PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Riverfront Museum is opening its largest transportation exhibition to date, featuring objects from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum for the first time.
“Transportation Revolutions: How America Moves” opens Saturday and will run through April 11, 2027.
The exhibition traces the evolution of transportation in the United States, from covered wagons and railroads to automobiles, aviation and space exploration. It’s part of the museum’s series of exhibitions marking America’s 250th anniversary.
“This is the largest transportation exhibition ever staged at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, and the first time we are exhibiting objects from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum,” museum President and CEO John D. Morris said.
The exhibition also highlights transportation innovations with ties to Central Illinois, including the Duryea brothers’ early gas-powered automobile and Caterpillar’s development of diesel technology.
Objects from the Smithsonian will be displayed alongside pieces from the Riverfront Museum’s collection and loans from the Wheels O’Time Museum, Historic Nauvoo, Peoria Historical Society and private collections.
The exhibition will also feature a collection of railroad photography by former Peoria Mayor Richard C. Neumiller.
“Transportation Revolutions: How America Moves” opens Oct. 3 at the Peoria Riverfront Museum and continues through April 11.
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