DECATUR — The Herald & Review is returning to Main Street in downtown Decatur.
Newsroom, advertising and other staff will occupy the entire second floor of 225 S. Main St., which will be renamed the Herald & Review Building.
The announcement was made to staff on Friday.
“We are thrilled to be moving into a new location. Our new space will give our employees a clean, healthy and modern work space," said Dan Adams, president and director of local sales and marketing for the Central Illinois Publishing Group of Lee Enterprises. "It was important for us to be downtown and we are excited to be in the midst of this dynamic corridor, with so many great restaurants, unique shops and lively bars right outside our front door. I’m looking forward to inviting the public and our valued marketing partners to come in to see our new home.”
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The relocation is expected to start in December. Until then, customers can continue to do business at its current location at 601 E. William St.
The move marks a return to the historic center of the city for the Herald & Review, which was founded in April 1872. The newspaper occupied multiple sites under various names, including 237 N. Main St. — dubbed the “Herald Block” — and 365 N. Main St.
The current building opened in May 1976 after about two years of construction. The newspaper relocated there from North Street and Main, where it had been based for 81 years.
"When we began looking for our new home, being downtown was a priority, and we found that," said Central Illinois Editor Chris Coates. "Our William Street building has served us well for 45 years, and I will miss it deeply, but we’re ready to move into a space that reflects our progression as a source of important community journalism on all platforms. Our digital audience is rapidly growing, and we'll be there to meet that demand in a highly visible space in the heart of the city. This is a great opportunity."
Photographs and other archival materials from the current building will be preserved. The change is not expected to have an impact on delivery of the newspaper, which has been printed in Peoria since 2019.
The new space, at West Wood and South Main, is near Macon County government offices and the courthouse.
The move follows an industry trend of news organizations relocating to more modern buildings, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Los Angeles Times and The Pantagraph in Bloomington. The State Journal-Register building in Springfield is being auctioned off.
Vieweg Real Estate has purchased the William Street property for an undisclosed sum.
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