Joliet Area Historical Museum

Joliet Area Historical Museum has been telling the city’s story from 204 Ottawa St. since 2002. The galleries cover the limestone quarries, the steel mills, the canal and Joliet’s stretch of Route 66. The museum also runs the Old Joliet Prison on Collins Street, where self-guided and guided tours walk the cell houses of a penitentiary that opened in 1858 and closed in 2002. New roofs went on both cell houses in 2024, and preservation work started on the mid-century chapel. Summer brings a rooftop concert series, and the 2026 schedule was posted on the museum’s site.

What to know

• The museum has operated at 204 Ottawa St. since 2002.
• Tours of the Old Joliet Prison at 1125 Collins St. are run by the museum; the prison opened in 1858 and closed in 2002.
• Self-guided prison tours were listed at $22 for adults and $11 for children on the museum site, with members free.
• The museum also runs the Joliet Railroad Museum and the Martin and Emma Planinsek Grocery and Meat Market Museum.
• A rooftop concert series ran in summer 2026.