The Old Joliet Prison, aka Joliet Correctional Center or Illinois State Penitentiary, in Joliet, Illinois, recently was designated to the National Register of Historic Places.
The designation was effective Sept. 25, according to an email Friday from the National Park Service that administers the program.
Two years ago, the City of Joliet received a $35,000 grant from the National Park Service to prepare the National Register Historic District nomination.
The city stated in a news release:
Future listing of the Penitentiary on the NRHP will support the City’s economic development efforts by generating additional interest in this iconic site and thus drawing more visitor spending into the neighborhoods that surround the Penitentiary site. Future listing on the NRHP would enable the Penitentiary to be eligible for more grant funding opportunities as well as federal and state historic tax credits for qualified projects, which are vitally needed for our ongoing stabilization efforts.
The once-closed prison, which sits next to Illinois 53 (aka Route 66), has greeted thousands of people since it opened for tours and events in 2018.
Joliet Correctional Center’s distinctive limestone walls were built in 1858, and the state of Illinois closed it in 2004. The city signed a lease with the state in December 2017 to use the prison.
The city seeks to eventually open a hotel, restaurants and gift shops in the prison grounds. The prison remains a popular photo-op for Route 66 travelers.
The prison has been used in scores of film and television productions, but it remains best known for the opening scene of 1980’s “The Blues Brothers.”
The old Joliet Correctional Center shouldn’t be confused with Stateville Correctional Center, which sits in nearby Crest Hill, Illinois, and also along Illinois 53 (aka Route 66). It still is being used for its original purpose.
(An image of the Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois, by JymPolranges via Flickr)