'I Got Stuck By A Bridge In Joliet' T-Shirts Now For Sale At Museum
JOLIET — Whether you are a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan, a Democrat or Republican, a resident of the east side or the west side, Joliet residents can all agree they share one common frustration about their city: it’s those dreaded drawbridges along the canal for the Des Plaines River. When one goes up, they all go up, eventually: McDonough Street Bridge, Jefferson Street Bridge, Cass Street Bridge, Jackson Street Bridge and last, but not least, Ruby Street Bridge.
Now for the first time, Joliet residents and non-Joliet residents alike have a way to share their frustration with the rest of the world, thanks to the Joliet Area Historical Museum.
The museum has created “I Got Stuck By a Bridge In Joliet, Illinois” T-shirts that are available for purchase in several different sizes for adults.
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The T-shirts can be ordered through the museum’s website or by visiting the museum gift shop, located at 204 N. Ottawa St., in downtown Joliet.
“With the reception we’re getting, I think we’ll keep them stocked,”explained Joliet’s museum director Greg Peerbolte. “They’ve been selling fast here this week.”
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Peerbolte said that everyone around Joliet, at some point on another, has been late to an important event or a meeting because of the bridges.
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Peerbolte said his own wife was almost late to their wedding ceremony several years ago because she and her wedding party entourage found themselves stuck by a barge passing through the Jackson Street Bridge.
Their wedding ceremony took place at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on Chicago Street.
“Everyone knows what you mean when you say, ‘Sorry, I got stuck by a bridge’ and no one disputes it,” Peerbolte said. “This is one of the few places where you can get stuck by a drawbridge literally every single day. It’s a fascinating, but frustrating feature.”
Peerbolte said his museum’s “I Got Stuck By a Bridge” T-shirts are available in men’s and women’s styles and range in size from small to double XL.
The Joliet bridge T-shirts are $30 and the money is used to fund the non-for-profit museum’s operations, Peerbolte said.
The museum’s gift store also carries several T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the Blues Brothers and the Old Joliet Prison, as well as Route 66 and First 100 Miles of Route 66 memorabilia.
For people interested in buying last-minute Christmas gifts, the Joliet Area Historical Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas, Peerbolte said.
In the alternative, shoppers can visit the Joliet museum’s website to make online purchases from the gift store.
Peerbolte said if the Joliet bridge T-shirts continue to sell well, he’s open to the idea of expanding the variety of T-shirts to feature all of Joliet’s downtown bridges. He said the Jackson Street Bridge is used as the backdrop for the inaugural T-shirt featured in this Joliet Patch story.
In time, Peerbolte also plans to offer commemorative beer glasses featuring Joliet’s old breweries.
“We want to do more history, more Joliet-branded merchandise,” he remarked.
If Joliet area artists and artisans have additional ideas for gift shop merchandise, Peerbolte encouraged them to contact the museum.
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