Drive or bicycle through history
Joliet, the largest I&M Canal town
outside Chicago, attracted people from around the world to quarry stone,
manufacture steel and work on the railroads that helped its many industries
thrive. As you drive through Joliet, notice the steel silhouettes that
represent Joliet’s workers.
The driving tour overlaps with part of the Joliet bicycle route, a 4.3
mile city-street trail that serves as part of the continuous 71-mile I&M
Canal bicycle trail system between Lockport and LaSalle.
City of Stone, City of Steel
Joliet emerged as a center for quarrying local dolomite – a magnesium
rich limestone. More than 50 quarries were located
between Joliet and Lemont, and numerous buildings constructed of the warm
yellow stone can still be seen downtown and in Joliet’s neighborhoods.
In 1869, Joliet became home to the Union Coal, Iron and Transportation
Company, which later became Joliet Iron and
Steel and eventually U.S. Steel Corporation. Thousands of workers labored
in sweltering conditions to make iron and steel and manufacture rails
and barbed wire. A short side trip from the driving tour is the Joliet
Iron Works Historic Site, where a walking trail takes you through
ruins of gigantic blast furnaces, which were dismantled in the 1930s.
Bicycle trails extend both northeast and southwest from the Iron Works
site, and I&M Canal Locks 3 and 4 are accessible by the bike trail
just .3 mile north of the blast furnace trail. From downtown, follow the
bicycle route signs and silhouette trail north .1 mile to the Joliet Iron
Works historic site.
Successive Canals
The
convergence of the I&M Canal with a number of intersecting railroads
accounted for Joliet’s rapid growth and industrialization after 1852.
In 1906, the Sanitary and Ship Canal was extended from Chicago to Joliet,
ending the useful life of the I&M Canal in this part of the region.
In 1933, the Joliet portion of the I&M Canal was submerged under the
Illinois Waterway, and the canal that launched the city is no longer visible.
Downtown revitalization
Joliet, which like many “rust belt”
industrial towns suffered during the 1970s and 80s, has recently profited
from new entertainment industries including riverboat gaming and Nascar
auto racing.
Explore downtown’s historic architecture, historical museum, library
and restaurants. Metered parking and a garage on Ottawa Street are available.
©2002 Canal Corridor Association