complete and I went and took photos of this new lofty version of Fleming Potter.
Link: This Used To Be Fleming Potter…Now It’s Persimmon Lofts (Part IV—The Final Edition!)
In the summer of 2018 I had a fun reunion with some of my former Fleming Potter co-workers at a Peoria Chiefs game.
Link: The Thirsty-Fourth Friday In July, 2018: Fleming Potter Reunion @ Peoria Chiefs/Dozer Park
This is a blog from 2015 when I drove around and got photos from both Fleming Potter and the Murray’s building, where I worked before I got my job at Fleming Potter.
Link: (Snow Day!) Murray’s Department Store And Fleming Potter—Ghost Buildings And Memories From My Past
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Related Posts: Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past: Hunt’s Drive-In, Friendly Valley Tavern and Pabst Blue Ribbon.