Joliet council highlights preservation wins: museum opening, grants and community history study

City of Joliet city planner Jane Bernhardt briefed the City Council on May 6 on a year of preservation activity that included grant-funded projects, a newly opened Railroad Museum and work to document Joliet's African American history.

“I'm here tonight to give an update on major initiatives that staff and the city's Historic Preservation Commission are working on to promote our city's heritage and recognize our meaningful places,” Jane Bernhardt, city planner and staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission, told the council.

The presentation noted the city's 1990 historic preservation ordinance, the commission's role reviewing certificates of appropriateness and administrative reviews, and that Joliet is a certified local government, which makes it eligible for state and federal preservation grants. Bernhardt highlighted the Railroad Museum, housed in the former Union Depot Tower at the Gateway Transportation Center,…