Finding Polish Downtown

Author: Fernando Rodriguez Molina

Program of Study: Master of Laws (LLM), Law School

Before I climbed the stairs of the Division “L” station, a part of me thought about emerging in the heart of Krakow, with St. Mary’s Basilica at sight. The reality, however, is that the place was quite the opposite: the Division-Milwaukee-Ashland intersection contained a triangled-shaped plaza with a few trees, a bus stop, an access to said “L” station, and a fountain with a floor inscription stating Nelson Algren’s phrase “For the masses who do the city’s labor also keep the city’s heart”. However, not even one sign written in Polish, nor any landmark resembling any Polish past. On the surface, the Polish Triangle did not seem to be Polish at all.

I became a Polish culture enthusiast after I befriended a Polish couple in an exchange program, who are still two close friends of mine. Since then, I went to the country twice looking for its history, its architecture, and its food. Thus, upon my arrival to Chicago, I began looking for a hypothetical Polish Town: a place where the well-known Polish diaspora living in the city established its roots and grew older. I was confident that if Chicago had a Chinatown and a Little Italy, there should exist a Polish Town. Little did I know that my expectation was just that –an expectation–, and that the surroundings of the Polish Triangle in West Town were not anymore home to the Polish American people. It was necessary for me to seek the truth and discover what happened to the Polish community who had lived in the neighborhood.

The Poles diaspora’s majority, individuals of peasant origin who sought to escape hunger, began to establish themselves in Chicago during the second half of the nineteenth century, although the sources differ on the exact year in which that happened[i]. They were attracted by the city because of its relevant role in industry and trade, its transportation links to the East Coast[ii], and its high demand for unskilled labor[iii]. It was in Chicago’s Northwest Side neighborhood where the Poles settled in and established St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in 1867, their mother church[iv]. This area, near the Division-Milwaukee-Ashland intersection, would become known as the “Polish Downtown”[v].

The Polish community in Polish Downtown had a vigorous development during the following years. On the one hand, parishes proved essential[vi], as they concentrated most of the artistic, cultural, and recreational efforts for the community[vii]. Among them, Holy Trinity Church, Kostka Parish’s rival that was established in 1873, stands out[viii]. At the same time, fraternal organizations, newspapers, and schools were essential for the growth of a strong social tissue among the Poles[ix]. For instance, said churches organized parochial schools that taught classes in both Polish and English and were vital to maintain the ethnic community[x]. Also, the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, the oldest Polish American society created to promote welfare among the community and adherence to catholicism, raised its headquarters on North Milwaukee Ave[xi]. Finally, a broad range of shops, bars, taverns, and eateries were established to satisfy the Poles’ demands[xii].

This idea of the Polish Downtown collided with what I first saw in the Polish Triangle. The only remnants seemed to be Chopin Theatre, the restaurant Podhalanka, and an old newspapers’ kiosk that sold press written in Polish, whose owner –a senior citizen that was busy listening to an old radio– refused to talk with me because –I suppose– I spoke English rather than Polish. Besides that, stores and restaurants located in the Triangle’s surroundings had signs only written in English and, to a lesser extent, Spanish. It was hard for me to believe that I was visiting what was the national capital of the American Polonia[xiii].

What happened to what once was the American stronghold of Polish heritage? How did the neighborhood lose its Polish community? There seem to exist a couple of causes that explain the disappearance of Polish Americans in Polish Downtown. First, after World War II, Polish Chicagoans had better job opportunities than their predecessors, mainly due to their rising participation in higher education, which resulted in a strong aspiration to move to the city’s suburbs[xiv]. Second, the Poles were “Americanized”[xv]: that is, they adapted to American culture, values, and way of living[xvi]. “People just moved away” said one Polish American senior resident to me while visiting The Polish Museum of America. With its characteristic individualism and thus consequent loss of sense of traditional community, Americanization seems to be the best explanation for why the Poles preferred to move away from their long-standing neighborhood to the suburbs, instead of remaining there and investing in it.

Although there were some efforts to maintain the area’s status quo[xvii], that did not stop the Polish Americans movement from Polish Downtown to other parts of the city and its suburbs, neither the fact that by 1980 they had already been largely replaced by people from other ethnicities (such as Hispanics and African Americans)[xviii]. In fact, in 1990, 65 percent of all Polish Americans in the Chicago area resided in the suburbs[xix], while in 2000, of all persons of Polish ancestry living in the state of Illinois, only 23 percent of them lived in Chicago, while the rest lived in the suburbs or downstate[xx]. Such numbers are consistent and, thus, reveal that the number of Poles living in Chicago steadily decreased to the extent that, at the beginning of this century, only few of them lived within the city limits. This, in turn, explains why Chicago lost the title of the “largest Polish City outside of Warsaw” to New York City and only holds it when considering its metropolitan area (which comprises the city’s suburbs)[xxi].

I had to scratch the surface to realize that Polish Downtown still maintains its Polish roots, even if the community does not live there anymore. To begin with, both St. Stanislaus Kostka and Holy Trinity churches are still on their feet and are fully functional, being a pair of catholic beacons for the people in the area. They seemed to still have vivid communities, since I witnessed weddings being held in each church, and even at the same moment! Further, the Polish Museum of America, an institution whose purpose is to preserve Polish American history, is also in the area. Likewise, there are other buildings that evidence a Polish past, such as the Art Deco-style Polish National Alliance Building.

As I think of Nelson Algren’s phrase when remembering the contributions of the Polish American community to Chicago, I realize that, in the end, it does not matter if English or Spanish are being spoken in lieu of Polish. The Polish Downtown will continue being a point of reference for the Polish American community, and an icon of Chicago’s well-known multiculturality.

References:

1. Encyclopedia of Chicago. “Poles.” Accessed September 8, 2024. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/982.html.
2. Kępa, Marek. “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City.” pl, June 29, 2021. https://culture.pl/en/article/how-chicago-became-a-distinctly-polish-american-city.
3. Polish Past in Chicago. Chicago, IL: The Polish Museum of America, n.d.
4. Granacki, Victoria, and Polish Museum of America. Chicago’s Polish Downtown. Arcadia Publishing, 2004.
5. “History of Polonia – The American Institute of Polish Culture Inc.” Accessed September 8, 2024. https://ampolinstitute.com/history-of-polonia/#:~:text=Polonia%20are%20Poles%20who%20were,who%20are%20of%20Polish%20origin.
6. Encyclopedia of Chicago. “Americanization.” Accessed September 8, 2024. http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/46.html.
7. “The Polish Community in Metro Chicago.” The Polish American Association, June 2004. https://www.polish.org/upload_files/CensusReport.pdf.
8. “Can Chicago Brag about the Size of Its Polish Population?” Accessed September 8, 2024. https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2015/10/26/can-chicago-brag-about-the-size-of-its-polish-population.

[i] See “Poles,” Kępa, “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City,” and Polish Past in Chicago.

[ii] Polish Past in Chicago.

[iii] Kępa, “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City.”

[iv] Loc. Cit.

[v] Granacki and America, Chicago’s Polish Downtown, 7.

[vi] “Poles.”

[vii] Polish Past in Chicago.

[viii] Kępa, “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City.”

[ix] “Poles.”

[x] Loc. Cit.

[xi] Kępa, “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City.”

[xii] Loc. Cit.

[xiii] “Poles.” For reference, the term “Polonia” refers to “Poles who were either born in Poland and came to the United States, or persons born in the United States who are of Polish origin” (“History of Polonia – The American Institute of Polish Culture Inc.”)

[xiv] Kępa, “How Chicago Became a Distinctly Polish American City.”

[xv] “Poles.”

[xvi] “Americanization.”

[xvii] “Poles.”

[xviii] Loc. Cit.

[xix] Loc. Cit.

[xx] “The Polish Community in Metro Chicago,” 1.

[xxi] “Can Chicago Brag about the Size of Its Polish Population?”