Sheridan Village
Located in the center of town, houses a bergner's department store and several other minor retailers. sheridan village was the nation's first "mall-style" shopping center featuring a variety of stores situated around a parking lot to provide a less formal, less time-intensive shopping experience than venturing downtown to the major department stores. the test was successful and the model spread across the united states.
Northwoods Mall
(http://www.simon.com/mall...) was established in 1973, and is peoria's only enclosed mall. many other retail establishments are located within the vicinity, including target, cub foods, bob evans, barnes and noble, and many hotels.
The Shoppes at Grand Prairie
(http://www.theshoppesatgr...), opened in 2003, is a more upscale mall intended to bring regional as well as local traffic. grand prairie is located in the rapidly developing northwest corridor of peoria.
Junction City
A quaint shopping center with unique botiques for clothing and interior decorating, great restaurants, and fun events.
Peoria's Riverfront (http://www.peoriariverfro...) has undergone massive revitalization in recent years and features a variety of local and independent retailers in a pleasant, walkable riverfront setting. Free parking is available along the riverfront. The outdoor Riverfront Market (http://www.peoriariverfro...), every Saturday from June to September, is a combination farmers' market and local art market.
Peoria has an unusual number of working local artists including sculptor Preston Jackson (http://www.artic.edu/~pjacks/index1.html), many of whom are showcased at the Peoria Art Guild's (http://www.peoriaartguild...) gallery and store. Others may be located on the web. Peoria hosts two large art fairs every year, the Fine Art Fair (http://www.peoriaartguild...), a national juried fair held each September, and the Junction City Art Fair (http://www.peoriaartguild...), a juried fair showcasing regional artists in early June.
Peoria Heights
For local shopping flavor, Peoria Heights (http://www.villageofpeori...), a small village enclosed by Peoria but politically distinct, has a quaint main street with a large variety of locally-owned shops, including art galleries, gift stores, bakeries, restaurants, coffee shops, and various services.