Best venue in Joliet for rock shows. A lot of quality small touring bands roll through here often. For a downtown location it’s pretty convenient, they offer free parking in the parking garage right across the street. So that’s awesome. It’s two stories and they’ve got a pretty good bar with moderately priced drinks. I like to score a seat on the balcony cause it’s the optimal spot for watching the music while still being comfortable. Beware it is a 21+ establishment, sorry kiddos.
Things to do
Unlike any old history museum, the Joliet Area Historical has a lot of fun ways to experience how people used to live. It takes about an hour or two to go through which is great for hyperactive children. Its history is obviously very focused on Joliet, but it also spans the Chicago area as well. My kid’s a video game-nut and had a blast in the Apollo/Houbolt exhbit. There’s a “Lunar Lander Stimulator” where you use controls like the first moon-men and try to land on the “surface of the moon.”
I only do casinos when I’m out of town. The smokier and dirtier the better it seems (I’m only here for novelty purposes, people). The Empress doesn’t disappoint. There are a lot of tables here with a variety of games, which was a plus to my companion. However there were no tables less than $15 to buy in so our time here was limited. There’s an Egyptian motif going on here too which is sort of ridiculous but fun. It’s two-floors and overall relatively average, but it conquered our vice craving.
