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50-708: It was founded by Poles in Chicago in 1971 in order to raise funds towards raising a monument for the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus to be set in front of the Adler Planetarium . After the Nicolaus Copernicus Monument 's dedication at the 500th anniversary of Copernicus in 1973, the Polish-American community decided to use leftover funds towards the purchase of a cultural and civic center for Chicago's Polonia . After

100-607: A man-made harbor near the mouth of the Chicago River . Ogden Avenue in The Bronx is also named after him, as is Ogden, Iowa. The Arnot-Odgen Memorial Hospital, founded by his wife Mariana, also bears his namesake. Following his death, William B. Ogden left money to his hometown of Walton, New York, which was used for the construction of a library, completed in 1897, which bears his name, the William B. Ogden Free Library, and

150-604: 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. Polish Downtown - ( Pulaski Park , River West , Bucktown , Wicker Park , East Village , and Noble Square ) Lower West Side Bridgeport Back of the Yards South Chicago Later as Poles grew in number and advanced economically, they migrated further out into outlying areas. The result

200-820: A participation as in his earlier years, his Vice President, Perry Smith and Supt. George L Dunlap carried over from the Fond du Lac era, kept things progressing until 1864 when a Grand Consolidation took place with the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad. This new C&NW was able to cross Iowa to the Missouri River at Council Bluffs and join with Ogden's other project, the Union Pacific Transcontinental railroad in Omaha. By 1867 he could see his beloved Chicago connected by rail with California. Ogden

250-463: A politician he advocated for the city to raise tax revenue for new roads, plank sidewalks, and bridges (which he presented designs of his own for). He also used his own wealth to fund improvements to the city's infrastructure. Ogden was a leading promoter and investor in the Illinois and Michigan Canal , then switched his loyalty to railroads. Throughout his later life, Ogden was heavily involved in

300-546: A single one-year term. From 1840 through 1841, he served on the Chicago Common Council as an alderman from the 6th Ward. From 1847 through 1848, he served as an alderman from the 9th Ward. Ogden was a booster of Chicago both during and after his tenures in elected office. At the time he came to Chicago, its buildings were largely wood cabins, it lacked sidewalks and decent bridges , it had no paved roads, and it lacked water supply infrastructure. As

350-649: A testament to this community of faith. The current Cathedral and Cemetery complex on the city's periphery by 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

400-637: A thorough search for the permanent site of the Polish Cultural Center in Chicago, ceremonies took place at the old Gateway Theatre building located near Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues in 1979. Because the Gateway Theatre had been the first movie theater in Chicago built exclusively for the "talkies," the Foundation decided to preserve the theater itself while remodeling around it. The "Solidarity Tower," with its matching façade,

450-557: 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 Polish and English are regularly staged at numerous venues throughout the Chicago Metropolitan Area . The most prominent venues among these are

500-589: 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

550-476: Is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of language interference . 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. He brought the Galena & Chicago Union RR out of insolvency and

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600-757: 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 Poland's royalty , has been incorporated into Chicago 's landmark Tribune Tower as a visual tribute to Chicago's large Polish populace. Chicago also has

650-659: Is often claimed that Chicago has or had the highest Polish population outside of Warsaw, this is unlikely to ever have been the case, given the population of Łódź and Wrocław has historically outpaced the Polish ancestry population in Chicago. A number of Poles contributed to the history of the city together with Captain Napieralski, a veteran of Cross Mountain during the November Uprising . Along with him came other early Polish settlers such as Major Louis Chlopicki,

700-401: Is the fourth most widely spoken language in Chicago behind English, Spanish, and Mandarin. According to Census estimates as of 2023, the Polish ancestry population in the broader Chicago metropolitan area numbers 721,538, making it the metropolitan region with the highest Polish population in the country, and likely the most Polish metropolitan area in the world outside of Poland. While it

750-747: The Chopin and Gateway Theatres . The 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

800-646: The Great Chicago Fire . He also owned a lumber company in Peshtigo, Wisconsin , which burned the same day. He married Marianna Tuttle Arnot (1825–1904). Marianna was the daughter of Scottish born John Arnot and Harriet (née Tuttle) Arnot. In New York, he named his home in the Highbridge, Bronx (named after the bridge now called Aqueduct Bridge over the Harlem River connecting Manhattan and

850-960: The Lower West Side and the Back of the Yards moved into both sides of Archer Avenue , 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 South Chicago "steel mill settlements" spilled over into Pullman , Roseland , East Side , Hegewisch and Calumet City as well as into Lake County in Northwest Indiana , where thriving Polish communities were found in North Hammond , Whiting ,

900-668: The Stock Yard district, one in Bridgeport , the other in the Back of the Yards near 47th street and Ashland avenue. Another Polish neighborhood developed in the area around the massive Illinois Steel works in South Chicago in the area colloquially referred to as "the Bush". Polish communities in Chicago were often founded and organized around parishes mostly by peasant immigrants who named their neighbourhoods after them, like Bronislawowo , named after St. Bronislava. * Sometimes

950-536: 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 . 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

1000-558: The Union Pacific Railroad . Ogden was a good choice for the first president, but his railroad experience was most likely not the primary reason he was chosen; Ogden was a clever man who had many political connections. When Ogden came to lead the Union Pacific, the railroad was not fully funded and had not yet laid a single mile of track. The railroad existed largely on paper created by an act of Congress. As part of

1050-538: The 1862 Pacific Railroad Act , Congress named several existing railroad companies to complete portions of the project. Several key areas needed to link the East (Chicago) to the West had none, and hence the Union Pacific was formed by Congress. During the early days of railroading Ogden had begun building Northwestern railroads connecting Chicago with cities like Janesville, Fond du Lac and St. Paul/St. Anthony. In 1856 this

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1100-644: The Bronx) Villa Boscobel. Ogden died at his home in the Bronx on Friday, August 3, 1877. The funeral was held August 6, 1877, with several prominent pallbearers including, Gouverneur Morris III , William A. Booth, Parke Godwin , Oswald Ottendorfer , William C. Sheldon, Martin Zborowski, and Andrew H. Green . He was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx . Ogden, who had no children, left behind an estate valued at $ 10 million in 1877. Some of

1150-626: The Catholic Church after immigrating, a 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 Cathedral of All Saints still stands as

1200-649: The Chicago Polish influences. 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 Polish and English 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

1250-743: The Indian Harbor section of East Chicago and several neighborhoods in the newly built industrial city of Gary . Lincoln Park Lincoln Square Avondale Chicago's Polish Village : Irving Park Portage Park Jefferson Park Norwood Park Belmont Cragin Humboldt Park McKinley Park Archer Heights Garfield Ridge Brighton Park South Lawndale West Elsdon Roseland Hegewisch Over

1300-616: The Northwest Chicago Historical Society, CAPS (Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy) Meetings, the DAC (District Advisory Council) Meetings, an Annual Law Fair, Dance Recitals, as well as Public Information and Referral Services Poles in Chicago Both immigrant Poles and Americans of Polish heritage live in Chicago, Illinois . They are a part of worldwide Polonia , the Polish term for

1350-574: The Polish Diaspora outside of Poland . Poles in Chicago have contributed to the economic, social and cultural well-being of Chicago from its very beginning. Poles have been a part of the history of Chicago since 1837, when Captain Joseph Napieralski, along with other veterans of the November Uprising first set foot there. As of the 2000 U.S. census , Poles in Chicago were the largest European American ethnic group in

1400-433: The building of several railroads . "In 1847, Ogden announced a plan to build a railway out of Chicago, but no capital was forthcoming. Eastern investors were wary of Chicago's reputation for irrational boosterism , and Chicagoans did not want to divert traffic from their profitable canal works. So Ogden and his partner J. Young Scammon solicited subscriptions from the farmers and small businessmen whose land lay adjacent to

1450-505: The city, making up 7.3% of the total population. However, according to the 2006–2008 American Community Survey , German Americans and Irish Americans 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

1500-619: 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 at the intersection of Milwaukee and Ashland avenues with Division street it later became known as Polish Downtown . The second large settlement, developed in Pilsen on the west side near 18th street and Ashland avenue. Poles established two separate enclaves in

1550-540: The construction of a railroad from New York to Chicago. He told colleagues that such a railroad would be "the most splendid system of internal communication ever yet devised by man." He had been elected to the New York Senate on a platform supporting state funding for the construction of the New York and Erie Railroad . The bill he backed to accomplish this was passed. While Ogden's initial concern in Chicago

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1600-535: 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. As in Poland, the overwhelming majority of Polish immigrants who settled in Chicago were culturally very devout Roman Catholics . Though almost all of the Polish Americans remained loyal to

1650-534: The first swing bridge over the Chicago River and donated the land for Rush Medical Center. Ogden was also a founder of the Chicago Board of Trade . Ogden served on the board of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad and lobbied with many others for congressional approval and funding of the transcontinental railroad . After the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act , Ogden was named as the first president of

1700-534: The holiday. The Almanac of American Politics 2004 states that "Even today, in Archer Heights [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

1750-492: 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 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

1800-462: The money was used to fund a graduate school of science at the Old University of Chicago . Much was left to his niece Eleanor Wheeler, who married Alexander C. McClurg . Namesakes of William B. Ogden include a stretch of U.S. Highway 34 , called Ogden Avenue in Chicago and its suburbs, Ogden International School of Chicago, which is located on Walton Street in Chicago, and Ogden Slip ,

1850-523: 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 in the former area of Polish Downtown . In Polish the ending 'owo' in e.g., Bronislawowo functions similar to English 'ville' in Johnsville or 'ton' in Charleston. When added to

1900-504: The nephew of General Józef Chłopicki 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 in the 1837 mayoral race in Chicago. According to Dominic Pacyga, most of the Poles who first came to Chicago settled in five distinct parts of

1950-481: The process of Americanization , many Polish Jews in Chicago would lose their identification with Poland, with notable exceptions. There have also been small numbers of Muslims , mostly Lipka Tatars originating from the Białystok region. Chicago bills itself as the largest Polish city outside of Poland with approximately 800,000 people of Polish ancestry in the Chicago metropolitan area . Chicago's Polish presence

2000-479: The proposed rail. Farmer's wives used the money they earned from selling eggs to buy shares of stock on a monthly payment plan. By 1848, Ogden and Scammon had raised $ 350,000 —enough to begin laying track. The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was profitable from the start and eventually extended out to Wisconsin, bringing grain from the Great Plains into the city. As president of Union Pacific , Ogden extended

2050-540: The reach of Chicago's rail lines to the West coast." In 1853, the Chicago Land Company, of which Ogden was a trustee, purchased land at a bend in the Chicago River and began to cut a channel, formally known as North Branch Canal, but also referred to as Ogden's Canal. The resulting island is now known as Goose Island . In 1857, Ogden created the Chicago Dock and Canal Company . Ogden designed

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2100-475: 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

2150-590: Was a fierce supporter of the transcontinental railroad at a time of great unrest for the country and was quoted as saying: This project must be carried through by even-handed wise consideration and a patriotic course of policy which shall inspire capitalists of the country with confidence. Speculation is as fatal to it as secession is to the Union. Whoever speculates will damn this project. As history now shows, eventually Ogden and many others got their wish. On October 8, 1871, Ogden lost most of his prized possessions in

2200-545: Was as Postmaster of Walton, New York, having been appointed by President Andrew Jackson to the position. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Delaware Co.) in 1835 . During his career in New York politics, Ogden was a Jacksonian Democrat . However, Ogden was also an advocate of government funding for infrastructural improvements, aspiring to see the federal government financially back

2250-432: Was based in his land interests there, he believed that he could not afford to stay out of the politics of the city, as he believed growing western towns such as Chicago were dependent on government assistance. Shortly after moving to Chicago in 1836, Ogden joined the committee responsible for drafting the city charter to be submitted to the state legislature. In 1837 , he was elected the first mayor of Chicago , serving

2300-657: Was erected atop the building which was modified to resemble the historic Royal Castle in Warsaw , Poland . The tower itself was built to resemble the clock tower adorning the Royal Castle. The activities of the Copernicus Center include: The Copernicus Center is also a meeting place for Polish American and other Civic Organization Meetings, the Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce Activities,

2350-407: Was its first president in 1847. He created the Chicago & North Western Railway from the failed remains of the Chicago, St.Paul, Fond du Lac and was its first president in 1859. He spearheaded the 1st transcontinental railroad as the Union Pacific and was its first president in 1862 [although he relinquished that position due to health.] Ogden was born on June 15, 1805, in Walton, New York . He

2400-401: Was that the West Town / Logan Square settlement in Polish Downtown spread westward along North Avenue and northwestward along Milwaukee thereby creating a "Polish Corridor" which tied in contiguous areas such as Norwood Park , Jefferson Park , Portage Park , and Belmont-Cragin . The same kind of advance occurred in the other original areas of Polish settlements so that Poles from both

2450-429: Was the Chicago, St. Anthony and Fond du Lac Railroad but the financial panic beginning in 1857 caused the collapse of this project. Fortunately Ogden's long time personal reputation and character helped him get many supporters putting together resources to reorganize as the Chicago & North Western Railway the following year of which he was president from 1859 to 1868. While his failing health precluded as active

2500-409: Was the son of Abraham Ogden (1771–1825) and Abigail ( née Weed) Ogden (1788–1850). When still a teenager, his father died and Ogden took over the family real estate business. He assisted Charles Butler, his brother-in-law, with business matters related to opening a new building for New York University , attending the law school for a brief period himself. The first political position Ogden held

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