Old Joliet Prison Tours Include Murder Mystery From 1915

JOLIET, IL - Just three days after the Joliet Area Historical Museum threw one of the biggest bashes on this city's east side in years, another historical milestone was achieved on Tuesday. The day marked the first guided tours for paid admission guests who want to go behind the limestone walls of the Joliet prison made famous by the movie "Blues Brothers," the show "Prison Break" and the 2006 movie "Let's Go To Prison."

And on Tuesday, a large television production crew from the Fox hit television show "Empire" was also on the prison property filming in front of the iconic Joliet Prison administration building off Collins Street.

Tuesday morning's inaugural tour group included three men from England in their 20s, a husband and wife from Lithuania, and other tourists from South Carolina and Massachusetts.

Joliet Patch was able to cover the afternoon tour. The 90-minute tour was led by Audra Kantor, an assistant at the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The guided tours are being capped at about 20 people per group, according to museum officials.

Kantor shared several fascinating, little-known facts about the Old Joliet Prison. The guests were treated to interesting tales about the machine shop, the prison property's building architecture, the library and laundry rooms as well as the vocational school and welding shop.

There were also traveling baseball and basketball teams that visited the Joliet Prison to play games against the prisoners - who always had the home-field advantage.

The prison chapel was a place where prisoners of all religious faiths were welcomed and accepted, except for one. Voodoo was not allowed in the prison chapel, the tour guide explained.

About halfway through the Joliet Prison tour, Kantor's group reached the back side of the administration building. This is where the guide told everyone the haunting tale about the 1915 murder of the warden's wife, Odette Allen. A man named Chicken Joe Campbell was pegged for the crime, but there was lots of doubt whether he was the true culprit.

For now, Joliet's Area Historical Museum is leading prison tours three days per week between now and the end of October. However, people are strongly urged to purchase their tickets online.

You can visit the Joliet Prison website for more details about the availability of upcoming tours and be sure to watch the short video at the bottom of this article to get a better understanding of the prison tours.

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Images and video produced via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor