Between 1961 and 1962, the Federal government opened the section of Interstate 80 that passed through farmland about two miles north of Peru. The highway that would one day stretch from coast to coast would not be finished until 1986. Even so, that early stretch was enough to catch the eye of Charles Ramenofsky and his cousin Abner Klein. Where I-80 crossed U.S. 51—today Illinois Route 251—they saw not empty fields, but a place where travelers would soon need a bed, a meal, and a place to rest.
In fall of 1962, the pair announced their plans for a Holiday Inn franchise in the northwest quadrant of the interchange. The following year, Ramenofsky and Klein secured a mortgage on the property and met with the Peru City Council to discuss extending water and sewer lines to the site.
Construction soon began, and by 1964, the hotel was ready. It opened two days after the Fourth of July with 108 rooms, food service, and a swimming pool—all welcome amenities for travelers.
Over time, other lodging followed. A Howard Johnson and a Motel 6 rose across the street from the Holiday Inn. For nearly 40 years the three hotels served families heading to Starved Rock, salesmen on the road, and anyone who needed a night off I-80. In time, all three closed.
Today, six newer hotels stand in the northwest and southwest quadrants of the I-80 and Illinois Route 251 interchange—one of them a Holiday Inn Express. Stores, restaurants, and other businesses have filled the two miles that once lay open north of town. One piece of the original Holiday Inn still stands—a section added between 1964 and 1970. Currently used as housing, it remains a quiet reminder of the first hotel that helped turn a rural crossroads into a commercial gateway.
The images below follow that change: from 1964, when the Holiday Inn first opened, through 1979, when neighboring hotels had taken their places, and finally to the landscape we know today.
Sources
“Motel to be Built North of LaSalle,” Daily Republican Times, Ottawa, Ill., 9 October 1962, p. 10, Reddick Library (https://reddick.historyarchives.online : accessed 14 September 2026).
“Move Ahead on Motel at 80, 51,” Daily Republican Times, Ottawa, Ill., 24 August 1963, p. 2, Reddick Library (https://reddick.historyarchives.online : accessed 14 September 2026).
“Route 80 to Open to Peru Thursday,” Daily Republican Times, Ottawa, Ill., 30 October 1962, p. 1, Reddick Library (https://reddick.historyarchives.online : accessed 14 September 2026).
“Businessmen Prefer Holiday Inn,”
“A Look at the History of the Federal Highway Administration,” 22 August 1986, FHWA (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byday/fhbd0822.htm : accessed 14 September 2026).
