Joliet revved up about revamped Route 66 park

Joliet’s Route 66 Park provides extra appeal to tourists, a more aesthetically pleasing experience for visitors, and a deeper look into the city’s past and present.

City and state officials on Wednesday celebrated the park improvements funded through state grants being made available along historic Route 66 ahead of the highway’s 100th anniversary year in 2026.

The Joliet park is the first project completed with the state funding, said Casey Claypool, executive director of Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, an organization devoted to promoting the section of highway that runs through Illinois.

“Joliet is one of the most iconic cities on Route 66 here in Illinois,” Claypool said in her remarks at the ceremony.

Claypool described the park as “a tribute to the past” but also a “vibrant” part of the city’s future because of its potential as an attraction for Route 66 travelers.

Park improvements include:

• A neon Route 66 road sign that is lit at night

• a seven-foot tall replica of a Joliet postcard welcoming travelers

• new informational boards telling the history of Joliet and directing tourists to local attractions while replacing boards that had been washed out by weather

Tourists and local residents will likely be impressed by one set of sign boards placed at an overlook of the Des Plaines River valley where they can both see the old Joliet Correctional Center and read from a board that tells some of the history of the prison.

The seven-acre park may be frequented as much if not more by tourists as local residents even though it is designed to appeal to both.

It includes an arboretum and a walkway a third of a mile long through a selected planting of trees selected to inform local residents.

“It is an example of what trees look like as they mature,” said Rita Renwick, chair of the Joliet Tree Board, an arm of city government. “By viewing these trees, people can get an idea of what a species will look like in their yard.”

Aside from the arboretum, Renwick said Joliet residents should take some pride in the new sign boards replacing older versions that had become deteriorated to the point of being unreadable.

Renwick said she’s been at the park when people have pulled over to take pictures at the Rich ‘n Creamy ice cream stand, which features a replica of the Blues Brothers on its roof, but approached the sign boards only to find them unreadable.

“This is so refreshing,” Renwick said of the new sign boards.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy said the improvements at Route 66 Park are part of the city’s efforts to improve the image of Joliet at its entryways.

“We get only one chance to make a first impression,” D’Arcy said at the ceremony for the park improvements, ‘which is why the city has been making an effort to improve its entryways.’

People from around the country and the world come through Joliet on a daily basis making the Route 66 road trip.

Jayne Bernhard, a city planner for Joliet, said she met two families from Europe on Tuesday when she came to the park to take photos in preparation for the Wednesday ceremony.

Bernhard described the park as an “attraction for residents and visitors alike.”