Wender·Vista
Joliet
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States
southwest of Chicago, where Route 66 begins

Joliet

— — the long whistle that runs along the canal.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A river town an hour southwest of Chicago, built on yellow Joliet limestone and the freight lines that still cut through downtown. The Rialto Square Theatre keeps its 1926 ceiling. The old prison stands quiet behind its long stone walls. Route 66 begins at the bridge over the Des Plaines, and the Blues Brothers loved the place for reasons that still hold.

from the studio
Joliet
— bring it home

Joliet, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Joliet

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Joliet sits on the Des Plaines River in Will County, Illinois, about forty miles southwest of the Chicago Loop. Founded in 1833 and named for the French-Canadian explorer Louis Jolliet, the city grew at the junction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal and, later, five rail lines. The 1926 alignment of U.S. Route 66 starts here, marked by a small plaza on Ottawa Street. Population is around 150,000, which makes Joliet the third-largest city in Illinois after Chicago and Aurora.

— the stone

The yellow dolomitic limestone that built Joliet came from quarries opened along the Des Plaines bluffs in the 1830s. The same stone faces the Old Joliet Prison, completed in 1858 to a design by William W. Boyington, who also drew the Chicago Water Tower. The prison closed in 2002 and now opens for guided tours by the Joliet Area Historical Museum. The stone weathers to a warm cream and reads almost golden in low afternoon sun along Collins Street.

— the visit

The Rialto Square Theatre on Chicago Street opened in 1926 and is one of the few intact 1920s movie palaces left in the United States. Its rotunda lobby was modeled on the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The Joliet Iron Works Historic Site preserves the foundations of what was once one of the largest steel mills in the country. The Route 66 Welcome Center on Ottawa Street keeps the city's roadside heritage, and the Old Joliet Prison runs tours from spring through autumn.

— informed by Rialto Square Theatre
— where
United States · Will County, Illinois
— elevation
178 m · 584 ft
— position
41.5250° N · 88.0817° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
65 km NE
Chicago
city
10 km N
Plainfield
village
8 km N
Lockport
canal town
22 km NE
Naperville
city
18 km NE
Bolingbrook
village
N
Joliet
Chicago
Plainfield
Lockport
Naperville
Bolingbrook
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Joliet — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

U.S. Route 66 was commissioned in 1926 and its Illinois alignment began in Joliet, running through downtown along Chicago Street and Ottawa Street. The city keeps a Route 66 Welcome Center and visible signage.

A limestone-walled state penitentiary that operated from 1858 to 2002. Designed by William W. Boyington, it served as the exterior for Joliet Prison in The Blues Brothers and now offers public tours.

Joliet was named for Louis Jolliet, the French-Canadian explorer who mapped the upper Mississippi with Jacques Marquette in 1673. The spelling was anglicised when the town was platted in 1834.

A 1926 vaudeville and movie palace on Chicago Street, designed by the Rapp and Rapp firm. Its rotunda lobby is modeled on Versailles, and the auditorium seats around 1,900 under a painted dome.

About forty miles southwest of the Chicago Loop along Interstate 55, on the Des Plaines River. Metra commuter rail connects the two cities in roughly an hour.

Limestone quarrying, steel, and freight. The Joliet Iron Works ran one of the country's largest mills in the late nineteenth century, and five rail lines met at the city's canal junction.

— about the piece in your home

It has been for many of our customers with ties to the city. The piece reads the old limestone, the Rialto's curve, and the Route 66 plaza. A Small or Medium with a handwritten card carries well.

The yellows and prairie greens read warmly against Industrial-modern, Craftsman, and Mid-century palettes. It sits well in a study or an entryway, especially against unpainted brick or oak panelling.

Yes. Route 66 imagery and prairie-river palettes have come back into the Americana and Heartland-modern conversation. The piece reads quietly rather than as roadside kitsch.

A single Large covers a console or a love-seat. Above a full sofa, a 4-tile Mural reads better at sitting distance, and a 9-tile Mural anchors a wider wall.

Yes. Choose the Dura Satin or Matte finish for steamy or splash-prone walls. Both are scratch-resistant and clean with a microfibre cloth and water.

Yes. Reid Wender draws and curates every WenderVista piece in-house in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing, no third-party stock, and no franchised art behind any tile.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.