| Joliet
is a city with so much to offer, for sport fans to history buffs,
including historic museums, mansions, a minor league ball park, Chicagoland
Speedway and Route 66 Raceway and so much more. In addition to history
and sports, Joliet offers Arts and Entertainment, and fine dining,
as well as numerous lodging and camping amenities.
History of the City
Joliet is known as the city of Steel & Stone, due to its rich
history with the I&M Canal Passage, now the Des Plaines River,
that flows through the city and borders it’s downtown area.
Mules pulled barges along the canal transporting limestone and other
material from the city. Joliet’s limestone provided a great
deal of industry to the region, hence the numerous limestone buildings
and fine architecture the city has to offer. The building of the
canal and the rich stone industry of Joliet brought a great deal
of its first settlers. The steel industry is also a large part of
the city, being the birth place of barbed wire.
The I&M Canal (Des Plaines River) proves to further shape the
city’s history, providing it with three of only four design
styles of bridges made in the world. The city has a vertical lift
bridge at Black Road (center section lifting the railroad tracks
vertically above the waterway), an elliptical arc bridge at McDonough
St. and Bascule Trunnion bridges at Ruby St., Cass and Jefferson,
opening in a uniform arc.
Joliet preserves its history through its fabulous state of the
art historical museum, its numerous cultural heritage museums, and
fine architecture, buildings and mansions.
Fast Facts
- Driving Distance from Chicago:
45 miles
About 50 minutes
- Major Interstate Access:
I-80
Rt. 30
I-55
- Transportation Options:
Metra Train Lines
Heritage Corridor and Rock Island District
Weekdays 312/322-6777
TTY 312/322-6774
Evenings & Weekends 866-7000
TTY 312/836-4949
www.metrarail.com
Pace Bus Service
847/364-PACE
www.pacebus.com
Industry Partners
For more information on Joliet, visit:
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