The Polish Museum of America in Chicago, IL

Recently, we were treated to a lively guided tour of the Polish museum in Chicago, Illinois. The Polish Museum of America is a large museum in Chicago, Illinois. It dates from 1937 and was established as the Archives and Museum of the Polish Roman Catholic Union. “The Museum was founded to preserve the Polish past in America and to promote the study of the history, culture and traditions of Poland. The museum contains artifacts from Poland and also from Polish Americans. The art gallery features works by Polish and Polish American artists. A large permanent display is dedicated to Paderewski. Another large, permanent display is about Pope John Paul II. The Great Hall features a painting “Pulaski at the Battle of Savannah” by Stanislaw Batowski. It features General Casimir Pulaski who was killed fighting for freedom during the American Revolutionary War. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, he is a hero we grew up knowing about. Many of the exhibits originated from the Polish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. One example of that is a very large stained glass window by Mieczysław Jurgielewicz.