It has been 85 years since the Polish Museum of America was founded in Chicago. It contains treasures of Polish culture, art and history. The official opening of the facility took place on January 12, 1937, with the participation of representatives of the Polish government.

The Polish community center gathered the collection from the Polish Pavilion at the World Exhibition in New York in 1939. The museum exhibits personal items of general Tadeusz Kościuszko, works of masters of Polish painting, such as the Kossaks, Jan Styka, and Jan Henryk de Rosen.

One of the most visited places in the museum is the Paderewski Hall, founded in June 1941 thanks to donations from his sister Antonina Paderewska – Wilkońska. It houses items donated by the Buckingham Hotel in New York, where Paderewski spent the last months of his life.

The museum’s exhibits also include sculptures from the Zakopane school and the art of Stanisław Szukalski. Visitors can also see national costumes, military uniforms, orders, weapons, rare old prints and letters written by Polish kings.

The Polish Museum in America was established as the “Museum and Archives of the Polish Roman Catholic Union in America” founded by this organization. It is situated in the so-called Polonia Triangle in the heart of the Polish downtown of Chicago.

The opening ceremony of the museum took place on January 12, 1937, in the Ballroom of the Union of Polish Radio. The inaugural speech was delivered by the president of the organization, Józef L. Kania who said: “In the Archives and Museum that we have created at the Unification House, we want to collect Polish treasures, all the most valuable souvenirs that will be passed on to new generations, not for ourselves, not for our organization, but for the entire American Polish Diaspora. For the Polish diaspora in the United States, we dedicate the Polish Museum at the PRC Union, and may it always serve the glory of the entire Polish community as beautifully and most usefully as possible”.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński