Reviews of Old Joliet Prison (Tourist Attraction)

Marie Johnson

Very interesting tour.

Tim H

The history. If Joliet would only keep it in better shape you would have more tourist

Bruce Claver

This is an incredible tour. Very fascinating to learn the history, see the cell blocks, and hear the stories. This was NOT the place you would ever want to be if convicted of a crime, especially before the 1950's when there was no plumbing, just two buckets. If you go, watch the first scene of the Blues Brother after the tour. You'll see some great shots of the prison when it was maintained like the cell block when it was shiny & clean whereas today, everything is rusted, paint peeling and debris everywhere. It's incredible how much the prison has changed since being abandoned in 2002. The tour was well done, especially for a group that just started the tours this year.

M Benematti

I spent 10yrs working in this place! If only the walls could talk!

Dave Walk

Go during daylight

Matt Oldenburg

Got to play in the Inparcerated disc golf tournament here today, it was incredible to get to see the history here. Definitely want to come back and tour the place when the restoration is complete.

Kelly Jacobs

Very interesting tour.

Ray Young

Eerie, yet fun! We had pictures done there and visited the sites. If you get a chance, go on a tour!

Tony Martino

Amazing event tonight. Great job to all involved and the JPD for a safe evening!!

Gene M

BS. You're not allowed to enter to the main building. You can't see the cells... What kind a prison tour is that? It was just a walk around and some stories. You allowed to visit only 2 buildings and one of them is hospital and there is nothing to see beside the mold and water damage. Too overpriced for what you can see.

Dee Ti

Went to the first Prison Break in Party and it was well planned, orderly, and the music was fantastic. Hope to attend next year.

Jeff Meister

Took a tour during the Route 66 Red Carpet tour. They were not offering full tours during this but it was a quick tour and still very interesting. They are in the process of cleaning and restoring other areas for full tours.

Dustin Leonhardt

Great tour knowledgeable tour guide. Really cool campus. Cost of tickets goes to helping to clean up the prison so there will be more areas to explore. Will definitely be back

Susan Grigsby

Was a fun place to visit

jeff anderson

Went for an airsoft event. Very cool and historic

Bonnie Licklider

A fantastic place to photograph!

Bob Killackey

Saw a concert there, how cool is that. Was awesome to walk the grounds and see the place.

Jessica Richardson

The work that is being done to restore this area is fantastic. However, we paid $30/person for a HAUNTED tour which featured exactly zero paranormal stories, background, etc. We purchased these tickets because we are interested in the paranormal. We did enjoy the historical experience, but we were deeply disappointed in not receiving what we paid for on this tour.

Hugo Hackenbush

Hard to criticize something which is free to visit. But... I sure wouldn't want to be a taxpayer shelling out my money to support it (unless there is an incoming revenue stream I'm not aware of).

Brittany Rothe

I was an Inmate there in 1989 and 1999. In 1989, I was so scared when I entered those gates. I was 20 years old. Some bad things did happen to me there. I also remember seeing people walk the gallery at night, but they were not flesh.

Steve Calkins

Great job. Brought back many memories. Worked there in the 70s

Aaron Filgo

Really neat experience. Excited to hear they may be opening up for tours soon!

Lucio Vergara

I have been wanting to check this place out since I found out about it. They Joliet museum has arranged to giving tours and it's totally worth it. The people in charge are very nice and very informative. Can't wait to go back to prison. Lol.

Mike Rodriguez

Great events. But pricey

Dexter St.Cloud

Way fun if you go for yearly Blues Brothers Benefit!

Jun Mao

Very interesting place. But not fully open yet

Carl Johnson

Accommodations were not so great, but I enjoyed my time here singing the blues

Kent Munro

Breaking In looks to be the start of a perfect venue for events. The place needs quite a bit more clean up and better options for parking but shows great promise.

Rudy G

Walked by the outside and looked in through the gates a bit. It seems very run down...

Steven Sorensen

Tour guide Amy was great. Alot of great information. Very interesting.

Jonathan Wright

In the last year or so joliet has cleared up much of the debris and started offering tours. Its pretty cool inside.

Jose Bizcarrondo

I don't know it's an old jail but it's still pretty cool

jackandtoni davis

Very interesting guided tour

Mike Glaze

Basket Cases Disc Golf Club set up an 18 hole putting course inside the prison , it's just freaking awesome !!!!

Steven Hall

Had a fun time at thw fubdraiser

Manuel Lugo

Enjoyed the Blues Brothers movie. Liked being able to go there for pictures.

michele borman

I don't recommend the haunted tour. A Little boring. Some stories were ok. But holding up picture books to show us pictures? Find a better way pls. Not enough big flashlights. I chose a bad night. It was freezing. The tour just didn't have enough to hold my interest in the cold. However I might enjoy a day time historical tour.

Linda Millar

If you're a Blues Brothers fan or a fan of the Prison Break series this must be a stop for you. It's a very eerie place and strangely accessible if you're that way inclined. You can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up just looking up at the windows.

Keith Gagnon

Great historical venue!!!!

Alan Hix

Really fun spot to take pictures and tour

Natalie

I need to go back for a tour!! Unbelievable architecture! I wish I was able to get in here during my urban exploring days. The history behind here is sooo intriguing. I need to make a splurge for this venture for sure. My daughter was even up for going inside. I could feel the spooky energies for sure. Beautiful on a rainy day.

Brian Addis

Very knowledgeable guide. Really interesting tour. To bad vandals have had their way with it

Melissa gomiloian

Awesome its where they filmed prison break best show ever!!

Jeff Finazzo

Stopped by just to have a peek. There are informational signs in the parking lot about the prison. You can't access the grounds, but can get some great pictures. Would love to see them do tours at some point.

Susan Barmes Erickson

The old Joliet Prison is probably best known for being in movies such as The Blues Brothers and TV shows such as Prison Break. There were also many notorious prisoners locked up here! It's breathtaking to walk around the prison and courtyard and think of the history of all of the people the prison has affected from the people that built the gorgeous structures to the inmates and guards to the community around the prison, where it stands majestically as a reminder of days gone by. Unfortunately, much of the prison structures are in much need of repair, but it seems that finally the public will be able to tour and explore the parts of the prison that are structurally safe for now. Hopefully in the future, with money raised by tours and donations to the historical society, more of the prison will be restored so that not only those of us that have always been fascinated by the prison and its history can go inside and see and learn more about the prison, but also so that people come specifically to Joliet to see the old prison and learn about it. I'm very excited to see progress being made, and as of 8/25/18, the Joliet Area Historical Museum is offering tours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and select Saturdays from September through October. Two tours offered at 11am and 2pm, ages 10 and up. Prices are $15 for Museum members and Joliet residents, $20 general admission. More information and reservations can be found at jolietmuseum.org. I attended the Prison Break tour on 8/25/18 and got the tour information from the Joliet Area Historical Museum.

Sandra Cleveland

Great place to go see and that is where they filmed the blues Brothers

ryan carroll

Fun little place alot of history love it

Adam Kirchhoff

Needs a little work yet, but this was a very interesting tour. Very helpful and knowledgeable guides. Looking forward to when some more areas open up.

Donna Maksuti

Although the structure of that building has been compromised? The craftsmanship and the design of that building and the buildings that surround it?? just simply historic and beautiful.!! This is something folks I would totally suggest that you go in to see. I know some will say well there's a lot of evil that was in there and you may be right but the evil is gone and the structure still stands and that building served as a form of protection for the community that it surrounds near and far. This is a piece of history and when you walk in and onto the grounds it is breathtaking to look at how these structures have stood the test of time. These buildings really need the support of the community!!!! To save a piece of History. I cannot wait till they have the prison breaking again next year it is simply amazing and truly a wonderful time. Security staff is on point friendly accommodating the police officers are doing a wonderful job and there are so many food vendors :-) the merch table has got anything you need and don't forget to visit the artist table as they have captured the inside of that prison in a very unusual way. They are supposed to be having some type of auction to benefit the prisons Museum and I would strongly suggest that you go on the website and totally support that as well

Jonathon Weirich

Super Scary, Lots Of Spirit Activity, We Highly Suggest That You Take A Paranormal Tour There!!

Ken Campbell

Played in the very first disc golf event called "inparcerated". It was a great event with alot of memories and history to be told in the structures. Thank you to LEL photography, dellwood disc golf/Sean Callahan and everyone else who was involved to make this day a dream come true!

Laura Seymour

Spooky and confining! (No pun intended!)

Liese A Ricketts

This tour was awful. Very unsafe, contaminated and floors that cave in. I had to leave after 10 minutes as I did not want any asbestos, or worse, falling on me. Yuck.

John Krzyzanowski

Great place to visit. We were able to throw a round of disc golf there for Inparcerated II.

dennis wolff

I'm past Warden, Dennis Wolff it's looking Great...glad we're finally taking an interest in this National Historical Icon

Phil Ash

The best place for a putting league

Kevin Watry

Very interesting tour! It's only going to get better. There is a lot of extensive refurbishment happening, and I cannot WAIT to see it. If you like history, or even the macabre, this is the tour for you!

Kanani Enos

Best tour I ever been on. They tell you so much information about the jail. And you get to go into a ton of the buildings. Plus we got the tickets for the museum included and it was awesome. The museum is so cool. You must check out both if you in Joliet!

David Brown

Tour guide was excellent. History of prison was fascinating.

TazKash

Beautiful old architecture. Prison is closed. No tours available.

Jonathan Tennis

I was driving cross country and could not resist the one hour detour to get the chance to see this. Loved Blues Brothers growing up (who am I kidding...I still love it today). Such a fun place. The rumor from the locals is that the city is fixing it up and making it into a tourist attraction. Would definitely come back to see it if / when they do. Until then, I have some pics of the place and Blues Brothers.

Jane Horak

Love the tours!!

dennis konopka

A night behind bars was very nice tour!

Wayne Kurnat

Great experience can't wait to do it again kinda upsetting they don't let you see more they were really strict about seeing areas off the trail but still would do it again soon

Elizabeth Cline

Once this is fully restored it will be an awesome stop on the Rt 66 trip

Ron Lehmacher

Built is the mid 1800's and abandon by the State of Illinois in 2002, the City of Joliet began to lease the prison and open it for tours in 2018. 16 years of vandalism and break-ins have taken a harsh toll on the prison. The Joliet Area Historical Museum will operate it as a preserved ruin. Donations will help stabilize the structures and lead to having more buildings open for tour. There are several buildings to see within the walls. Truly amazing and rich in history. At this point, you need to schedule ahead for tours. (Joliermuseum.org) $20 I highly recommend this site, it will be an educational and a memorable experience. Support this historical site, and help preserve history.

Tanya Rand

It's inexplainable. The energy of the prisoners can be felt in the cells. What the Joliet Historical Museum and City of Joliet along with 1000's of volunteers have done in the past 6 months is a gift to the state of Illinois. It's amazing to see 150 years of history coming back to life.

Mike Little

Michael scofield needs to break out again go prison break

Kathy McCallum

If the walls could talk!

Kevin O'Brien

The park outside has had all the placards taken away

Ralph Pena

Awesome. Come see for yourself...

Salon David Anthony Inc.

Fantastic work by Greg Peerbolt and phenomenal history. What a grand event The Great Prison Break In.

Bonnie Weston Vollmer

Soon it will be all cleaned up & ready to be a huge tourist attraction! Great history!

Karin Anderson

Great venue for a concert.

Dawn Peloso

Lovely architecture and the volunteers are awesome.

James G

We love visiting these old prisons! We didn't take the inside tour but there is a lot to see on the outside with plenty of photo ops! Lots of history here! We may be back for the inside tour at a later date.

Chester Bockstedt

Interesting prison and info at prison. This will be a significant tourist stop once Joliet has restored the prison. It, the prison, needs significant work to make it a tourist tour.

Josh Sabourin

Pretty cool to see, especially if you're a fan of the Blue's Brothers. However, unless they start offering tours, I wouldn't drive too terribly far out of your way to see it.

Mobile Welding LLC

It was super cool sneaking in there with my wife and exploring.... but now Joliet has decided to do a great thing and slowly bring this monster back to life! If marketed properly it'll be a huge tourist attraction our great state. That's the last prison that actually reformed inmates. It wasn't run by a corporation. Inmates actually had a way higher success rate comming out of that place than the new prison which is run my a private corporation.

Becka M

Really passionate volunteers working to clean and rehab to some degree.

Wayne Kubitz

Eye opening experience learned a lot. With our Son had a great day.

Edie Jurkovic

Cool looking witch we could of went in

Toby Valadez

Was a great experience, worth going to your!.

Maureen R

We were there for the inaugural event. Everything was great and the acoustics were surprisingly good for the bands!!!

kdarhh

The architecture is beautiful, but you can only visit the outside, I wish it were possible to tour the inside. There are some plackards in the parking lot with some interesting information. But they are faded and weather worn and hard to read. If you are a Blues Brothers fan you should make the visit if you are in the area. I would be disappointed if I drove a long way to see it though.

r sims

Had a nice walk around the perimeter of the prison that was accessible. The place definitely has some history to it. Parking was open in front of the prison, drive under the arch way at the traffic light. As well as across the street from the large gate, where the blues brothers scene takes place.

Curt Laven

Amazing Facility and even more amazing tours!

Jose Vallejo

A very unique look at a old prison, hard to believe how crammed inmates used to be .

Jessica De L'annee

As a Prison Break fan, I was really excited when I found out they were doing tours here! It was interesting to walk around the grounds and hear some history. I was disappointed that we weren't able to go inside many buildings - we were able to peek inside a couple, but I was hoping for more. Perhaps when they get more funds to do some repairs, it will be safe to take tourists inside more of the buildings. Overall, I'd recommend this tour!

Mohammad Shafiei

It was a very nice day to visit from old Joliet prison

Jaime Delia

I got to go on the ghost tour tonight. I really enjoyed learning about the history and being able walk around. There were two things that they definely need to change. One is they need to change the name of the tour. It wasn’t a ghost tour. We learned about the dark history and deaths that took place at the prison, but hardly anything about ghosts or ghost stories like I was expecting. And two there was way too many people in one tour. I felt like every time we went inside a building to look inside I was walking all over and bumping into other people. I felt rushed when looking into the building and I didn’t have enough time to take it in because so many other people were trying to do the same. Less people in groups would make the tour much more memorable.

james orvin

Cool place but no tours anymore...So all you get is a look from outside

Thomas Pillion

Truely amazing.

John Fluth

The old Joliet prison has been closed for years. A grim reminder of an old prison. We saw it at a distance, and could not find any way to tour the inside. Worth seeing the outside if you really like the "Blues Brothers ".

Bonnie w

Getting cleaned up, very interesting, will be even better as more areas are available.

Adam Kasnick

Cool place. Lots of history and cool architecture. Very interesting building. If you get a chance to go on the haunted tour, definitely go. Well worth the time and really cool old buildings with a lot of history. Awesome to learn about the history and see where so many people spent a lot of time.

Piotr Kubowicz

Its good to be free

June Bug

So much history here.

Corey Jones

Really cool place to explore. Was at an airsoft event so I don't know about tours but the facility is really cool to look through. Worth it if you are on the area.

Gene Rackow

Lots of history. Only 4 stars since they have lots of improvement and renovation planned.

C Sullivan

There are tours here. But have not seen them yet.

Britany Block

This place is an interesting part of local history. The joliet prison has plenty of important historic moments. Along with the historic moments, many of great movies and tv shows were formed there. Some of them include The Blues Brothers movie and Prison Break. Though you cannot enter the prison and there is a fence surrounding it, there are plenty of historic markers that explain the history. This is a great place to visit but you'll only be there about 10 minutes.

Jason Szczesniak

Went on a tour when they first started offering a few months ago can't wait to go back for haunted tours

dbaxxxxx

Stopped to take a few pics. It would be great if they do something with this place. Iconic Blues Brothers site.

Joe Ralphs

This is an interesting place to explore. There are actually two prisons at this location on the west side of the road is the main original old Joliet prison and on the east side of the road is the old original Joliet women's prison which was also use as an Annex to process anybody who went to prison in Joliet during the 90s. Also just north of the women's prison there is a quarry which is where all the stone came from to build prisons.

Tammie Hardrick

Great night to break into prison. A lot of history here. Lots of folks came out. Music and food and a great turnout. Well done Joliet and thank you for a great event. The prison has a lot of work to be done but it is great that the grounds can be used for so.ething.

mobes329

I thought this place would be neat to visit because they made the movie The Blues Brothers there back in 1979.

Betsy Naglich

Cool cool venue for the Prison Break in. The crowd was older due to the main band playing. Good beer from Elder Brewery of Joliet. Good food from various places including Chucks. I would go again.

Joseph Castro

This place..... changed me, this place is haunted, there's no getting around that. I spent 2 days here, and after I was constantly reminded of the energy this place contains. If you're going to come here understand there are things here you can't see, and can't touch, but those things can touch you, and can latch themselves on to you. Say a prayer before you enter, tell whatever is there that it can't come home with you and say another prayer, and just expect that it probably won't listen and the prayers won't work, because they didn't for me.

heather king

We were the second group to ever do a public tour.. and it was amazing!! Its gonna be so kool when it's all done!!

Jonnie Lonestar

Rebranded by adding the word "old". Lousy effort.

Amy Moran

It was a very interesting and fun tour.I wish more was inside(I understand that is to be in the future) I feel it will really help to get in the real feeling of the history. I also think more stories from the 1800's and early 1900's would make this a true 5 star tour...

manisfivebh

Supercool location. Wish we could have toured it.

shesnailie

On Thursday night they used to serve a wicked pepper steak...

Norman Scott

Blues Brothers set location

LA Mahoney

Very interesting find! It would be awesome if they could offer tours inside, especially since some movies were taped there.

Achilles uh-kill-eez

Spooky! Exciting place of history!

James Veverka

Played airsoft here. Great place. Lots of history. Most of the inside is in disrepair but it's still cool as hell.

Yvonne Perez

Wonderful! Great job and lots of kudos to the Joliet Historical Museum and a huge shout out to all of the extremely talented artists!!!

Michael Lamb

I hope they are able to make this the attraction that it should be!

Jose Sanchez

Creepy place,perfect for airsoft,paintball with rival shooters or zombie

Jennifer Holt

The scofield brothers were here?! Of course it's amazing

Mark Hamilton

Tour was too long and you could only go inside a few buildings...

Marissa Bernowitz

Beautiful building. Helpful local police officer. Tours all sold out until next year?

Paul Booth

What a find,I thought it would have been pulled down years ago. Fantastic.

Quentin Martin

This place has so much history. The public may never know the true history of this facility.

Jules M

We went to the haunted tour last night- our tour guide, Jasmine, was great and very nice. It was not a paranormal tour if that is what you are looking for but you learn about the mental torment the prisoners went through while in incarceration. Bring your own bright flashlight as it is very dark there at night. I would definently go back in the spring for a day time stroll through the grounds to see the architecture.

Helen Bostanche

Very informative. They offer tours.

SaliH Al-Rashid

Imisss prison break )):

Jenny Jones

I love this place! Everytime I'm in Joliet I must stop by. Very old building but its still a beautiful site!

Dan Cesaro

Went on a tour of the Old Joliet Prison and it was really cool! It was very affordable at $20 for a 1.5 hour tour ($15 for Joliet residents). Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the prison and made things very interesting. My only complaint is that some of the buildings were off limits, but that was understandable due to the fact that there were safety issues involved.

Jimmy Sparks G

Cool to see this old landmark still exists. Unfortunately you can only see the outside. It would be neat if they could offer tours.

Margie-Rose Dalton

Picture Blues Brothers Movie awesome . We enjoyed watching PRISON BREAK series

Kathy Samano

This Behind the Bars nightime tour was awesome! We loved the reenactments that told the history of the prison. It was so cool to finally be able to see the inside of the prison

Mark M.

Great history, but they need to do something with it. It would be a fascinating place for tours. It's in terrible shape -- overgrown with weeds, broken windows, etc.

Lynn Ceraldi

Very impressive architecture. This place is massive!

william scerini

Neat looking old prison! Wife now wants to go on a tour!

Jens Clasvorbeck

Impressive outside view, unfortunately no tours available

Melissa Rutherford

It's was a very cool tour just wish we could have went more into it..

Pete Buck

Nice to be free....

Bryan W

Wanted to get my Blues Brothers photo opp. It almost came out like I wanted. The place only offers tours and there is No trespassing signs everywhere. I did have security ask what we was doing I told her just taking my photo and was leaving. Very nice lady

Mark Jansen

Kinda neat. Interesting stop if you are in the area and interested in things like this.

Meme Robin

Saturday, August 25, 2018, we attended the Joliet Prison Museum fundraiser. What an experience that should be had by all! We hope they do it every year!So eerie yet cool to tour the inside of the prison buildings!! Quite a sight to see! My understanding is that tours will be open to the public, maybe already happening, and I cannot wait to go back to tour it again!!

A2 Green Clean

Christmas Day, enjoyed a stop and the boards were all legible but needed some updating. The place was a true relic. There was a Friendly Joliet police officer who even took my Father and I photo & asked about our trip! Like someone had suggested-I grabbed a tiny stone as a memento of our adventure!

Melanie Levesque

Need a better visit schedule

Karl Mirkes

Great Place, Very historical, lots of interesting little spots. Someday in the near future will be open as a tourist a spot. This was the Inaugural Opening. Lots of people came out and I think it was a great success.

Ron Pytlik

Excellent tour. Very interesting.

Dan The man!

A great experience! This is our second year attending. They made significant progress in renovations and opened a lot more viewing opportunities. Cant wait until Ghost Adventures airs their episode in Octoberish.

Sarah Royals

So strange but i did learn some stuff with the informstional boards outside in parking lot.

Matt Shearer

Just opened for basic tours. What I saw from the fundraiser the other night they are making great strides toward opening more areas within to see. It's a big piece of Joliet's history which the public can now view.

Tony Ochodnicky

Was there for a disc golf tournament. The history here is beyond amazing. Gives you chills in locations and in cells. So glad we got to look around and see some of the inner workings of the prison. I would love to just spend more time looking around n make sure I bring a better camera or camcorder.

Philip Fan

A very educational place to let people think deeply.

Rodney Yoswig

Had the best opportunity to attend a tour of the Collins Street Old Joliet Prison. Tour was a few hours long which was nowhere near enough time to enjoy the faciality. So many stories and so much history here to discover. People holding the tour were quite knowledgeable. I highly suggest watching this location for the next tour openings which I understand might be in march of 2019. It's definitely worth the trip.

Mary Sanchez

Fantastic tour, so informative with excellent and knowledgeable first-hand experience staff.

Edson Luck Gonzales

Was not really able to get inside but the architecture of a prison like this is remarkable since it looks more like a castle than a prison. And I guess it was built on 1896.

Rose Claxton

We went on the Ghost tour. which wasn't a ghost tour at all. they need to remove that from the line up. Also over price as well, need to be maybe 20 but not 30 . Good to visit the prison, where movies was made and learn about the History .

Charles Martel

It is never too late to mend.

Anna Bolton

Great to see. Shame it’s so rundown outside and didn’t seem to accept visitors