Old Joliet Prison Begins 2019 Tours
The world-famous Old Joliet Prison opens for public tours starting Saturday, March 16. This week, Joliet Area Historical Museum officials got a tremendous boost to their marketing efforts after a tour group from China recently purchased a total of 200 tickets.
Museum director Greg Peerbolte told the Joliet Patch that this week's purchase was unexpected, but it was excellent news. He said it reaffirms his long-held belief that the Old Joliet Prison property will become a well-known international tourist attraction.
The limestone correctional facility that dates back to 1858 is best known for its role in the classic movie “Blues Brothers”. The prison was later closed in 2002 where it remained empty and fell into neglect over the past 15 years. Last year, the city of Joliet and the Joliet Area Historical Museum teamed up to mount an extensive cleanup and restoration of the property.
Their efforts culminated with the Great Joliet Prison Break-In, a special event fundraiser inside the Old Joliet Prison that raised more than $130,000 for ongoing building restoration efforts and drew a crowd of more than 3,500 people.
Following the success of the fundraiser, the museum operated a limited tour schedule in September and October of last year.
Peerbolte told the Joliet Patch that the bulk sale of the 200 tickets came through China Pro, which is a marketing company in the Great Lakes region that promotes U.S. destinations to tourists in China. China Pro worked with Central Tours to buy the Joliet Prison tickets.
"That's big because they bought the ticket block, and they're going to be actively marketing this destination throughout China." Peerbolte said. He also mentioned that the Joliet Area Historical Museum has already sold tickets for the spring and summer, welcoming tourists from the Netherlands, Ireland, United Kingdom, Switzerland and France.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of enjoyillinois.com
