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 Ce ...

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 Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

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 populous ...

. 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 = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 ...

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 is ...

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 Tr ...

. 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 Pequonnoc ...

, 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 peasants ...

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 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

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 ide ...

'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 *Kantowo – The area around St. John Cantius in Chicago *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 s ...

*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 Lower West Side *Wojciechowo – The area around St. Adalbert's in Chicago *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 *Barbarowo – The area around St. Barbara in Chicago

*Jozefowo – The area around St. Joseph's in Chicago *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, I ...

*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 Logan Square may refer to: * Logan Square, Chicago, a neighborhood on the north side of the city * Logan Circle (Philadelphia) or Logan Square, a park in Philadelphia **Logan Square, Philadelphia Logan Square is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Bou ...

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 C ...

, giving rise to sizable Polish settlements on the Southwest Side of the city such as McKinley Park, Garfield Ridge, Brighton Park and

Archer Heights Archer Heights is a community area in Chicago, Illinois, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago. Archer Avenue runs from south of Chicago's downtown area, through the southwest side of Chicago and beyond into the southwest suburb ...

. 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 ...

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 Ce ...

, 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 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 ...

'': *Avondale, Chicago#Jackowo, Jackowo – The area around St. Hyacinth Basilica *Avondale, Chicago#Wacławowo, Waclawowo – The area around St. Wenceslaus Irving Park, Chicago, Irving Park *Villa District, Polskie Wille - The List of Chicago Landmarks, landmark Villa District, historically known as the ''"Polish Kenilworth, Illinois, Kenilworth"'' *Niepokalanowo/ Małe Kaszuby – The area around Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as ''Irving Park, Chicago#Little Cassubia, Little Cassubia''

*Władysławowo – The area around the parish of St. Ladislaus in Chicago 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 Humboldt Park, Chicago, 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

*Brunowo – The area around the parish St. Bruno Garfield Ridge *Kamilowo – The area around the parish of St. Camillus by Midway Airport Brighton Park *U Pieciu Braci – The area around Five Holy Martyrs *Pankracowo – The area around the parish of St. Pancratius South Lawndale, Chicago, South Lawndale *U Dobrego Pasterza/ Pasterzowo – The area around the parish of Good Shepherd West Elsdon, Chicago, 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 Poles, Polish immigrants who settled in Chicago were culturally very devout Roman Catholicism, Roman Catholics. Though almost all of the Polish Americans remained loyal to the Catholic Church after immigrating, a Polish National Catholic Church, breakaway Catholic church was founded in 1897 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. 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 All Saints Cathedral, Chicago, Cathedral of All Saints still stands as a testament to this community of faith. The current Cathedral and Cemetery complex on the city's periphery by Rosemont, Illinois, Rosemont remains active and is still independent from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Poland is also home to followers of Protestantism and the Eastern Orthodox Church. 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, who singlehandedly painted New Gračanica Monastery in Third Lake, Illinois, over the span of three years. While large numbers of Jews from the former lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth immigrated to the Chicago area, they faced a historical trajectory far different from that of their Christian counterparts. In the process of Americanization, many Jews in Poland, Polish Jews in Chicago would lose their identification with Poland, with notable exceptions. There have also been small numbers of Islam in Poland, Muslims, mostly Lipka Tatars originating from the Białystok 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. Chicago's Polish presence is felt in the large number of Polish American organizations located there, including the Polish Museum of America, the Polish American Association, the Polish National Alliance and the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America. A column fragment of Wawel Castle, the onetime seat of Kings of Poland, 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 = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Chicago Landmark, landmark Tribune Tower 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 was founded in 1926. The city hosts the Polish Film Festival of America where various Polish films are screened during the weeklong festival every October. Polish stage productions in both

and

are regularly staged at numerous venues throughout the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The most prominent venues among these are the Chopin Theatre, Chopin and Gateway Theatre (Chicago), Gateway Theatres. The Gateway Theatre (Chicago), Gateway, which is also the seat of the Polish Cultural Center in Chicago 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 ensembles that teach traditions to Polish-American children. Chicago celebrates its Polish Heritage every Labor Day weekend at the Taste of Polonia Festival in Jefferson Park, attended by such political notables as President George H. W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Hadassah Lieberman, Congresswoman Melissa Bean, and Tipper Gore.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 2004'' states that "Even today, in

'' [a 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 (musical), Grease'', in which the majority of characters had Polish surnames (Zuko, Dumbrowski, Kenickie); Jim Jacobs, 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 Grease (film), feature film 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 Polish community) speak the American sub dialect of Ponglish (usually referred to as Chicagowski by local Poles) a fusion of the

and

languages. Ponglish is a common (to greater or lesser degree, almost unavoidable) phenomenon among persons bilingual in Polish and English, and its avoidance requires considerable effort and attention. Ponglish is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of Language transfer#Examples, language interference.

Notable persons

Actors, singers, and directors

* Stanley Andrews, born Stanley Andrzejewski, an American actor who played the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' * Carlos Bernard, born Carlos Bernard Papierski, an American actor and director, best known for his role as Tony Almeida in ''24 (television show), 24'' * Casey Siemaszko, Casey and Nina Siemaszko – American actors

Writers and authors

* Stuart Dybek – writer of fiction and poetry * John Guzlowski – author

Businessmen and entrepreneurs

* John S. Flizikowski – architect of residential, church, and commercial buildings during the late 19th and early 20th centuries * Paul Bragiel – Silicon Valley entrepreneur & venture capitalist, Colombia national team cross country skier

Musicians and composers

* Jack Benny, born Benjamin Kubelsky, American comedian, vaudevillian, radio, television and film actor, and violinist * Walter Jagiello - polka musician known as L'il Wally who was one of the first two inductees into the International Polka Association Polka Hall of Fame. * Feliks Konarski – poet, songwriter, and cabaret performer * Krzysztof Klenczon – singer and songwriter and member of the group Czerwone Gitary * Ray Manzarek – keyboardist of The Doors * Artur Rodziński conducting, conductor of opera and symphonic music *Flora Zygman – pianist, music educator

Clergy

* Vincent Barzynski – Roman Catholic priest and organizer

Painters, sculptors, and artists

* Jerzy Kenar – sculptor * Richard Nickel – architectural photographer and historical preservationist * Ed Paschke – Painting, painter * Mary Stanisia – American Catholic Church, Catholic artist and painter * John J. Szaton – sculptor * Stanisław Szukalski – painting, painter and sculptor * Katarzyna Mecinski (also known as ''Fifty na Pol'') - YouTube vlogger

Government officials and politicians

* Andrzej Czuma – politician, lawyer and historian, an activist of the Polish anti-Communist opposition in the People's Republic of Poland, Polish People's Republic * Peter Kiołbassa (1837–1905) Democratic politician in the City of Chicago who helped organize St. Stanislaus Kostka parish * John Kluczynski – United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative representing Illinois's 5th congressional district * Robert Martwick – Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives * Roman Conrad Pucinski – Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party Politician and United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative * Daniel David "Dan" Rostenkowski – United States House of Representatives, United States Representative and Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, House Ways and Means Committee * John Francis Smulski American politician and businessman.

Scholars

* Oskar Lange – economist and diplomat * Marta Ptaszynska – University of Chicago professor

Sports

* Krzysztof Hausner – football right-wing forward, most notable for his performances for KS Cracovia (football), Cracovia Krakow * Mike Krzyzewski – Basketball coach * Al Piechota – Professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons

Criminals

* Ted Kaczynski – Evergreen Park, Illinois, Evergreen Park math professor and terrorist * Tillie Klimek – serial killer * Steven Kazmierczak – Northern Illinois University shooting of February 14, 2008 * John Wayne Gacy – serial killer

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