May 12, 2024
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GIGANTAR comes to Joliet, gives new vibe to rock and roll museum

Hundreds flock to downtown to see new guitar sculpture

By Bob Okon
GIGANTAR hangs lit at the celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

GIGANTAR hangs lit at the celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66.

GIGANTAR is here.

A few hundred people welcomed the Friday arrival of the 24-foot guitar sculpture to the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66.

The guitar sculpture may be the most tantalizing touch yet added to the Joliet museum, which has yet to open to the public, but may soon.

“Who doesn’t like giant things?” asked Jill Lucas, who came from Hammond, Indiana, to see GIGANTAR.

A large crowd gathered during the GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony A large crowd gathered during the Gigantar celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66. Jan 20, 2023.

The guitar hangs outside the front of the museum at 9 W. Cass St. and is illuminated at night with a purplish light making it an electric guitar sculpture.

Museum Executive Director Ron Romero called GIGANTAR “a beacon in our community to attract visitors and local residents to downtown Joliet.”

Romero was among a parade of speakers, most of them classic rock musicians, who sang the praises of GIGANTAR and the museum designed to pay tribute to Illinois’ contribution to the music genre.

“There are so many talented artists from the great state of Illinois who are finally getting the recognition that they deserve,” said Carl Giammarese, a founding member of The Buckinghams that originated from Chicago in the 1960s and continues to perform today.

Giammerese predicted the guitar sculpture at the museum “will be seen by people and appreciated for years to come.”

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick lights GIGANTAR during the celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

Gigantar celebratory lighting ceremony Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick lights GIGANTAR during the celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum.

The lights that lit up GIGANTAR were turned on by Rick Nielsen, lead guitarist for the band Cheap Trick that came out of Rockford.

Nielsen himself was an attraction at the event.

Scott Jones, who works nearby at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, brought his guitar, hoping Nielsen would sign it.

What did he think of GIGANTAR?

“I think it’s beautiful,” Jones said. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of people downtown.”

Mrs Illinois Route 66, Jessica Anderson stands in front of the giant amp used to light GIGANTAR at the lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony Mrs Illinois Route 66, Jessica Anderson stands in front of the giant amp used to light GIGANTAR at the lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

GIGANTAR was funded with a $90,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which is supporting projects to highlight the state’s stretch of historic Route 66 ahead of the 100th anniversary of the highway in 2026.

The guitar sculpture was unveiled last weekend in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and trucked to Springfield, Illinois. It was then brought up the Route 66 path making stops at tourist points along the way.

The Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 commissioned Shannon MacDonald, an artist known for her work depicting rock musicians and entertainers.

MacDonald, too, was at the welcoming party for GIGANTAR in Joliet.

Shannon MacDonald speaks during the GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum. Jan 20, 2023.

GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony Shannon MacDonald speaks during the GIGANTAR celebratory lighting ceremony at the Illinois Rock and Roll museum.

“I’m proud to see her stand tall in her new home – the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66,” MacDonald told the crowd outside the museum.

Just inside, the museum appears to be close to opening with a front counter that looks ready to welcome visitors and a store with merchandise that looks ready for sale. Beyond are collections that have been gathered for the past three years to tell the story about rock music from Illinois.

Romero said it’s close to opening, maybe even in the spring, although a date has not been set.

GIGANTAR helped build enthusiasm on Friday.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Nan Hooks of Joliet said of the guitar sculpture and the museum. “I absolutely adore that so many artifacts have been brought to this museum. We’ve not yet been able to see it, but the idea is wonderful.”