{"id":274031,"date":"2026-06-22T15:36:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274031\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:36:41","slug":"joliet-is-turning-the-worlds-first-dairy-queen-into-a-route-66-tourist-attraction-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274031\/","title":{"rendered":"Joliet is turning the world\u2019s first Dairy Queen into a Route 66 tourist attraction \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joliet<\/a> is converting the local building that housed the first Dairy Queen into a tourist stop.<\/p>\n

The Joliet Area Historical Museum<\/a> on Monday announced the project on the anniversary of the opening of the first Dairy Queen store in downtown Joliet<\/a>, which was June 22, 1940.<\/p>\n

The building at 501 N. Chicago St. is on the Joliet stretch of historic Route 66, which is getting extra attention this year on its 100th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The Dairy Queen projct starts immediately with the conversion of the storefront at 501 N. Chicago St. into a \u201cselfie stop\u201d for Route 66 tourists, the museum said in a news release that included comments from Dairy Queen\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we have modernized and grown to more than 7,900 DQ restaurants in over 20 countries serving hot food and treats, it\u2019s important to remember the legacy of the Dairy Queen brand,\u201d CEO Tony Bader said. \u201cWe\u2019re humbled that Joliet Area Historical Museum and the City of Joliet are recognizing the Dairy Queen brand in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is a joint venture between the museum and the city. It is supported by grants from the Heritage Corridor Destinations Route 66 Grant Program and the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Dairy Queen now has two stores in Joliet, including this location at 1700 W. Jefferson St. (Photo provided)<\/p>\n

Joliet recognized the original Dairy Queen store in 2011 with local l landmark status and put a plaque on the site. <\/p>\n

But the two-story brick building, used for a number of businesses since it was built in the 1890s, \u201chas quietly maintained a hidden history as the first home of an internationally iconic brand,\u201d the release stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoliet\u2019s distinction as the home of the world\u2019s first Dairy Queen location, one of the most beloved brands in the world, is one of its greatest hidden historic gems,\u201d JAHM CEO Greg Peerbolte said in the release.<\/p>\n

The development of Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream dates back to the late 1930s, according to the release. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Joliet Area Historical Museum CEO Greg Peerbolte seen in this file photo speaking at a museum event. (Adam Jomant for Shaw Media\/Adam Jomant)<\/p>\n

The product was first served at a local ice cream stand in Kankakee before the Dairy Queen chain was started.<\/p>\n

The Joliet location was opened by J.F. \u201cGrandpa\u201d McCullough and his family and Sherb Noble, according to the release.<\/p>\n

Restoration plans include a \u201chistorically accurate facelift,\u201d the release stated.<\/p>\n

The restoration is supported by Dairy Queen, which has supplied the Joliet museum staff with historical and archival documents.<\/p>\n

Dairy Queen support \u201chas enabled the Museum\u2019s curatorial staff to ensure accurate reproductions of period neon signs, exterior signage and murals, as well as lighting fixtures,\u201d the release stated.<\/p>\n

The museum has started \u201ca full architectural and engineering assessment of the building to determine its potential future uses,\u201d the release stated. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joliet is converting the local building that housed the first Dairy Queen into a tourist stop. The Joliet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[288,7625,105467,9,24,63,122,124,123,7057],"class_list":["post-274031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-business","tag-joliet","tag-joliet-area-historical-museum","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-will-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}