Both immigrant

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...

and Americans of Polish heritage live in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They are a part of worldwide '' Polonia'', the Polish term for the Polish

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

outside of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

from its very beginning.

have been a part of the

history of Chicago Chicago has played a central role in American economic, cultural and political history. Since the 1850s Chicago has been one of the dominant metropolises in the Midwestern United States, and has been the largest city in the Midwest since the 1 ...

since 1837, when Captain Joseph Napieralski, along with other veterans of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

first set foot there.Parot, Joseph J. ''Polish Catholics in Chicago, 1850–1920'',

Northwestern University Press Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticism ...

(1981), p. 19 As of the

2000 U.S. census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, Poles in Chicago were the largest

European American European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent Eu ...

ethnic group in the city, making up 7.3% of the total population. However, according to the 2006–2008

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

s and

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

s each had slightly surpassed Polish Americans as the largest European American ethnic groups in Chicago. German Americans made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,789; Irish Americans also made up 7.3% of the population, and numbered at 199,294. Polish Americans now made up 6.7% of Chicago's population, and numbered at 182,064. Polish is the third most widely spoken language in Chicago behind English and Spanish.

History

A number of Poles contributed to the history of the city together with Captain Napieralski, a veteran of Cross Mountain during the

. Along with him came other early Polish settlers such as Major Louis Chlopicki, the nephew of General

Józef Chłopicki Józef Grzegorz Chłopicki (; 14 March 1771 – 30 September 1854) was a Polish general who was involved in fighting in Europe at the time of Napoleon and later. He was born in Kapustynie in Volhynia and was educated at the school of the Bas ...

who had been the leader of the same insurrection. Not to mention certain A. Panakaske (Panakaski) who resided in the second ward in the 1830s as well as J. Zoliski who lived in the sixth ward with records of both men having cast their ballots for

William B. Ogden William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago. He was referred to as "the Astor of Chicago." He was, at one time, the city's richest citizen. ...

in the 1837 mayoral race in Chicago.

Distribution

According to Dominic Pacyga, most of the Poles who first came to Chicago settled in five distinct parts of the city. The first of those Polish Patches, as they were colloquially referred to, was located on the Near Northwest Side. Centering on the

Polish Triangle Polonia Triangle ( pl, Trójkąt Polonijny), also known as the Polish Triangle, is located in West Town, in what had been the historical Polish Downtown area of Chicago. A single-tiered fountain made of black iron with a bowl about nine feet in ...

at the intersection of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

and Ashland avenues with Division street it later became known as

Polish Downtown Polish Downtown was Chicago's oldest and most prominent Polish settlement. Polish Downtown was the political, cultural and social capital of not only Poles in Chicago but Polish Americans throughout North America as well. Centered on Polonia Tri ...

. The second large settlement, developed in Pilsen on the west side near 18th street and Ashland avenue. Poles established two separate enclaves in the Stock Yard district, one in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonn ...

, the other in the

Back of the Yards New City is one of Chicago's 77 official community areas, located on the southwest side of the city in the South Side district. It contains the neighborhoods of Canaryville and Back of the Yards. The area was home to the famous Union Stock Ya ...

near 47th street and Ashland avenue. Another Polish neighborhood developed in the area around the massive Illinois Steel works in

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtown. ...

in the area colloquially referred to as "the Bush". Polish communities in Chicago were often founded and organized around parishes mostly by

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasa ...

immigrants who named their neighbourhoods after them, like ''Bronislawowo'', named after St. Bronislava.* Sometimes the neighbourhoods are contiguous so its difficult to say precisely where one ends and one begins, as in the case of 'Stanislawowo' by the church of

St. Stanislaus Kostka Stanisław Kostka S.J. (28 October 1550 – 15 August 1568) was a Polish novice of the Society of Jesus. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus Kostka (as distinct from his namesake, the 11th-century Bishop of Kraków S ...

and 'Trojcowo' by

Holy Trinity Polish Mission Holy Trinity Church ( pl, Kościół Trójcy Świętej) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 1118 North Noble Street. It is a prime example of the so-called ' Polish Cathedral style' of churches, in both i ...

in the former area of

Initial historical Polish patches

In Polish the ending 'owo' in e.g., Bronislawowo functions similar to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

'ville' in Johnsville or 'ton' in Charleston. When added to a name of a saint, it indicates a Polish sounding town or a village. This is a colloquial phenomenon, not present in educated Polish; however, it persists in the names of different Polish areas of Chicago.

- ''( Pulaski Park, River West, Bucktown, Wicker Park, East Village, and Noble Square)'' *Trojcowo – The area around

*Stanislawowo – The area around

St. Stanislaus Kostka in Chicago Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church (Polish: ''Kościół Świętego Stanisława Kostki'') is a historic Polish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago that is located at 1351 West Evergreen Avenue in the Pulaski Park neighborhood ...

*Kantowo – The area around

St. John Cantius in Chicago Saint John Cantius Church ( pl, Kościół Świętego Jana Kantego) is a historic Catholic church of the Archdiocese of Chicago known for its architecture, liturgical practices, and affiliation with the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius. With mo ...

*Mlodziankowo – The area around

Holy Innocents in Chicago Holy Innocents Church, ( pl, Kościół Świętych Młodzianków), is a church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 743 North Armour Street in the East Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a prime example of the ...

*Fidelisowo – The area around St. Fidelis *Helenowo – The area around St. Helen *Marianowo – The area around

St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago Saint Mary of the Angels ( pl, Kościół Matki Boskiej Anielskiej) is a historic church of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 1850 North Hermitage Avenue in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, it is an exampl ...

*Jadwigowo – The area around

St. Hedwig's in Chicago St. Hedwig's Church ( pl, Kościół Świętej Jadwigi) is a historic parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois. Constructed in the grand Polish Cathedral style, it is one of the many monumental Pol ...

Lower West Side *Wojciechowo – The area around

St. Adalbert's in Chicago St. Adalbert Church ( pl, Kościół Świętego Wojciecha) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The church is located on 17th Street between Paulina Street and Ashland Avenue in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Il ...

*Annowo – The area around St. Anns in Chicago *Romanowo – The area around St. Roman's *Kazimierzowo – The area around the former St. Casimir's

*NMP Nieustajacej Pomocy – The area around

St. Mary of Perpetual Help St. Mary of Perpetual Help ( pl, Kościół Matki Bożej Nieustającej Pomocy) - historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a prime example of the so-called P ...

*Barbarowo – The area around

St. Barbara in Chicago St. Barbara's in Chicago ( pl, Kościół Świętej Barbary) - historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois, at 2859 South Throop St. It is a prime example of the Polish Cathedral style of churches ...

*Jozefowo – The area around

St. Joseph's in Chicago St. Joseph's ( pl, Kościół Świętego Józefa) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois at 4821 South Hermitage Avenue. Founded in 1887 with the current church building dating to 1914, Saint ...

*Janowo – The area around St. John of God *Sercanowo – The area around Sacred Heart

*Niepokolanowo – The area around

Immaculate Conception in Chicago The Church of the Immaculate Conception, referred to in Polish as ''Kościół Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny'', is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 2944 East 88th Street in Chicago, ...

*Michalowo – The area around St. Michael's in Chicago *Magdalenowo – The area around St. Mary Magdalene *Bronislawowo – The area around St. Bronislava

Subsequent historical Polish patches

Later as Poles grew in number and advanced economically, they migrated further out into outlying areas.Parot, Joseph, J. "Polish Catholics in Chicago, 1850–1920, Northwestern University Press (1981), p. 75 The result was that the West Town/ Logan Square settlement in

spread westward along North Avenue and northwestward along

thereby creating a "Polish Corridor" which tied in contiguous areas such as Norwood Park, Jefferson Park,

Portage Park Portage Park is a park in the Portage Park community area of Chicago, Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places. The park stretches from Irving Park Road on the south to Berteau Avenue between Central and Long Avenues. The largest p ...

, and

Belmont-Cragin Belmont Cragin is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is designated Community Area 19, and is located NW of the Loop. History Beginnings The first busines ...

. The same kind of advance occurred in the other original areas of Polish settlements so that

from both the Lower West Side and the

moved into both sides of

Archer Avenue Archer Avenue, sometimes known as Archer Road outside the Chicago, Illinois city limits, and also known as State Street only in Lockport, Illinois and Fairmont, Illinois city limits, is a street running northeast-to-southwest between Chicago's ...

, giving rise to sizable Polish settlements on the Southwest Side of the city such as McKinley Park, Garfield Ridge, Brighton Park and Archer Heights. On the far Southeast Side, the

"steel mill settlements" spilled over into Pullman, Roseland, East Side,

Hegewisch Hegewisch (pronounced "heg-wish" by the locals) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's far south side. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of Riverdale and South Deering to the west, the East Side to the ...

and

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census, a decline of 2.7% from 37,042 in 2010. The ZIP code is 60409. Etymology The word ''Calumet'' is the Miꞌkmaq and French word for a ...

as well as into Lake County in

Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, comprises Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 ...

, where thriving Polish communities were found in

North Hammond North Hammond is a neighborhood in western Hammond, Indiana, north of the Grand Calumet River and south of Wolf Lake. It is bounded to the south by Central Hammond, to the west by the Chicago neighborhood of Hegewisch, to the north by Robert ...

, Whiting, the Indian Harbor section of

East Chicago East Chicago is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,698 at the 2010 census. The city is home of the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, an artificial freshwater harbor characterized by industrial and manufacturing act ...

and several neighborhoods in the newly built industrial city of Gary.

North Side of Chicago

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

*Jozafatowo or Kaszubowo – The area around the parish of

St. Josaphat's in Chicago St. Josaphat ( pl, Kościół Świętego Jozafata and in Kashubian as ''Kòscół Swiãtégò Jozafata'') is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 2311 North Southport Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. It is a pr ...

which was initially heavily Cassubian Lincoln Square *U Przemienienia – The area around the parish of Transfiguration Avondale ''

Chicago's Polish Village Avondale () is one of Chicago's 77 officially designated community areas. It is on the Northwest Side of the city. The northern border is Addison Street from the north branch of the Chicago River in the east to Pulaski Road in the west. The ...

'': * Jackowo – The area around

St. Hyacinth Basilica The Basilica of Saint Hyacinth ( pl, Bazylika Świętego Jacka) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, located at 3636 West Wolfram Street in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is a prime example of t ...

* Waclawowo – The area around

St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

Irving Park * Polskie Wille - The

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

Villa District, historically known as the ''"Polish

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

"'' *Niepokalanowo/ Małe Kaszuby – The area around Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as '' Little Cassubia''

*Władysławowo – The area around the parish of

St. Ladislaus in Chicago St. Ladislaus ( pl, Kościół Świętego Władysława) - historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois. One of the many Polish churches on Chicago's Northwest Side, it is considered to be one of th ...

Jefferson Park *Konstancowo – The area around the parish of St. Constance Norwood Park *Teklowo – The area around the parish of St. Thecla Belmont Cragin *Jakubowo – The area around St. James *U Biskupa/ Biskupowo (Stanislawowo) – The area around the parish of

St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

Humboldt Park *Franciszkowo – The area around the parish of St. Francis of Assisi

South Side of Chicago

McKinley Park *Piotropawlowo – The area around the parish of Ss Peter and Paul Archer Heights *Brunowo – The area around the parish St. Bruno Garfield Ridge *Kamilowo – The area around the parish of St. Camillus by

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

Brighton Park *U Pieciu Braci – The area around Five Holy Martyrs *Pankracowo – The area around the parish of St. Pancratius South Lawndale *U Dobrego Pasterza/ Pasterzowo – The area around the parish of Good Shepherd West Elsdon *Turibiuszowo – The area around the parish of St. Turibius Roseland *Salomejowo – The area around the parish of St. Salomea

*Florianowo – The area around the parish of St. Florian Over the course of the city's development as the city's Polish community climbed further up the economic ladder and were followed by new waves of immigrants the concentration of Poles shifted to different areas of the city.

Religion

Holy Trinity Polish Mission facade 090321

As in Poland, the overwhelming majority of Polish immigrants who settled in Chicago were culturally very devout

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Though almost all of the

Polish Americans Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

remained loyal to the Catholic Church after immigrating, a breakaway Catholic church was founded in 1897 in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. Polish parishioners founded the church to assert independence from the Catholic Church in America. The split was in rebellion from the church leadership, then dominated by Irish and German clergy, and lacking in Polish speakers and Polish church leaders. The Bucktown campus of the former Cathedral of All Saints still stands as a testament to this community of faith. The current

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

and Cemetery complex on the city's periphery by Rosemont remains active and is still independent from the authority of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Poland is also home to followers of

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

. Small groups of both of these groups are present Chicago. One of the most celebrated painters of religious icons in North America today is a Polish American Eastern Orthodox priest, Fr.

Theodore Jurewicz Fr. Theodore Jurewicz (russian: Феодор Юревич; born 1953, Erie, Pennsylvania) is a Polish-American Orthodox old-rite priest and artist specializing in painting Byzantine icons and frescoes. Father Jurewicz is also an archpriest of th ...

, who singlehandedly painted

New Gračanica Monastery New Gračanica Monastery ( sr, Манастир Нoва Грачаница, Manastir Nova Gračanica) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery complex is located in Third Lake, Illinois, United States, a suburb of Chicago. The complex houses a scaled- ...

Third Lake, Illinois Third Lake is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,111. Geography Third Lake is located at (42.368117, -88.008903). According to the 2010 census, Third Lake has a total area of , of which ...

, over the span of three years. While large numbers of

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from the former lands of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

immigrated to the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

, they faced a historical trajectory far different from that of their Christian counterparts. In the process of

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of American culture and business on other countries outside the United States of America, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, te ...

, many

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...

in Chicago would lose their identification with Poland, with notable exceptions. There have also been small numbers of

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, mostly

Lipka Tatars The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...

originating from the

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

region.

The Polish presence in Chicago today

Institutions

Chicago bills itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland with approximately 1,900,000 people of Polish ethnicity in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

. Chicago's Polish presence is felt in the large number of

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

organizations located there, including the

Polish Museum of America The Polish Museum of America is located in West Town, in what had been the historical Polish Downtown neighborhood of Chicago. It is home to numerous Polish artifacts, artwork, and embroidered folk costumes in its growing collection. Founded i ...

, the

Polish American Association The Polish American Association (PAA) (Polish: ''Zrzeszenie Amerykańsko Polskie'') is a non-profit human services agency that serves the diverse needs of the Chicago Polish immigrant community. Originally located in Polish Downtown, the PAA wa ...

, the

Polish National Alliance The Polish National Alliance ( pol. ''Związek Narodowy Polski'', PNA) is the largest and one of the oldest Polish fraternal organizations in the United States. The original goal was to mobilize support among Polish Americans for the liberati ...

and the

Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America The Polish Highlanders Alliance of America ( pl. ''Związek Podhalan w Ameryce Północnej'') was founded in 1929 in Chicago as an organization that unites all other Góral organizations in the United States. Most of Chicago's Góral community i ...

. A column fragment of

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established ...

, the onetime seat of Poland's Royalty, has been incorporated into

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Tribune Tower The Tribune Tower is a , 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built between 1923 and 1925, the international design competition for the tower became a historic event in 20th-ce ...

as a visual tribute to Chicago's large Polish populace.

Culture

Chicago also has a thriving Polish cultural scene. The

Polish Arts Club of Chicago The Polish Arts Club of Chicago is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit established in 1926. The club's first art exhibition was held in 1933. Advocacy and outreach The club's advocacy and outreach work has included collaborating with several other arts ...

was founded in 1926. The city hosts the Polish Film Festival of America where various

Polish film The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations. Af ...

s are screened during the weeklong festival every October. Polish stage productions in both Polish and

are regularly staged at numerous venues throughout the

Chicago Metropolitan Area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...

. The most prominent venues among these are the Chopin and Gateway Theatres. The Gateway, which is also the seat of the

Polish Cultural Center in Chicago The Copernicus Foundation ( pl, Fundacja Kopernikowska) is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization based in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded by Poles in Chicago in 1971 in order to raise funds towards rais ...

is the home of the Paderewski Symphony Orchestra. The Lira Ensemble, the only professional performing arts company outside of Poland that specializes in Polish music, song, and dance is Artist-in-Residence at Loyola University Chicago. Chicago is also host to several

Polish folk dances Polish folk dances are a tradition rooted in ten centuries of Polish culture and history. Many of the dances stem from regional customs and historical events and are distinct from Czech, Slovak and Germanic styles. National dances include forma ...

ensembles that teach traditions to Polish-American children. Chicago celebrates its Polish Heritage every

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend at the

Taste of Polonia The Taste of Polonia is a Chicago festival held at the Copernicus Cultural and Civic Center in the Jefferson Park community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States every Labor Day weekend since 1980. It is the Copernicus Foundat ...

Festival in Jefferson Park, attended by such political notables as President George H. W. Bush,

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U. ...

Hadassah Lieberman Hadassah Lieberman ( Freilich; born March 28, 1948) is the second wife of former United States Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Life and work Hadassah Freilich Lieberman was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (a past report erroneously stated ...

, Congresswoman

Melissa Bean Melissa Luburich Bean (born January 22, 1962) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2011. Bean is a member of the Democratic Party. Early life, education, and business career Bean attended Maine East ...

, and

Tipper Gore Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate, activist, photographer and author who was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was married to Al Gore, the 45th vi ...

.America the diverse - Chicago’s Polish neighborhoods (5/15/2005)
'USA Weekend Magazine''. Illinois, due to the influence of this large population, is also one of the few states that celebrates Casimir Pulaski Day. Some schools and government services in the metro area are closed for the holiday. ''

The Almanac of American Politics ''The Almanac of American Politics'' is a reference work published biennially by Columbia Books & Information Services. It aims to provide a detailed look at the politics of the United States through an approach of profiling individual leaders an ...

2004'' states that "Even today, in Archer Heights'' neighborhood of Chicago ''you can scarcely go a block without hearing someone speaking Polish". This may be anachronistic because, although once true, today the Archer Heights neighborhood is predominately Mexican-American and Mexican, with many of the Polish former residents having died or moved to the suburbs. This is reflected in many of the businesses which served the Polish community having been replaced with businesses which serve the Mexican community. Polish-language business signs, once ubiquitous in Archer Heights, are now quite rare, while Spanish-language signs are seen on many businesses in the area. Much of 1950s Chicago Polish youth culture was captured in the 1972 musical '' Grease'', in which the majority of characters had Polish surnames (Zuko, Dumbrowski, Kenickie);

Jim Jacobs Jim Jacobs (born October 7, 1942) is an American actor, composer, lyricist, and writer for the theatre, long associated with the Chicago theater scene. Jacobs is best known for creating the book, storyline, characters, lyrics for the 1971 musi ...

, who conceived ''Grease'', based the musical on his real-life experiences in a Chicago high school. Much of the Polish-American nature of the musical was discarded when ''Grease'' was made into a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

in 1978, casting non-Polish actors in the lead roles, and subsequent productions have also followed the film's lead in toning down the Chicago Polish influences.

Ponglish

Some of Chicago '' Polonia'' (the Polish term for members of the

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

Polish community) speak the American sub dialect of

Ponglish Poglish, also known as Polglish and Ponglish ( Polish: , ''język polgielski''; German: ), is a blend of two words from Polish and English. It is the product of macaronically mixing Polish- and English-language elements (morphemes, words, gramm ...

(usually referred to as Chicagowski by local Poles) a fusion of the Polish and

languages. Ponglish is a common (to greater or lesser degree, almost unavoidable) phenomenon among persons

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...

in Polish and English, and its avoidance requires considerable effort and attention. Ponglish is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of

language interference Language transfer is the application of linguistic features from one language to another by a bilingual or multilingual speaker. Language transfer may occur across both languages in the acquisition of a simultaneous bilingual, from a mature sp ...

Notable persons

Actors, singers, and directors

Stanley Andrews Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...

, born Stanley Andrzejewski, an American actor who played the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''

Little Orphan Annie ''Little Orphan Annie'' is a daily American comic strip created by Harold Gray and syndicated by the Tribune Media Services. The strip took its name from the 1885 poem " Little Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley, and it made its debut on ...

'' *

Carlos Bernard Carlos Bernard Papierski (born October 12, 1962) is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Tony Almeida in '' 24'', which he played from 2001 to 2006, and then reprised again in 2009, 2014 in '' 24: Solitary'' and 2017 in ' ...

, born Carlos Bernard Papierski, an American actor and director, best known for his role as

Tony Almeida Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

in '' 24'' * Casey and Nina Siemaszko – American actors

Writers and authors

* Stuart Dybek – writer of fiction and poetry *

John Guzlowski John Guzlowski (born 1948) is a Polish-American author. Personal life John Guzlowski was born the son of parents who met in a Nazi slave labor camp in Germany. His mother Tekla Hanczarek came from a small community west of Lwów in what was t ...

– author

Businessmen and entrepreneurs

John S. Flizikowski John S. Flizikowski (also known as José; born April 19, 1868 in Preußisch Stargard, West Prussia, now Starogard Gdański, Poland; died July 15, 1934, in Chicago, Illinois) was a notable Chicago architect of residential, church and commercial ...

– architect of residential, church, and commercial buildings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries * Paul Bragiel –

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Cou ...

entrepreneur & venture capitalist,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

national team cross country skier

Musicians and composers

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century wit ...

, born Benjamin Kubelsky, American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television and film actor, and violinist *

Walter Jagiello Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello stage names Władysław Jagiełło, Li'l Wally, also Mały Władziu and Mały Władzio, which both mean "Li'l Wally" in Polish (August 1, 1930 – August 17, 2006) was a Polish American polka musician, songwriter and ...

- polka musician known as L'il Wally who was one of the first two inductees into the

International Polka Association The International Polka Association (IPA) is located in Chicago, Illinois and dedicated to the study and preservation of polka music and the cultural heritage of Polish Americans who have made this music tradition part of their heritage. The IPA ...

Polka Hall of Fame. *

Feliks Konarski Feliks Konarski (pseudonym: Ref-Ren) (9 January 1907 – 12 September 1991) was a Polish poet, songwriter, and cabaret performer. Early life Konarski was born in Kiev and attended a Polish school there. In 1921, he was able to get to Pola ...

–

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

performer *

Krzysztof Klenczon Krzysztof Antoni Klenczon (born 14 January 1942 in Pułtusk, Poland; died 7 April 1981 in Chicago) was a Polish composer, singer and guitarist, member of Czerwone Gitary Czerwone Gitary (literal translation, lit. The Red Guitars) is one of ...

– singer and songwriter and member of the group

Czerwone Gitary Czerwone Gitary (literal translation, lit. The Red Guitars) is one of the most popular rock bands in the history of Polish popular music. The band formed in 1965 and achieved its Golden Age (metaphor), greatest success from 1965 to 1970. Often ...

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. (né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the Doors, co-founding the band with singer and lyricist Jim Morrison in 1965. Manzarek was induc ...

– keyboardist of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

Artur Rodziński Artur Rodziński (2 January 1892 – 27 November 1958) was a Polish-American conductor of orchestral music and opera. He began his career after World War I in Poland, where he was discovered by Leopold Stokowski, who invited him to be his ass ...

conductor of opera and symphonic music *

Flora Zygman Flora Guenzburg Zygman (died after May 1940) was a Polish-born pianist based in Chicago. Early life Flora Guenzburg Zygman was from Warsaw. She studied with Sergei Bortkiewicz and with Alexander Glazunov in Saint Petersburg. Career Zygman ...

– pianist, music educator

Clergy

* Vincent Barzynski –

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest and organizer

Painters, sculptors, and artists

Jerzy Kenar Jerzy S. Kenar is a Polish-American sculptor in the United States. Kenar works in wood, bronze as well as in an Acrylic-based composite. Life Born on January 19, 1948, in the town of Iwonicz-Zdrój, he left Poland permanently in 1973 for Sweden ...

– sculptor * Richard Nickel –

architectural photographer Early architectural photographers include Roger Fenton, Francis Frith (Middle East and Britain), Samuel Bourne, Inclined Studio (India) and Albert Levy (United States and Europe). They paved the way for the modern speciality of architectural pho ...

and

historical preservationist Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

Ed Paschke Edward Francis Paschke (June 22, 1939 – November 25, 2004) was an American painter of Polish descent. His childhood interest in animation and cartoons, as well as his father's creativity in wood carving and construction, led him toward a caree ...

–

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

Mary Stanisia Sister Maria Stanisia, S.S.N.D., (May 4, 1878 – January 28, 1967) was an American Catholic nun, artist, and painter, member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Early life Monika Kurkowska was born on May 4, 1878, in Poland. Taken with author' ...

– American

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

artist and painter *

John J. Szaton John J. Szaton was a Polish-American sculptor born in 1907 in Ludlow, Massachusetts. Career Szaton apprenticed under well-known Illinois sculptor Lorado Taft, who invited Szaton to come to Chicago after meeting him on a lecture tour of various hi ...

– sculptor * Stanisław Szukalski –

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

* Katarzyna Mecinski (also known as ''Fifty na Pol'') -

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

vlogger

Government officials and politicians

Andrzej Czuma Andrzej Bobola Czuma (born 7 December 1938 in Lublin) is a Polish politician, lawyer and historian. He was an activist of the Polish anti-Communist opposition in the Polish People's Republic and was oppressed and imprisoned by the Communist autho ...

– politician, lawyer and historian, an activist of the Polish anti-Communist opposition in the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million ne ...

* Peter Kiołbassa (1837–1905) Democratic politician in the

City of Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

who helped organize St. Stanislaus Kostka parish *

John Kluczynski John Carl Kluczynski (February 15, 1896 – January 26, 1975) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, representing the 5th district from 1951 until his death from a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois in 1975. Early life and career Born in ...

– U.S. Representative representing

Illinois's 5th congressional district The 5th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties, as of the 2011 redistricting which followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Chicago, Elmhurst, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Hinsdale, La Grange Park, N ...

Robert Martwick Robert F. Martwick Jr. is a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 10th District since June 28, 2019. The district, includes Chicago’s northwest side and some of its surrounding suburbs. Prior to his appointment to the I ...

– Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

Roman Conrad Pucinski Roman Conrad Pucinski (May 13, 1919 – September 25, 2002) was an American Democratic politician from Chicago, Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from 1959 to 1973 and alderman from the 41st Ward of Chicago from 1973 to 1991. He was co ...

– Democratic Party Politician and U.S. Representative * Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski –

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and Chairman of the

House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

John Francis Smulski John Francis Smulski (sometimes "Smolski"; February 4, 1867 – March 18, 1928) was a Polish-American lawyer, banker and Republican politician who served on the Chicago City Council and as Illinois Treasurer.''Illinois Blue Book 1907-1908''. ...

American politician and businessman.

Scholars

Oskar Lange Oskar Ryszard Lange (27 July 1904 – 2 October 1965) was a Polish economist and diplomat. He is best known for advocating the use of market pricing tools in socialist systems and providing a model of market socialism. He responded to the econo ...

–

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

Marta Ptaszynska Marta Ptaszyńska (born 29 July 1943) is a Polish composer, percussionist and professor of music at the University of Chicago. She has been described by the Polish Music Center of the University of Southern California as "one of the best known Poli ...

–

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

professor

Sports

Krzysztof Hausner Krzysztof Hausner (13 March 1944, in Kraków – 26 January 2004, in Kraków) was a Polish football right-wing forward, most notable for his performances for Cracovia Krakow. Hausner also capped once for the Polish National Team, in the 16 April ...

– football right-wing forward, most notable for his performances for Cracovia Krakow *

Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five nati ...

– Basketball coach *

Al Piechota Aloysius Edward "Pie" Piechota (January 19, 1914 – June 13, 1996) was a professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons, two of which were spent with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Boston Bees / Braves from 1940 to 1941. Piechota ...

–

Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player whose career spanned 15 seasons

Criminals

Ted Kaczynski Theodore John Kaczynski ( ; born May 22, 1942), also known as the Unabomber (), is an American domestic terrorist and former mathematics professor. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski killed three people and injured 23 others in a nationwide ...

– Evergreen Park math professor and terrorist *

Tillie Klimek Ottilie "Tillie" Klimek (born Otylia Gburek; 1876 – November 20, 1936) was a Polish American serial killer, active in Chicago. According to accounts, she pretended to have precognitive dreams, accurately predicting the dates of death of he ...

–

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

* Steven Kazmierczak – Northern Illinois University shooting of February 14, 2008 * John Wayne Gacy –

References

External links

Former President of Poland Lech Walesa speaking on the role of Poles in Chicago in the end of communism in Poland

Polish Localizer
Polsort – Polish Businesses and Organizations in Chicago * Current Polish patches
Polish Masses in Chicago Area
provided by Polsort {{Polish Americans by location Polish-American culture in Chicago, Ethnic groups in Chicago History of Chicago Polish communities in the United States

History

Distribution

Initial historical Polish patches

Subsequent historical Polish patches

North Side of Chicago

South Side of Chicago

Religion

The Polish presence in Chicago today

Institutions

Culture

Ponglish

Notable persons

Actors, singers, and directors

Writers and authors

Businessmen and entrepreneurs

Musicians and composers

Clergy

Painters, sculptors, and artists

Government officials and politicians

Scholars

Sports

Criminals

See also

References

Further reading

External links