| Joliet, IL |
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Named for French explorer Louis Joliet, this one-time industrial city has reinvented itself as a tourist destination with a diversified economy. Joliet Union Station, west of the track, opened in 1912 and was restored in 1993. The tracks crossing at this point are operated by Metra, providing commuter service into Chicago over the former Rock Island Railroad. The large castle-like native stone building visible to the east is a high school. Wealthy railroad magnate Jacob A. Henry constructed (in 1876) the imposing mansion briefly visible on a hillside east of the tracks. The mansion, 16,800 square feet, is constructed with the largest limestone slabs ever quarried in the area.