Credibility:

  • Original Reporting
  • On the Ground
  • Sources Cited
Original Reporting This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). This includes directly interviewing sources and research/analysis of primary source documents.
On the Ground Indicates that a Newsmaker/Newsmakers was/were physically present to report the article from some/all of the location(s) it concerns.
Sources Cited As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom.
The Polish Museum of America will celebrate Casimir Pulaski during his annual holiday. Credit: Julita Siegel / Provided

NOBLE SQUARE — Since 1977, Illinoisans have declared the first Monday of March an official state holiday in honor of Casimir Pulaski.

Perhaps no one has celebrated the day more than Chicago’s Polish community, who will honor his legacy during an annual celebration at the Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Ave.

From 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, local, state and national leaders will celebrate Pulaski Day in the museum’s Sabina P. Logisz Great Hall.

Admission is free and refreshments will be provided.

Pulaski fought for freedom in both Poland and America, and in that, he represents the ties between the two countries, said PMA volunteer Daniel Pogorzelski.

Participants “will be paying respects to a hero of two countries,” he said. “We are honoring the ties between these two different lands connected by the people who immigrated here over last two centuries.”

For more information on Monday’s event, visit the PMA’s website.

Pulaski was born in Warsaw in 1745. He fought against Polish King Stanislaw II. In 1775, Pulaski was exiled to France, where he met the marquis de Lafayette and Benjamin Franklin.

Pulaski came to America to fight in the Revolutionary War. At the direction of then-General George Washington, he established the Pulaski Legion, a group of other European soldiers. The Legion protected Charleston, S.C., from British occupation.

In 1779, at the age of 34, Pulaski died from battle wounds in Savannah, Georgia.

Monday’s festivities include a wreath-laying ceremony at Stanislaw Batowski’s painting of Pulaski at Savannah. 

The Polish Museum of America will celebrate Casimir Pulaski during his annual holiday. Credit: Julita Siegel / Provided

Museum hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday-Tuesday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesdays. Final admission is 45 minutes before close.

While you’re there, you can also check out The World of Tomorrow, a temporary display of artifacts from the Polish Pavilion during the 1939 World’s Far in New York City.

The exhibit ends May 10.

Artifacts from the Polish Pavilion during the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. Credit: Julita Siegel / Provided

Do stories like this matter to you? Subscribe to Block Club Chicago. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Already subscribe? Click here to support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.

hannah@blockclubchi.orgnnhannah@blockclubchi.org Twitter @hannahalani