t:
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1-877-4-JOLIET
e:
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jbrooks@jolietcity.org
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http://www.visitjoliet.org
Come Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day or any day to celebrate our Nation’s heroes with this delightful, 1-day tour, which includes a visit to the “Route 66 Welcome Center,” the Joliet Area Historical Museum, the Jacob Henry Mansion, a 1940’s Nostalgia lunch matinee, the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, the Joliet Arsenal and more!
The first stop of the day will be the “Route 66 Welcome Center” at the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The state of the art museum features interactive exhibits that will walk you through many years of Joliet’s rich history. You will receive a guided tour of the museum before heading off to lunch.
Arrive at the Jacob Henry Mansion, a National Historic Landmark, built in 1873. You will have time for a brief tour of the mansion’s old world fixtures, intricate craftsmanship and Victorian charm while listening to the classic tale that brings this old home to life. Afterward, you will be directed over to the Abbey Dinner Theatre for a delicious lunch and patriotic matinee performance of 1940’s Nostalgia, with three part harmony including Boogie Woogie music made famous by the Andrews Sisters. Accompanied by a live band, this musical revue features full costume dress and toe tapping favorites such as “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” and “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”
As you continue your journey along Route 66, your guide will share her many stories about this historic highway as you travel past both the Route 66 Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway to the Joliet Arsenal.
Today 19,000-acres of the former arsenal are the largest piece of protected open space in northeastern Illinois and the first national tallgrass prairie in the United States is known as the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
When the Joliet Arsenal was developed by the US Army in the early 1940's as a manufacturing plant for munitions, the 26,500-acre site provided munitions critical throughout World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Today, the Arsenal has been subdivided into areas to include the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Joliet Arsenal Development Authority, and US Fifth Army Training Center.
Tour Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, the second largest national cemetery in the nation behind Arlington in Washington, DC. Named in honor of Abraham Lincoln, this cemetery and the State of Illinois have special connections to our 16th President. Lincoln is remembered for his successful law practice and elected service as a resident of Illinois. In the midst of the Civil War, President Lincoln’s signature enacted a law authorizing the establishment of national cemeteries “…for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country.”
Return with the step-on guide to the Jacob Henry Mansion.
Trip Highlights: - “Route 66 Welcome Center” & Joliet Area Historical Museum
- Talk & Tour the Jacob Henry Mansion
- 1940’s Nostalgia Lunch Matinee - Abbey Dinner Theatre
- Joliet Arsenal Tour
- Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery
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