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All the United States Illinois Joliet Joliet Correctional Center

Joliet Correctional Center

A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

Joliet, Illinois

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  llakeberg / Atlas Obscura User
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Best seen in black and white.   Kai Schreiber/CC BY-SA 2.0
A nearby Blues Brothers mural pays homage to the prison’s place in pop culture.   GabboT/CC BY-SA 2.0
Hole made for Prison Beak   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
One of the spots used in filming Prison Break   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
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Entering the prison yard   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
6-11-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
6-11-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
6-11-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
6-11-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
6-11-23   Darrell Powers / Atlas Obscura User
Joliet Correctional Center   joevalesh / Atlas Obscura User
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Don’t be fooled by the outer grandeur.   David Wilson/CC BY 2.0
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  jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
One of the earlier cells   jen487 / Atlas Obscura User
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About

This massive—and oddly palatial—defunct prison in Chicago’s Joliet suburb would be hard to miss no matter what. But most will recognize it as the spot where Elwood picked Jake up all those years ago in The Blues Brothers, or where Michael Scofield masterminded his brother’s breakout in the first season of Prison Break.

Built in 1858 and operational until 2002, the prison can claim historical significance for a bleak variety of reasons: It held prisoners of war during the Civil War and, by 1872, held more inmates than any prison in the country.

Conditions were bleak. The prison lacked running water and in-cell toilets until 1910. It welcomed “crime of the century” perpetrators Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb in 1924, and saw an inmate murdered by members of a street gang during 1975 riots. The prison closed in 2002, when many of its facilities were declared obsolete. Most of the complex is in surprisingly good shape, though one of the buildings was heavily damaged by arson in 2017.  

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You can visit the grounds daily from dawn until dusk.

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TravelGal

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jen487, matthewtaub, ReubenHull47, lendog666...

  • jen487
  • matthewtaub
  • ReubenHull47
  • lendog666
  • Darrell Powers
  • llakeberg
  • joevalesh

Published

August 15, 2018

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Sources
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joliet_Correctional_Center
  • http://genealogytrails.com/ill/convictregister.htm
  • http://cityofjoliet.info/visitors/joliet-prison
Joliet Correctional Center
1125 Collins Street
Joliet, Illinois
United States
41.546908, -88.07426
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Nearby Places

Joliet Iron and Steel Works (Joliet Iron Works Park)

Joliet, Illinois

miles away

Lincoln Park Nursery Ruins

Lemont, Illinois

miles away

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant

Wilmington, Illinois

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Joliet

Joliet

Illinois

Places 2

Nearby Places

Joliet Iron and Steel Works (Joliet Iron Works Park)

Joliet, Illinois

miles away

Lincoln Park Nursery Ruins

Lemont, Illinois

miles away

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant

Wilmington, Illinois

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Joliet

Joliet

Illinois

Places 2

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