Learn about Joliet’s rich history
Many of downtown Joliet’s buildings are more than 100 years old.
Downtown Joliet Architectural Tours, which depart on Oct. 17, Nov. 7 and Nov. 14 from Joliet Area Historical Museum on Ottawa Street, offer the chance to learn about some of the architecture on streets including Jefferson, Chicago and Cass. An Oct. 31 tour is sold out.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for quite some time,” said Liz McNeil, program and community events manager for Joliet Area Historical Museum and Old Joliet Prison Historic Site.
“The Joliet Public Library actually approached us in early summer with a partnership to do some local programming and an architectural tour was something they wanted to see.”
The Saturday tours, which have limited capacity, launched Sept. 5 and often sell out. Attendees must wear masks throughout the 90-minute, rain-orshine walk.
The 12 stops featured on Downtown Joliet Architectural Tours include Barrett’s Ace Hardware, the Courthouse, the Cutting Building built in 1897, Joliet Public Library’s main library, which opened in 1903, and the Rialto Square Theatre, which opened in 1926.
“We’ve had a number of school programs that go through an architectural seek and find in the downtown area but nothing for the older residents where we delve into more of the actual styles of the architecture that were used,” said McNeil of Joliet.
“It gets people to look at buildings that they might not look at just walking by day to day. Trying to write the tour script and really learn about the buildings that I’m talking about forced me to look at the downtown in a new way.
“On the tour we will stop and look at the buildings. We’ll talk about all the little details that went into the building and the history of the building as well as some of the architectural characteristics. Whether it’s neoclassical or Gothic revival a lot of these styles have the same underlying characteristics.”
McNeil worked with Joliet Public Library staffers including adult services manager Dawn Ritter and local historian Barb Newberg to put together the Downtown
Joliet Architectural Tours, which McNeil often leads with Newberg.
“I’ve always been interested in architecture. My background is art-based so, for me, diving deeper into some of this stuff has been really fun,” McNeil said.
“Even just walking around and really analyzing and picking out some of the features for the buildings has been fun to do. The materials like Joliet limestone and Bedford limestone have been able to withstand the test of time.”
With Joliet Area Historical Museum closed until further notice due to COVID-19, the focus has shifted to smaller outdoor gatherings, including a summer concert series on the rooftop terrace and an August screening of the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers” outdoors at Old Joliet Prison.
“We wanted to still celebrate the 40th anniversary of the movie, but in a safe environment,” McNeil said about the latter event.
“We found that doing a movie in the prison yard felt safer for everybody that attended or worked the event.”
Joliet Area Historical Museum has teamed with Rialto Square Theatre for Fall Flicks in the Yard, which features the 1988 movie “Beetlejuice” at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 and the 1984 film “Ghostbusters” at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at Old Joliet Prison, 1125 N. Collins St.
Admission is $50 for a two-person, 8-foot circle. Each additional admission is $20 and circles are limited to six people per circle. Tickets are available at jolietprison.org. Proceeds benefit Rialto Square Theatre and Joliet Area Historical Museum.
“We’re abiding by all the state guidelines with 8-foot circles. You have to preregister and masks must be worn at all times outside your circles. It’s a 16-acre site so we can easily selfdistance,” McNeil said.
Joliet Area Historical Museum also raises funds through daily self-guided Old Joliet Prison tours that were launched in June. Tickets are $20 per adult, $15 for Joliet residents, $10 per child (ages 3-12) and free for ages younger than 3 (reservation required). There is a limit of 10 individuals per appointment.
“They’ll be able to peek their heads into the east and west cellblocks. There are QR codes for visual walk-throughs of five of the buildings,” McNeil said.
Information on donations, memberships, sponsorships, rentals for a maximum of 50 people, volunteering and other ways to support Joliet Area Historical Museum is at jolietmuseum.org.