Beauty and the Beast
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Day 2: June 21, 2022 Beauty and the Beast Comment via blog |
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One could say that we saw the best and worst of Joliet today. Our tour
made but two significant stops and they were at opposite ends of just
about any scale you would care to apply.
Rialto Square
Theater, which opened in 1926, is clearly the "beauty " of
the pair. I have been inside the theater before when I attended a concert
here in 2017 but
today I got to see the theater from the performers point of view.
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And I got to see behind the scenes areas where the performers left their
marks.
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Another real treat today was hearing the Golden Voiced Barton Grande
Theatre Pipe Organ put through its paces.
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Today's "beast" is the Old Joliet Prison which many people know from its role
in The Blues Brothers movie. The prison opened in 1858 so was about
122 years old when the movie was made in 1980. It didn't close until 2002.
The cheery "OPEN" flag marks the Visitor's Center with a cute
little patio protected by razor wire. An abundance of razor wire awaited
beyond the gate. The third photo shows the Administration Building flanked
by the East (left) and West (right) Cell House. Next an exercise area is
overlooked by one of the guard towers. Guards on the ground were unarmed
and depended completely on the threat of those towers. The last two
pictures are from inside the West Cell House.
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These photos are of the East Cell House including the view from inside one
of the cells. The tops of the guard towers were not enclosed originally
and guards walked the parapets as if they were patrolling a medieval
castle.
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The first picture is of the hospital, the second from inside the
cafeteria, and the third is of the cistern. One of the reasons this
location was originally selected for the prison was the water available
from a natural spring.
The last two pictures are of an original cell. Cells in the previous pictures show the roomy 6x7x8 foot cells after the remodeling of the 1940s and '50s. This one cell was kept with the original dimensions to show how much things were improved. Overcrowding of the prison was commonplace and as many as three men shared this 4x7x8 foot space. |
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I enjoyed touring the prison but didn't hesitate a bit when the time came
to leave behind the hot sun and sinister looking guard towers to board an
air conditioned bus.
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