Wednesday, August 10

Greetings from the Old Joliet Prison

Who doesn't love this old movie: "The Blues Brothers"? The brothers are featured on a faux gasoline pump on the Joliet prison grounds. "Prison Break" and "Let's Go To Prison" were also shot here--neither of which I've seen. This is a mammoth structure that opened in 1858 and closed its doors in 2002. A woman's facility stood across the street. Almost always operating above capacity, one of its most famous revolts occurred in 1973 when inmates rebelled against what they felt was unfair removal of other prisoners to other facilities. These transfers were designed to break up the control some prisoners had over others and to eliminate the rampant gang activity at Joliet.

The great thing about riding to Joliet is that parts of it fall along Route 66 and the town has done a nice job of capitalizing on that. Stop at the Joliet visitor's center--a very cool place to hang out (and when I find the picture I have of it, I'll post it here).

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Good to see Jesse getting exercised along with pictures of your excursions.

BeemerGirl said...

Great destination. I enjoy finding filming locations around here for some strange reason. But the history at Joliet is intimidating!

Glad you are out and about.

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Hi Jeffry,

Thanks much! Jesse and I are thrilled to be out and about. Hope to catch up with you soon.

irondad said...

So that's the real story behind the disappearance, eh?

I loved the Blues Brother movie.

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Sharon:

Well... Well... Well... What a neat surprise to find you up and running with yet one more exciting blog post after another, loaded with local color.

How have you been? What trouble have you been getting into. Nothing but silence for over a year, and then I read you're frequenting prisons.

Fondest regards,
Jack/reep
Twisted Roads

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

BeemerGirl, I bet it is fun searching out film locations! I finally got a helmet camera that I actually like--only took three purchases! But filming is on my list of fun things to do. Joliet is pretty kewl! Thanks.

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Irondad, Thanks for making me smile! Prison is sure better than the rumors of my demise!

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Jack,
Thanks for the welcome! I've been on a long journey back to health...it's a relative thing and right now I'm feeling well(ish). But during the absence, I have sent you a couple of emails. Ahem...

Sojourner's Moto Tales said...

Jack, there were times when it all felt very much like being in prison!

Jack Riepe said...

Dear Sharon:

I'm working on screenplay about a guy who is accidently processed into a woman's prison... It's called "Romeo and Joliet."

Fondest regards,
Jack/reep
Twisted Roads

The Bike Buyers said...

nice pictures,Great blog and a very interesting post, I will be back shortly.thank you