Dan Aykroyd Meets With Old Joliet Prison Staff For Q&A

JOLIET, IL — The Old Joliet Prison has emerged as one of Illinois' nice success stories. This month, Joliet was named winner of the Governor's Hometown Award for the tremendous volunteer effort to bring the abandoned and neglected prison back to life as a tourist attraction. On Thursday, legendary Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd held a private meeting at Chicago's Virgin Hotel with two employees of the Joliet Area Historical Museum.

Believe it or not, 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of "The Blues Brothers," the iconic movie that made Joliet world-famous. Several scenes were filmed at the Old Joliet Prison, which was built in 1858, before Abraham Lincoln became president.

Next summer, the Joliet Area Historical Museum is planning to throw a major party to commemorate the 40th anniversary of "The Blues Brothers."

The prospects of Aykroyd making a return visit to Joliet in 2020 are looking better than ever after Thursday's private meeting.

Joliet museum director Greg Peerbolte told Joliet Patch he and museum special events coordinator Liz McNeil had the chance to visit with Aykroyd, who lives in Canada, for about 10 minutes Thursday in Chicago.

They answered his questions about the ongoing restoration and tourism efforts at the Old Joliet Prison.

This year marked the museum's first full year of hosting 90-minute walking tours behind the limestone walls of the Old Joliet Prison.

Several special events were held on the prison grounds as well.

Also this year, the Joliet museum began partnering with Aykroyd's Crystal Head Vodka for its prison events. Crystal Head Vodka was one of the specialty drinks offered in late August at the second annual Great Joliet Prison Break-In festival. That event drew 2,000 spectators and featured Jim Peterik, founder of the rock band Survivor, who also played with The Ides of March.

Joliet Patch asked Peerbolte on Thursday night whether Aykroyd is receptive to making a visit to Joliet in 2020, especially with the 40th anniversary of his hit movie.

"He said more than once that he would like to see the site in its current raw and abandoned condition," Peerbolte told Patch. "It was an easy conversation, not a hard pitch.

"I don't want to say he will or won't come in 2020, but I feel there was a genuine interest in him wanting to come to Joliet. I definitely felt like there was some continuity, and I do think we're going to see him again."

Peerbolte said he and the Crystal Head Vodka officials provided Aykroyd with several photos showing the efforts Joliet has undertaken to bring the prison back to life as a tourism draw. The prison property had been abandoned for 17 years.

Peerbolte and city of Joliet interim manager Steve Jones were instrumental in the efforts to make the Old Joliet Prison a tourism destination for historic Route 66 travelers.

Their efforts are getting more attention.

"He was asking us a lot of questions about the site," Peerbolte said of Aykroyd. "I feel really good about leaving that meeting. We got a solid 10 minutes of Dan's time directly, which is a lot of time."

So how did the Joliet Area Historical Museum first full year of running tours and holding special events at the Old Joliet Prison go?

The following data is through September 30:

5,000 volunteer hours invested in ongoing repairs and cleanup efforts.

Total History Tour Visitors: 5,523

Future Paid Bookings (well into 2020 Season): 1,158

Other Countries of Origin: 12 — United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Australia, United Arab Emirates, China and Turkey

Haunted History Visitors: 565

Guard Tour Visitors: 292

Photography Tour Visitors: 147

Red Carpet Corridor Visitors: 136

Estimated Visitors to 2nd Annual Great Joliet Prison Break-In: 2,000

Tickets Sold For “A Night Behind the Bars” Oct. 25-26: About 600, making the event a sell-out, Peerbolte said.

Event Sponsorships for next weekend's "A Night Behind the Bars": $6,000