Polonia Triangle

Polonia 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. It is bound by Division, Ashland and Milwaukee Avenue. A single-tiered fountain made of black iron with a bowl about nine feet in diameter is installed at its center. The Division stop on the Blue line subway is also located here.

Polonia Triangle was considered to be the center of Chicago's Polish Downtown, the city’s oldest and most prominent Polish settlement. In many ways it functioned as the capital of American Polonia with the headquarters for almost every major Polish organization in the United States clustered within its vicinity beginning with the Polish National Alliance to the Polish Daily News [Granacki, Victoria: Chicago's Polish Downtown, Arcadia Press, 2004, p. 6-7] . Polonia Triangle is one of 11 neighborhoods included in "The Labor Trail" which chronicles Chicago's history of working class life and struggle [ [http://labortrail.org/lt-008-ptriangle.html The Labor Trail ] ] . The site is still home to the Chopin Theatre and is used for processions during Corpus Christi by parishioners of two of Chicago's Polish Cathedrals: St. Stanislaus Kostka and Holy Trinity Polish Mission.

Controversies

There have been two major controversies relating to Polonia Triangle. The first dealt with renaming the plaza after Nelson Algren, whose controversial novels prominently displayed the Polish American underclass and was taken by Polish residents as Anti-Polonism [ [https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=1998/981120/ALGREN&search=%22polish%20triangle%22 Reader Archive-Extract: 1998/981120/ALGREN ] ] . In the end a compromise was reached where the Triangle kept its name and a newly installed fountain was named after Algren and inscribed with a quote from 'Chicago: City on the Make' around the fountain's base: "For the masses who do the city's labor also keep the city's heart [ [https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/Archive/abridged2.bat?path=1998/981120/ALGREN&search=%22polish%20triangle%22 Reader Archive-Extract: 1998/981120/ALGREN ] ] ". The second more recent one has been a push by a number of area residents led by Zygmunt Dyrkacz, head of the Chopin Theatre, to artistically redevelop the Triangle as "the gateway to Wicker Park" [ [http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/polishtriangle/ Chicago Reader | Wicker Park's Dirty Doorstep: Round two of the battle over the glorified bus stop known as the Polish Triangle. By Tasneem Paghdiwala ] ] .

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Polonia (Elgar) — Polonia is a symphonic prelude by the English composer Edward Elgar written in 1915 as his Op. 76.HistoryIt was first performed at the Polish Victims Relief Fund Concert in the Queen s Hall, London on July 6th 1915, with the orchestra conducted… …   Wikipedia

  • West Town, Chicago — West Town   Community area   Community Area 24 West Town North A …   Wikipedia

  • Polish Downtown (Chicago) — 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 for Polish Americans throughout North America as well.Fact|date=October… …   Wikipedia

  • Division Street (Chicago) — Division Street redirects here. For other uses, see Division Street (disambiguation). Division Street 1200 North Location: Chicago East end: Lake Shore Drive (100 E) in Chicago West end: Thatcher Avenue (8000 W) in …   Wikipedia

  • Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago) — Milwaukee Avenue Location: Chicago From: Intersection of Desplaines Street and Kinzie Street, Chicago To: Skokie Highway (U.S. Route 41) …   Wikipedia

  • Chopin Theatre — is an American for profit cultural organization located along Polonia Triangle in Wicker Park within the West Town community area of Chicago. Located in the heart of the old Polish Downtown along Division Street, it is situated in what …   Wikipedia

  • Blue Line (Chicago Transit Authority) —      Blue Line A Blue Line train in the Damen station Overview Type …   Wikipedia

  • Division (CTA) — Division is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority s L system, serving the Blue Line. The Division street station is at Polonia Triangle, the corner of Milwaukee, Ashland, and Division Street and serves the Wicker Park area of West Town,… …   Wikipedia

  • Division (CTA station) — Division …   Wikipedia

  • Línea Azul (Metro de Chicago) — Se ha sugerido que este artículo o sección sea fusionado con Plantilla:Línea Azul (Metro de Chicago) (discusión). Una vez que hayas realizado la fusión de artículos, pide la fusión de historiales aquí …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”