Joliet Area Historical Museum Named Illinois Museum of the Year, Receiving Five Total Statewide Awards for Innovation, New Museums and Volunteers.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum (JAHM) was honored with an Award of Distinction as Museum of the Year at the Illinois Association of Museums (IAM) Award Ceremony on April 3, 2025. This prestigious event honors the outstanding achievements of museums, professionals, and volunteers across Illinois. “Awards of Distinction are the highest honor that IAM bestows, and only one of these awards is given out in each category annually. These categories include Museum Professional of the Year, Museum Volunteer of the Year, and Museum of the Year.” said Debbie Fandrei, Chair of the Awards Committee.

The Awards Committee noted, “Joliet Area Historical Museum is an institution with a vision beyond one exhibit gallery, or even one building.  In the past few years they have become integral in the culture and the landscape of Joliet, from restoring and interpreting the Old Prison, to showcasing the immigrant experience with the Planinsek Grocery Museum, and highlighting transportation technology with the new Railroad Museum. In the midst of doing this, they have not forgotten that it is their staff that make everything possible, creating internal policies that recognize and reward staff merit and increase staff retention.”

Greg Peerbolte, JAHM CEO since 2013 remarked, “We are particularly honored to receive the Museum of the Year because it underscores that our success and growth are the result of an incredible team. Our dedicated staff, hundreds of valued members, loyal volunteers and engaged Board of Directors have worked tirelessly to expand our institution to promote pride and economic development in the Joliet region.” Peerbolte continued, “We also thank the City of Joliet for its continued support and collaboration. It is my hope that our many friends, stakeholders and supporters at local, county and state levels share in this achievement and that it inspires us as a community to continue to redefine Joliet.

Two of these current JAHM volunteers, Board Member Robert Navarro, Ph.D., and Rick Swolley also received awards of recognition for their service from IAM.
Efforts to expand JAHM beyond its flagship museum facility in Joliet’s City Center, a $10 million adaptive reuse project in 2002, began with the organization’s operations of the Old Joliet Prison Historic Site in 2018. Persevering through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic, in 2023, the Prison was designated a National Register of Historic Places District and has since undergone over $6 million of stabilization work to is Administration Building, Cell Houses, and Chapel. Known for its connections to pop culture through The Blues Brothers and Prison Break, JAHM continues to develop the property as a site of conscience, emphasizing history and education. “Old Joliet Prison is crucial to the history of Joliet, the state, and the entire country,” said Kelly Klobucher, JAHM COO. “For us, it is of primary importance to tell honest stories about the people who were incarcerated and employed here, while also being sensitive to the heavy history of the site.”
Extending beyond Joliet’s famous penitentiary, the award nominations praised JAHM for opening two new museums in 2024. These properties include the Martin & Emma Planinsek Grocery and Meat Market Museum which preserves the Slovenian immigrant experience in Joliet, through the lens of the Planinsek family’s humble “corner store” constructed in 1926. “The Planinsek Market is an incredible example of museums’ power to shape economic development,” stated Peerbolte. “This project has been funded entirely by private donations from the Planinsek family. It was powerful to witness the conversion of a shuttered property into a fully restored cultural heritage site that has been visited by Slovenian dignitaries. This undoubtedly elevates the fabric of the neighborhood around it and encourages wider investment in the region.”

The Joliet Railroad Museum, which received its own New Museum Award, is housed in a preserved circa 1913 interlocking signal tower, known locally as Union Depot Tower, that was preserved and incorporated into the new Gateway Center Train Station. Acknowledging Joliet’s past and present importance as a multimodal transportation city and as its status as “railfan” destination, the Museum offers unrivaled views of one of the most important rail intersections on the continent.
Finally, the Committee acknowledged JAHM with an Award of Superior Achievement in Innovation for its highly publicized strategic partnership to acquire the iconic Route 66 Landmark Gemini Giant “Muffler Man” sculpture in the neighboring community of Wilmington, rescuing it from certain relocation or destruction. With grant funding from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity originally intended to acquire the former Launching Pad Drive-In, the Gemini Giant has since been relocated to an adjacent parcel of public land on Route 66, under a cooperative long-term lease with the City of Wilmington. In cooperation with Heritage Corridor Destinations and Wilmington Island Park District, it will soon open “The Landing Pad” Visitor’s Center and Souvenir Store adjacent to the Giant.
Board Chairman Quinn Adamowski, first elected to the Museum Board in 2016, reflected on the organization’s work and the meaningful impact of the awards: “This incredible recognition from IAM affirms JAHM's commitment to embracing and interpreting our community's historical and cultural narratives. From preserving icons on Route 66, to sharing our industrial and immigrant heritage, through the intentional interpretation of the complex history of the Old Joliet Prison, JAHM is dedicated to being a thoughtful and leading storyteller for our region. The Board is humbled by the achievements of the organization, with special recognition of our dedicated staff and volunteers.  JAHM thanks IAM for this prestigious honor and we look forward to further collaboration with our partners to build on these successes.”

JAHM 2024 Illinois Association of Museums Awards:

• Museum of the Year
• Superior Achievement in Innovation (Gemini Giant)
• New Museum Award (Joliet Railroad Museum)
• Volunteer Award (Rick Swolley)
• Volunteer Award (Robert Navarro, Ph.D.)

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About the ILLINOIS ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS
IAM provides advocacy for museums and the people who work and volunteer at them throughout Illinois at both the state and federal level.  Through conferences, weekly “Museum People” zoom meetings, newsletters, and emails IAM promotes and educates museum workers on best practices, and fosters the exchange of ideas for the Illinois museum community. The Illinois Association of Museums awards program is a statewide program designed to recognize excellence in museums of all sizes, locations, disciplines, and staffing levels.  Museums are judged by a panel of their peers, including representatives from large and small museums, and disciplines including art, history, university museums and children’s museums.

About the JOLIET AREA HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The Joliet Area Historical Museum (JAHM) is a private 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that celebrates the diverse industrial heritage and culture of the Joliet region. It is funded primarily through the support of earned revenue, membership, sponsored programs and government grants. Founded in 2002, it operates a contemporary Museum facility in Joliet’s City Center in the historic 1909 Ottawa Street Methodist Church along Old Route 66. Since 2018, JAHM has operated the Old Joliet Prison Historic Site and now operates two additional historic properties as museum experiences, the Planinsek Meat Market & Grocery Museum and Joliet Railroad Museum. In 2024, JAHM purchased the iconic “Gemini Giant” muffler man statue for display in its home community of Wilmington, Illinois.