Jones: Old Joliet Prison Tourism Venue Has 3 Stages

JOLIET, IL - It's spring and for the first time in many years, there's a sense of optimism about the Old Joliet Prison on Collins Street. This is the property that fell into neglect after the state prison closed it for good in 2002. In February, the Joliet City Council, in a split vote, approved a one-year lease with Elgin-based Evil Intentions to open a haunted house attraction on the prison grounds. Evil Intentions intends to be open for business starting this fall.

While news of the haunted house has been overwhelmingly positive, many people around Joliet and elsewhere are largely in the dark about the city's grand plans for the Old Joliet Prison.

Some think the whole prison is becoming a haunted house. The haunted house, actually, is only a small component of the city's efforts to team up with the Joliet Area Historical Museum. Both entities want to turn the sacred prison grounds, made famous thanks to the "Blues Brothers" movie, into a worldwide theme attraction.

At Tuesday night's Joliet City Council meeting, Mayor Bob O'Dekirk asked City Economic Development Steve Jones to provide the audience with an update on the status of the Old Joliet Prison.

Jones said the city's revitalization efforts basically fall into three facets. One, obviously, is the Evil Intentions Haunted House. That venue is on the east side of Collins Street, at the old limestone building that used to house the female prisoners. The city anticipates Evil Intentions will spur other investors and commercial brokers to open nearby restaurants, motels or hotels for guests, Jones said.

After all, people from Europe and China who are vacationing in the U.S. and traveling the historic Route 66 corridor already are stopping at the Collins Street prison parking lot for keepsake photos even though the prison grounds have been off-limits to the public, Jones reminded the council.

The Evil Intentions haunted house site is considered "the entertainment complex," Jones said. Money generated from that venue will likely help the city rehab and refurbish other prison buildings, notably on the other side of the prison campus.

The biggest piece of the puzzle is on the west side of Collins Street, Jones said. The massive limestone fortress surrounds the main prison yard as well as a couple dozen old buildings where the inmates lived out their days. The west prison facility, Jones said, is the area the city is working with the downtown historical museum to bring tourists and visitors into the complex for bus tours.

The city also envisions holding fund-raisers including music performances and perhaps an open house in August, Jones said.

The city also wants to have some "community volunteer days" in the coming months. This way, area residents can help with the ongoing cleanup and the beautification of the prison property.

Jones said he thinks that "museum history tours," taking bus loads of people behind the walls of the limestone prison where the Blues Brothers movie was filmed, will be a huge shot in the arm for Joliet tourism.

The Old Joliet Prison was erected during the late 1850s before Abraham Lincoln became president, Jones noted on Tuesday night.

The third, but often overlooked, leg of the prison redevelopment surrounds the northeast portion of the property. Jones said that most people don't realize there are dozens of acres, including two quarry lakes and plenty of woodlands, surrounding the perimeter of the prison walls.

The city wants to get the Joliet Park District or the Forest Preserve District of Will County involved in the prison project to make better use of that area as a "community open space," Jones said.

What a difference a year makes.

A year ago, the Old Joliet Prison was regarded as a dangerous, problematic property. The prison was constantly in the news for vandalism, trespassing and arson. Joliet firefighters extinguished multiple intentionally set fires last year inside some of the 19th century prison buildings on the west end of the property. Now, the city has taken control of the property and things are looking up.

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Images via John Ferak, Joliet Patch Editor