Joliet Gateway Center Seeks Grant for Exhibit
The City of Joliet is working on a railroad museum exhibit that would be on display in the old Union Depot Tower. The city intentionally built the new Joliet Gateway Center Train Station with access to the tower in hopes of one day opening it up for a museum exhibit.
According to The Herald-News, On Tuesday, the city council agreed to seek a $19,600 grant that would fund the construction and installation of message boards for a self-guided exhibit in the tower.
Although it is no longer in use, the Union Depot Tower still contains the original switchboard in which levers and other mechanisms were used to manually switch tracks. The purpose of this switchboard was so approaching trains could move from one track to another. This is a process that is now done remotely.
The Herald-News mentioned that this effort is a working collaboration with the Joliet Area Historical Museum to create the exhibit. Kendall Jackson, director of community development for Joliet said, “The museum has agreed to research and do the narrative for a railroad exhibit. The grant money would be used to design and fabricate the exhibits and put them in place.”
Jackson said the small museum space would not be staffed. It would be made accessible at certain hours that have yet to be determined.
The council voted 8-0 to pursue a Certified Local Government matching grant. The grants are provided by the National Park Service for the purpose of preserving historic places.
According to a city staff memo regarding the project, Union Depot Tower was built in 1914 to control rail switches at the downtown Joliet rail intersection that included four north-south lines and four east-west lines.
“The intersection of these rail lines required 16 track diamonds,” the memo states. “UD Tower housed the mechanisms for controlling the various rail switches at this intersection.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Herald-News
