Nine Dragon Walls are an important part of traditional Chinese architecture. In ancient Chinese culture, nine was considered an important number, often associated with the Emperor. The dragon was viewed as the soul of creation and a symbol of China's national spirit. Emperors in ancient China were considered to be the reincarnations of dragons. The Chinese word for the number nine is pronounced the same as the word for "long-" or "ever-" lasting, which explains some of its significance.&nbsp;<br><br>The number nine factor into much of ancient Chinese history, including the nine-rank system, the nine bestowments, and the nine familial exterminations. The nine rank system was a method of nominating civil servants during the Three Kingdoms era. The nine bestowments were awards given by the Emperor to various officials. The nine familial exterminations refers to a method of punishment in which those convicted of certain crimes were killed along with their entire family.<br>&nbsp;<br>Chicago's Chinatown, located on the city's South Side (Armour Square community area), is a thriving community that began during the late nineteenth century. Chinese people began coming to Chicago after the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Most of them traveled to Chicago from the west coast in an effort to escape anti-Chinese violence and tension. The first building featuring Chinese stylistic elements in the area was built in 1912.&nbsp;<br><br><br><br>

"Chinese in Chicago: 1870-1945" by Chinatown Museum Foundation, edited by Soo Lon Moy and Chuimei Ho

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Chinatown Chamber of Commerce official site

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Article about ancient Nine Dragon Wall in Beijing

Chinatown's Nine Dragon Wall was completed and dedicated by the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce on September 9, 2003. This monument is meant to resemble the Nine Dragon Wall in Beijing's Beihai Park. In China, there are three ancient Nine Dragon Walls still in existence; one in Datong, one in Shanxi Province, and one in Beijing.

Nine Dragon Wall

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This tour includes a variety of museums, cultural sites, and places of historic significance related to the diverse groups of people who call Chicago home. Highlights of the tour include the Swedish American Museum, Polish Museum of America, the National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial, the National Hellenic Museum, the Ukrainian National Museum, the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture, and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

<p>Kurt Mathiasson, a Swedish immigrant, opened the
Swedish American Museum in 1976 inside a small log cabin. Wanting to preserve
Swedish culture in America, Mathiasson displayed family histories within the
museum.&nbsp; In 1987, the museum moved to its
current location and was visited by the King of Sweden.&nbsp; The museum underwent a major renovation in
1997 to house a new gallery and the Nordiska Museet exhibit.&nbsp; In 2000-2001, the museum opened its permanent
exhibits and the Children’s museum.</p>

Located in Chicago's Swedish cultural center Andersonville, the Swedish American Museum is the “cultural center for the education, celebration and interpretation of Swedish American history and culture in Chicago, Illinois” (“About”).  The museum serves to honor and celebrate Swedish culture, history, customs, traditions, and the Swedish immigrant experience.  

Home to over 12,000 artifacts, the museum has a special exhibits gallery that hosts 4 exhibits a year as well as a permanent exhibit entitled “The Dream of America-Swedish Immigration to Chicago” that is updated annually; the exhibit is about immigration to Chicago at the end of the 1800s and features artifacts, immigrant experiences, and immigrant perspectives.  The 24,000 square foot museum hosts events, language classes, programs, and field trips, as well as the Brunk Children's Museum and the Nordic Family Genealogy Center.  

Swedish American Museum

<p>Historically
Germans have made up one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States.
Nearly six million immigrated to America from 1820-1930; they were compelled to
leave Germany for reasons such as population growth, poverty, religious persecution,
and war. Many German immigrants in the mid-1800s chose to settle in the Great
Plains. Many passed through Chicago on the journey west; some skilled workers
and their families decided to stay in the new, growing city. As early as 1850,
Germans and those of German descent made up the largest ethnicity in Chicago. </p>

<p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Throughout the 1800s and early 1900s the German American community
remained connected through a variety of fraternal organizations, clubs,
churches, businesses, and German-language newspapers; many Chicago public
schools even had German language programs. Expression of German cultural declined
sharply due to the World Wars, and many of these groups vanished or were
Anglicized. As relations between the United States and Germany began to improve
in the 1950s, some German Americans sought the creation of a national
organization to represent their interests. These efforts were spearheaded by
Leonard Enders, the editor of a German newspaper, who published an editorial
calling for such an organization. On December 12, 1958, a group of German
American representatives gathered in Chicago and founded the Deutsch
Amerikanischer National Kongress (German American National Congress) also known
as DANK. Since then, DANK has worked to preserve and promote German language
and culture in the United States. In 1987 it successfully lobbied to have
October 6 designated national German American Day. Today DANK has chapters all
over the nation; it operates a series of German language schools and publishes
a bi-monthly German and English magazine, the <i>German-American Journal</i>. </span></p>

<p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Chicago’s DANK Haus German American Cultural Center was
established in 1967 by the Chicago North chapter of DANK. The group purchased a
six-story, 77,000 square foot building constructed in Lincoln Square, a historically-German
neighborhood. Built in 1927, it was designed by German American architect Paul
Gerhardt Sr., who designed numerous public and commercial buildings in the
Chicago area. It originally housed a fraternal organization called the Three
Links Association. DANK Haus today is one of the centers of German American
culture in Chicago. In addition to housing the Chicago North chapter, the
cultural center also serves as the meeting place for numerous smaller German
clubs and societies. It houses a language school, offering courses for people
of all ages as well as classes in German history and theater. &nbsp;The center is home to the DANK Haus Museum,
containing artifacts on Chicago’s German American community; the Scharpenberg
Art Gallery, featuring rotating art and history exhibits; and the DANK
Bibliothek (DANK Library) which contains over 7,000 mostly-German-language
books. Several rooms are offered as venues to rent for events, such as the
Marunde Ballroom, Skyline Lounge, and Brandenburg Room. </span></p>

The DANK Haus German American Cultural Center in Chicago is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of German language and culture. The center has its roots with DANK, the German American National Congress, which was founded in 1959. The current building in Lincoln Square was purchased in 1967. The cultural center hosts a variety of events exploring German heritage, culture, and language. It also serves as the meeting place for many German clubs, and is home to a language school, a museum, a library, and an art gallery. It is a member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance. 

DANK Haus German American Cultural Center

<p>The number of
Cambodians immigrating to the United States was negligible until 1975. That
year the Communist Party of Kampuchea, commonly known as the Khmer Rouge,
seized control of the Southeast Asian country after a bloody civil war. Over
the next several years the Khmer Rouge attempted to transform Cambodia into a
classless agrarian society and launched a brutal campaign of genocide to crush
any dissent. Intellectuals and the well-educated in particular were targeted;
city residents were forced into labor camps; doctors, teachers, scientists,
activists, artists, monks, the wealthy, and people from minority groups faced
execution. Many were gunned down en masse and buried in open spaces that were
soon dubbed “killing fields.” More than two million people were killed over a
four-year span. In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia and removed the Khmer Rouge
regime. </p>

<p>Hundreds of thousands
of Cambodians immigrated to the United States during and immediately after the
Khmer Rouge regime. Most settled in Massachusetts and California, but several
thousand came to Chicago, where they concentrated in the Uptown and Albany Park
neighborhoods. Today it is estimated around 3,000 or more Cambodians and their
descendants live in the city. In 1976 the Cambodian Association of Illinois was
formed; originally a chapter of the Cambodian Association of America, it
separated to become an independent entity in 1983. The society’s original
mission was to provide support services to help Cambodian immigrants adjust to
life in America. It provided aid, offered English lessons, and taught
Cambodians how to do tasks such as rent apartments and go grocery shopping.
Today the association’s goals have shifted more towards keeping the Cambodian
American community connected; preserving its culture; and remembering the
Cambodian Genocide. </p>

<p><span>In 1998 the Cambodian
Association of Illinois purchased a building on Lawrence Avenue with the intent
of opening a museum and memorial. Over a million dollars in funding was raised
for construction and renovations. The Cambodian American Heritage Museum and
Killing Fields Memorial opened to the public in 2004. In 2015 the museum was
incorporated as an independent entity (while still a part of the CAI) and
changed its name to the National Cambodian Heritage Museum &amp; Killing Fields
Memorial. The museum currently contains one permanent exhibit, “Remembering the
Killing Fields,” which tells the story of the Cambodian Genocide with images
and artifacts from the event. Another section of the building houses the
Killing Fields Memorial, the first permanent monument to the victims of the
Cambodian Genocide. It includes a Wall of Remembrance, where a growing list of
victims is etched onto a series of glass panels. The museum still serves as the
headquarters of the Cambodian Association of Illinois, which operates a gift
shop and a research library containing various resources on Cambodia, Cambodian
Americans, Buddhism, and the Khmer language. The museum and CAI also operate a
cultural arts program that offers traditional dance, music, and language
lessons. </span></p>

The National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Cambodia and connecting the Cambodian American community together. Much of the museum is focused on the Cambodian Genocide, during which over two million people died under the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. It is one of only two Cambodian museums in the United States and is home to the Killing Fields Memorial, the first permanent monument to the victims of the Cambodian Genocide. The museum is also home to the Cambodian Association of Illinois, which provides support services to the state’s Cambodian American community and offers a variety of cultural and language classes. It is a member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

National Cambodian Heritage Museum & Killing Fields Memorial

The Muslim Community Center (MCC) was founded in 1969 by a small, diverse group of 15 Muslims. The mosque has grown to be an important center for Muslim religious and cultural life in Chicago, and as such is one of the largest Muslim organizations in the city. MCC is known as a "mother" organization because other mosques and Islamic organizations have emerged from it. MCC operates two other other locations: the Muslim Educational Center (and mosque) in Morton Grove, and MCC Academy in Skokie.

Muslim Community Center

<div>Polish immigrants left central Europe and established homes in cities such as Chicago throughout the middle 19th century. The immigrants created a large Polish enclave in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, where St. Mary's stands today. Like many historic Chicago churches, the building serves as a physical reminder to its 19th century past. The congregation was one of the dozens&nbsp;of churches established by immigrants that served as the center of a largely self-sustaining neighborhood.&nbsp;<br><br>Immigrants of Polish descent&nbsp;arrived in Chicago and established communities in Bucktown and other communities that had previously been open fields and pasture lands. (residents called male goats, "bucks," which led this area to be called Bucktown). &nbsp;Although Polish immigrants grew to include a significant portion of Chicago's overall population, they often enjoyed less business and political influence than immigrants from German states and other European nations and principalities.&nbsp;</div><div><br>The Polish population grew steadily and by, 1899, St. Mary of the Angels Parish became one of the five Catholic parishes on the northwest side of Chicago organized by the Resurrectionist Fathers which grew out of St. Stanislaus Parish.&nbsp;<br></div><div><br></div><div>The first pastor, Reverend Francis Gordon, laid the cornerstone of the parish school on July 2, 1899. Roughly 20,000 people witnessed the dedication ceremony but the new church took eight years to build, from September 28, 1911 until 1920, delayed by shortages of manpower and materials due to World War I. Nevertheless, by 1912, St. Mary of the Angels parish become one of the largest&nbsp;parishes in the Archdiocese. On May 30, 1920, Archbishop Mudelein dedicated the new church. <br><br>The building was designed by architect Henry Schlacks, and modeled on some aspects of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Several additions have taken place since that time, and&nbsp;in the 1930’s, the auditorium became known as the “Polish Aragon Ballroom” as hundreds attended weekly dances and concerts.</div><div><br></div><div>With the construction of the Kennedy Expressway in 1960, a sizable number of families and students left the parish, and, by 1988, the church building was closed and slated for demolition due to deteriorating conditions. At the request of Cardinal Bernardin, then Archbishop of Chicago, the priests of the Prelature of Opus Dei assumed responsibility for the parish in 1991; repairs ensued and lasted throughout the 1990s.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

A landmark of Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood, St. Mary of the Angels Parish was dedicated by Cardinal (formerly known as an Archbishop) George Mundelein in 1920. The congregation was established by Polish immigrants in 1897. This structure replaced a previous church and took many years to construct due to the outbreak of World War I. 

St. Mary of the Angels

<p>The National
Museum of Puerto Rican Art and Culture is the only museum in the nation
dedicated to showing Puerto Rican Art and cultures through out the year.
Residing in the Renovated Humboldt Park Stables and Receptory at 3015 West Division
Street, the museum was founded by Puerto Rican community members in Chicago in
2000 and was added as the latest museum in the park in February of 2012. The building
itself as Queen Anne architectural features designed by Fromman and Jebson
during 1895-1896. During this time, Danish immigrant Jens Jenson was named
superintendent of the park. Currently, the museum is run by president Billy
Ocasio. </p>

<p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the 1940s, there was a significant
wave of Puerto Rican migration in Chicago. Puerto Ricans scattered in multiple
neighborhoods such as Lakeview and Lincoln Park then by the 1960s moved to Humboldt
Park and West Town due to urban renewal programs. As a result, Humboldt became
the official <i>barrio </i>of Chicago. According
to Billy Ocasio, the president of the museum, he thought Humboldt was a perfect
place to hold the museum because it was the center of Puerto Rican culture in
Chicago and as a result, the Stables were used to be the heart and shrine of
Puerto Rican culture. <br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A
social group called <i>Los Caballeros de San
Juan </i>was involved in promoting the integration of Puerto Rican migrants into
Chicago life. They created the event called the <i>El Dia de San Juan</i> which was later named the famous Puerto Rican
Parade. On the first Puerto Rican parade, however, there was a police shooting
of a young Puerto Rican man
that leads to a riot that also drew flame from police brutality and from unfair
living conditions and aid such as education, housing, health, and employment. Division
Street, the area that held the parade became known as <i>Paseo Boricua </i>which is known for the two Puerto Rican Flags and Puerto
Rican shops and restaurants.</span></p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The building
in itself was created to display Humboldt Park as a “pastoral” park. The first function
was to be the office of the then superintendent Jens Jenson. The park was
constructed during a time where Chicagoans were trying to maintain public parks
and create neighborhoods around the parks. By doing so, the city was able to
make more profits from these high paying neighborhoods. The parks were a symbol
of natural beauty that was famous for their recreational paths and horseback. The
206-acre Humboldt Park was meant to be a place to honor Baron Alexander von Humboldt
who was a German naturalist and as an acknowledgment to the surrounding German community.
As the lone standing building in Humboldt, the stables were left vacant for a
number of years during the mid-1900’s. It wasn’t until 1990 where the Chicago
Park District made plans to restore the historic site which was finished in
1997. The Puerto Rican Museum then inhabited in the stables and opened in 2007.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Today,
the National Museum of Puerto Rican Art and Culture hosts a variety of
workshops and exhibits that teach kids, teens, and adults artistic and creative
skills that are focused around Puerto Rican Culture. Aimed to teach young
Puerto Ricans about their ancestors’ history on the island, the art workshops teach
kids about painting, making collages, and sculpting. In addition, the current
exhibits reflect the Puerto Rican history such as the “Circo de la Ausencia,” “Expresion
de Barrio” and “Galeria Chicago.” They also host various events that recognize events
that have had happened to Puerto Ricans through out history. For example, they are
holding the 5th annual Raices Gala which is the anniversary of
Hurricane Maria and acknowledgment of the restoration of Puerto Rico. They are also
hosting a Barrio Arts Fest that brings local artists, performers, and cooks together.&nbsp;The
National Museum of Puerto Rican Art and Culture do what they can to maintain
the historic significance of Puerto Ricans.</p><p><p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The National Museum of Puerto Rican Art and Culture do
what they can to maintain the historic significance of Puerto Ricans. In the eyes
of the nation, the museum is the only facility that is invested in celebrating and
showing Puerto Rican culture as the main focus. In the eyes of Puerto Ricans, the
museum is a center of their heritage. While other museums may offer snippets of
Puerto Rican history in temporary exhibits, the National Museum offers a
complete exposure of years of Puerto Rican history. The Museum and the
neighborhood have transformed from being a German, Eastern-centric that has only
been intended to be a natural relief to an urbanizing Chicago, to the heart of Chicago’s
Puerto Rican culture that hosts to the Puerto Rican Parade and has been a home
for them. The National Museum of Puerto Rican Art and Culture gives Chicago
Puerto Rican youth an opportunity to understand their heritage and culture in a
deeper and more interactive setting that would surely live on for years to
come.</p><br></p>

Located in the historic Humboldt Park Stables and Receptory, the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture was founded in 2001 to celebrate Puerto Rican heritage and culture. The center offers seasonal exhibitions and programming as well as community and art programs exhibitions, workshops, films, and an arts & crafts festival.  The museum has a courtyard decorated with mosaic artwork, two galleries, performance spaces, and art classrooms.  Current renovations are set to include a café, a gift shop, and the main gallery.  

National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture

<p>The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art was founded by 1971
by art collectors Dr. Achilles and Vera Chreptowsky and sculptors Konstantin
Milonadis and Mychajlo Urban to recognized Ukrainian artists.&nbsp; The museum first emerged as an alternative
exhibition venue and housed 8 exhibits a year.&nbsp;
The museum was originally housed in 2 floors of an old three-story
brownstone house until it moved to its new location in 1978 that included a
larger exhibition space, library, and archives.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Nestled in the Ukrainian Village in Chicago’s West Town, the Ukrainian Institute of Art offers a variety of exhibitions drawn from their collections that demonstrate the Ukrainian and American experience. The organizations also offers special programs such as concerts and lectures throughout the year. The museum's collection is centered around a number of Ukrainian-American abstracts and minimalist work from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. The collection includes sculptures, paintings, prints, photography, fiber and ceramics.  In addition to its art exhibits that feature an international network of artists, musicians, and writers, the museum hosts an annual live silent auction, musical programs, and artists workshops. 

Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art

<p>Ukrainian migration to the United States started in the second half of the nineteenth century and came in a series of waves. The first major immigration wave lasted from 1870 to 1899. These immigrants consisted mainly of poor farmworkers seeking better economic opportunities. Many of them settled in the rural areas of Texas, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania; often they took up farming or worked in coal mines. The second wave lasted from 1900 to the beginning of World War I in 1914. These immigrants sought factory jobs and moved to industrial cities such as Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The third wave was from 1920 to 1939; these were political immigrants, driven by the chaos caused by Ukraine’s declaration of independence in 1918, and its forced absorption into the Soviet Union four years later. Soviet dominance of Ukraine following World War II spurred another wave from 1948 to 1955, this time consisting of many intellectuals, artists, and political dissidents. The last major wave of immigration came in the 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine regained its independence. Today it is believed that between one and two million Americans are of Ukrainian descent.</p><p>Chicago is home to the most prominent Ukrainian American community in the United States, in the historic Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Located around the 2300 and 2400 blocks of Chicago Avenue in the West Town area, the neighborhood acquired its identity when Ukrainian immigrants began to outnumber other groups in the early 1900s. Several historic Ukrainian churches, including the St. Nicholas Greek Catholic Church, formed the centerpiece of the Ukrainian Village. Ukrainians from every major immigration wave have lived in the neighborhood; it contains a plethora of Ukrainian-owned businesses and cultural institutions. Several portions of the Ukrainian Village have been designated a Chicago Landmark District.</p><p>The Ukrainian National Museum was established in 1952 by scholars Olexa Hankewych, Julian Kamenetcky, and Orest Horodysky, with financial support from activist Dr. Myroslav Simynovycz. They had come to the United States during the post-World War II immigration wave; their original goal for the museum was to collect and preserve materials that would then be brought back to Ukraine when it became independent again. It has since evolved and now works to preserve Ukrainian culture and educate the public about the history and contributions of Ukrainian Americans. The museum contains thousands of artifacts including large collections of folk art and fine art; religious objects from Archbishop Andrey Sheptytsky; items brought by immigrants; and Ukrainian American veteran memorabilia. In addition to hosting events and temporary exhibits on Ukrainian art and history, the museum has several permanent exhibits including ones dedicated to Pysanky (traditional decorated Easter eggs); the Ukrainian pavilion at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair; the 1932-1933 Holodomor genocide; and Ukrainian American veterans. The museum also has a library and archives (open by appointment only) containing thousands of books and documents on Ukraine, Ukrainian immigration, and Ukrainian American organizations.</p>

<p>This Chicago museum was founded in 1952 by Ukrainian scholars fleeing the Soviet Union and offers exhibits and programs that help share Ukrainian history along with the experience and perspectives of Americans of Ukrainian heritage. The museum is located in Chicago's historic Ukrainian Village neighborhood, a longtime center of the Ukrainian American community. The museum contains thousands of artifacts from folk art to war memorabilia and a library and archives. The museum also hosts many programs around the year including art exhibits, cultural activities, and community events.</p>

Ukrainian National Museum 

<p>People of Polish
descent have lived in the United States for centuries, but immigration in large
numbers did not begin until the mid-1800s. The first and longest wave of
immigration was from the 1850s to the 1920s, and was driven by the political
and economic situation in Poland, which at the time had been partitioned among
multiple countries. A second wave came following World War II and the communist
takeover of Poland. The third and final wave occurred in the 1980s amid unrest
in Poland which resulted in the imposition of martial law. Early on Chicago
became one of the primary destinations for Polish immigrants in the United
States; by the 1930s Poles constituted the largest ethnic group in the city.
They formed a thriving neighborhood community sometimes nicknamed “Polonia.”
The Polish Americans established a large number of separate institutions
including churches, schools, Polish-language newspapers, small businesses, and
fraternal organizations to keep the ethnic group connected. </p>

<p>The Polish Roman Catholic
Union of America (PRCUA) was founded in Chicago in 1873 as the first major
Polish fraternal organization in the United States. It was noteworthy for
operating social programs, opening an orphanage and hospital, and establishing
an insurance system for members. In 1913, the PRCUA constructed a building at
Milwaukee Avenue and Augusta Boulevard for its national headquarters. In 1935
the organization decided to establish a museum dedicated to Polish culture; the
Museum and Archives of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America was opened on
the third floor of the building; it did not become available for public viewing
until 1937. It was the first museum in the United States ever created for a
single ethnic group. Later the museum would become its own separate
organization, renamed simply The Polish Museum of America, but it continues to
share the original building with the PRCUA. </p>

<p>A significant chunk of
the museum’s collection came from two separate events in the early years of its
existence. In 1939 the Polish government sponsored a large exhibit at the 1939
New York World’s Fair in honor of the twentieth anniversary of Poland’s
independence. When World War II began in September, the contents of the exhibit
could not be transported back to Poland, so the museum arranged to purchase and
preserve most of it. In 1941 the estate of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a famous
pianist and Polish politician, donated many of his personal possessions to the
museum. </p>

<p><span>The Polish Museum of
America owns a substantial collection of items relating to Poland and Polish
Americans; only a small portion is on display at any given time. Noteworthy
artifacts include artwork and photographs; documents from Revolutionary War
Generals Thaddeus Kosciuszko and Casimir Pulaski; letters from Polish kings
dating back to the 1500s; the archive of Congressman Dan Rostenkowski; artwork
from the 1939 World’s Fair, such as a stained-glass window; and many
Polish-manufactured model trains. The museum includes both a library and
archives containing thousands of documents (in multiple languages), books,
photographs, videos, music, and oral history recordings on the history and
culture of Poland and Polish Americans. The library itself predates the museum
by twenty years, having been established by in 1915 by the PRCUA, and serves as
the headquarters of the Polish Genealogical Society of America (PMAL). The
library is open to the public, while an appointment is needed to access the
archives. The museum also hosts a number of cultural events, lectures, and
temporary exhibits throughout the year. </span></p>

The Polish Museum of America is the largest ethnic museum in Chicago and one of the first ethnic museums in the United States. It was founded in 1935 by a Polish fraternal organization in the city’s historically-Polish neighborhood. The museum is focused on preserving Polish history and culture, and contains thousands of artifacts and resources on Poland and Polish Americans. The museum occupies a building that was constructed in 1913 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition to the museum, the building is also the headquarters for both the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America and the Polish Genealogical Society of America.

The Polish Museum of America

<span>The Swedish Club of Chicago, listed on the National Register for Historic Places, represents a time when&nbsp;European&nbsp;immigration dominated the American-urban landscape&nbsp;during the Industrial Revolution - the Swedes were a big part of that story in Chicago and the Midwest.&nbsp;<br></span><br><span>More than&nbsp;one million Swedes permanently emigrated to Chicago&nbsp;between 1845 and 1930, pushed by Sweden's&nbsp;overpopulation&nbsp;and late industrialized economy, and&nbsp;pulled to Chicago&nbsp;by the&nbsp;abundance of&nbsp;agricultural land in the Midwest and the Plains, as well as Chicago's ever-growing labor market.&nbsp;By 1910, one-fifth of all people who were born in Sweden lived in the United States; only&nbsp;Ireland and Norway lost a higher proportion of their popuation in the migration to America.<sub>1&nbsp;<br></sub><br><div>The genesis of the&nbsp;Swedish Club of Chicago is tied to&nbsp;Föreningen Freja, an immigrant singing society started in 1869 (incorporated,1874) that provided insurance and sick benefits to its members. Föreningen Freja went dormant from 1881 to 1886, so some of its members, in 1882,&nbsp;merged with a non-singing club known as the&nbsp;Svenska Klubben (The Swedish Club) in 1882. This social club was located at 155 East Chicago Avenue. Föreningen Freja returned in 1887, but by 1889 both clubs consolidated and formed the Svenska Glee-Klubben i Chicago (the Swedish Glee Club in Chicago). And then, in 1896, they moved to the Lasalle location that now exists on the National Register for Historic Places.<sub>2</sub>&nbsp;</div><div><br>In 1906 Svenska Glee-Klubben changed its name to Svenska Klubben and&nbsp;applied for incorporation in the State of Illinois in 1923, but the Secretary of State refused to</div><div>incorporate an organization with a foreign name. Hence, they were renamed&nbsp;"The Swedish Club of Chicago" (incorporated July 13, 1923). At that time, they adopted by laws that stated:&nbsp;<br><br></div><blockquote>&nbsp;The object of this association shall be: to preserve Swedish Language, Customs,&nbsp;Song, Music, Art, and Industry; to promote Social Intercourse; to maintain a Club&nbsp;House and Library.<sub>3</sub></blockquote>Over time, as immigration numbers waned and intermarriage depleted the purely-Swedish population (as is the case with most of the immigrants that arrived prior to, and during, the World War eras), the club transitioned mainly to a social club. And then, by 1884, rising costs and a rapidly declining membership forced its closure.<br><br>Today, like many immigrant groups, the enclave may be missing but the spirit lives on through a historical society; The Swedish-American Historical Society. On their site, it notes:&nbsp;<br></span><h3><br></h3><div><blockquote>The Swedish–American Historical Society grew out of the national 1948 Swedish Pioneer Centennial celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Swedish immigrants in the Midwest. In Chicago, 18,000 people filled the stadium on June 4th to hear President Truman, Prince Bertil of Sweden, Carl Sandburg, and representatives from many Swedish–American organizations. Four months later, on October 15, 1948, the leaders of the centennial celebration met in Chicago and formed the Society, originally called the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society.<br><br><b>Our Mission</b><br><br>The Swedish–American Historical Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1948, with the mission of recording and interpreting the Swedish presence in America. The society is devoted to the mission of studying the Swedish emigration, its history and culture of the Swedes in North America through research, publications, programs and archives.<br><br>In 1983, the Board of Directors approved a change in the organization's name to the Swedish–American Historical Society. By then it had moved well beyond a focus on just the "pioneer" period and serves to promote interest in the entire Swedish presence in America, from the first settlers on the Delaware in 1638 to the present day.<sub>4</sub></blockquote></div><span><div><br></div><br><div><br></div><br></span><br>

More than one million Swedes permanently emigrated to Chcago between 1845 and 1930, some stayed and others moved on to rural (farming) locations. By 1910, one-fifth of all people who were born in Sweden lived in the United States. Only Ireland and Norway lost a higher proportion of their population in the migration to America. The Swedish Club of Chicago adopted bylaws in 1922 that stated, "The object of this association shall be: to preserve Swedish Language, Customs,
Song, Music, Art, and Industry; to promote Social Intercourse; to maintain a Club
House and Library." (Source: Swedish-American Historical Society Library)

Swedish Club of Chicago

<p>Background on the house&nbsp;</p><p>Originally home to banker Samuel Mayo Nickerson, the Driehaus Museum is a 19th century residential building of Chicago.&nbsp;In 1879, Nickerson acquired the home from Buring &amp;
Whitehouse of Chicago, designers of the First National Bank where Nickerson had
been president since 1867. The interior
was designed by William August Fiedler, George A. Schastey &amp; Co., and R.W.
Bates &amp; Co.</p><p>Prominent Features</p><p>The&nbsp;&nbsp;Driehaus Museum is home to the Driehaus Collection of Fine Arts. The collection features works by Tiffany, the famous glass &amp; furniture maker, and the Herter Brothers. The collection features both furniture and artwork. The collection is also not limited to American works but also features European works as well.</p><p>Tours</p><p>Tours can be guided and arranged but the museum also allows unguided walk-through. There are many exhibits throughout the year which can be attended.</p><p>Admissions</p><p>$20 Adult<br>$12.50 Senior (65+)&nbsp;<br>$10 Student with valid I.D.<br>$10 Youth (6-12 years)*</p>

The Driehaus Museum was founded by the Philanthropist Richard H. Driehaus in 2003. The museum is housed in the former home of banker Samuel Mayo Nickerson, and underwent a five-year restoration before becoming the museum. The museum offers original furnishings and historic pieces from the Driehaus Collection of Fine Arts.  The Driehaus Museum also features an extensive collection of fine furnishing from the turn of the 19th century into the new millennium of the 20th century. 

Driehaus Museum 

In 1965, a plaza called Pioneer Court was built on the site of Point Du Sable's homestead as part of the construction of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of America building. In October 2010, the Michigan Avenue Bridge was renamed DuSable Bridge in honor of Pointe DuSable. Previously a small street named De Saible Street had been named after him.<br><br>The sculptor&nbsp;Erik Blome used the original author of this statue&nbsp;(Savalas Williams) as the "outline"&nbsp;model for this historic statue of the founder of Chicago. No portrait of&nbsp;DuSable is known to exist, so&nbsp;the sculptor&nbsp;had only a&nbsp;picture of what DuSable might have looked like that was&nbsp;created for a book about the history of Chicago in&nbsp;the late 19th century.&nbsp;As a result, Mr.&nbsp;Blome wanted to find a young&nbsp;African American to serve as a model. This&nbsp;allowed the sculptor&nbsp;to blend some of the features of imagined caricature of DuSable with an actual person. <br><br>Savalas Williams recorded his memory of his first meeting with Blome:&nbsp;"So at the time I was working at McDonald's (2009) and Mr. Blome pulls up to pay for his food and said, 'you would be great! have you ever modeled?' Of course I said no, and he explained to me who he was and who Mr. DuSable was and I told Mr. Blome that I would love to help him create the statue."<br><br>A vandal defaced the statue on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2015. The statue was quickly restored and led to the following comment by Chicago mayor&nbsp;Rahm Emanuel.&nbsp;"The Jean Baptiste DuSable statue commemorates our city's founding father, and the defacement of this treasure disrespects all Chicagoans and attacks the heritage of our heroes and the common values that they stood for — values that we stand behind as a city and that we also celebrate today by honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy,"1<br><h2><br></h2><h2>About Jean Baptiste Point DuSable</h2><br>It states in the Chicago Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Chicago:<br><br><blockquote>&nbsp;<i>I</i><i>n the late eighteenth century the small Native American and métis community that had settled at Chicago retained close ties to the French community in southern Illinois as well as to communities in Mackinac and Detroit. Among the most prominent was <b>Jean Baptiste Point DuSable</b>, an Afro-French fur trader whose partners traded along the Illinois River from Peoria to Cahokia. DuSable himself was trading during the 1770s near present-day Michigan City, where he was arrested briefly in 1779 by British officials who suspected him of rebel sympathies. <br><br>By the late 1780s he began developing a farm near the mouth of the Chicago River, where he also did some trading. He erected a spacious five-room “mansion” with a long covered porch modeled after French creole homes in the American Bottom. DuSable prospered during the 1790s, entertained travelers who passed over the portage, and was highly respected by both Native American and métis inhabitants. In 1800, however, he sold his holdings at Chicago and moved to Spanish Upper Louisiana near present-day St. Charles, Missouri.</i><br><br><i>Most houses at Chicago were less imposing than the DuSable residence. Houses were constructed of logs, but generally following the old French-Canadian fashion, with roughhewn logs set vertically in a trench rather than placed horizontally. The logs were chinked with grass and mud, then covered with either bark or lumber. The structures featured high-pitched, thatched or shingled roofs, with a fireplace and rude chimney in the center rather than at one end of the dwelling.</i><br><br><i>In 1803, the United States built&nbsp;</i><i>Fort Dearborn</i><i>&nbsp;on the south side of the Chicago River. By 1810 settlement at Chicago clustered at several places. North of the river's mouth were the Kinzie family, whose patriarch John Kinzie occupied DuSable's old mansion.2</i></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><br>

Fur trader Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable became the first non-Native American resident of the area that is now known as Chicago. DuSable was of African descent and came to the region from the French colony of Saint Domingue (After winning independence from France, the Saint Domingue became known as Haiti). History books have recognized DuSable as the first settler of non-European descent in the area, having established a fur-trading outpost in 1779 when the area was a largely uninhabited swamp. The state of Illinois officially recoginzed DuSable as "the father" of the city of Chicago in 1968. Decades later, Chicago's Haitian-American community raised funds and hired sculptor Erik Blome to create a statue to honor DuSable. The statue was dedicated in 2009 and is one of several landmarks in Chicago that honor the city's founder.  

Founder of Chicago statue Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable

<p>The Chicago Cultural Center was designed by Shepley, Rutan &amp; Coolidge and built in 1897 to serve as&nbsp;the city’s first central library. The building was deemed a national historic place in 1972 and a Chicago landmark in 1976. In 1991, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs designated the library to become the Chicago Cultural Center.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The building is&nbsp;made of rare imported marbles, polished brass, fine hardwoods, and mosaics of Favrile glass, mother-of-pearl and colored stone. The Chicago Cultural Center&nbsp;is home to the world’s largest stained glass&nbsp;Tiffany Dome, which measures&nbsp;38 feet in diameter and contains&nbsp;30,000 pieces of glass. The building also features&nbsp;the Healy &amp;&nbsp;Millet Dome, a renaissance-style piece that&nbsp;measures&nbsp;40 feet in diameter and is made of 50,000 pieces of&nbsp;glass. The neoclassical Beaux Arts style architecture was influenced by buildings at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The interior of the Chicago Cultural Center&nbsp;is made of rare marbles, mosaics, and coffered ceilings. The first floor houses several galleries, the visitor’s center, a studio theater, and a dance studio. On the second floor stands the Claudia Cassidy Theater, the Healy Millet Dome, and a gallery. Preston Bradley Hall and the Tiffany Dome reside on the third floor while more galleries and exhibit halls are on the fourth.</p>

Famous for its two stained glass domes, the Chicago Cultural Center is an architectural beauty that offers free music, dance, theater events, as well as films, lectures, art exhibitions, and family events/programs for the City of Chicago. These events honor international, national, regional, and local arts, musicians, and performers. The Chicago Cultural Center was designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and built in 1897 to serve as the city’s first central library. The building was deemed a national historic place in 1972 and a Chicago landmark in 1976. In 1991, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs designated the library to become the Chicago Cultural Center.   

Chicago Cultural Center

<div>One of the oldest public buildings in Chicago -- and one of the few major buildings constructed before the 1871 Great Fire that is&nbsp;still standing, the Old St. Patrick's Church has been a landmark of Chicago's West Town since 1856. The church's congregation dates back to 1848 when it was established by first-generation immigrants from Ireland.&nbsp;<br><br>Irish immigrants held their first service after formally establishing St. Patrick's church on Easter morning in 1846. St. Patrick's became the first English-speaking parish in the city. The current building was erected in 1856 and opened on Christmas Day. <br><br>The church is a monument to the efforts of Irish immigrants in Chicago. Irish Immigrants numbered in the hundreds in 1830s. By the time of the Civil War, the city boasted the fourth-largest&nbsp;urban Irish population in America. Unlike other leading cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston, these early arrivals came to Chicago within decades of the city's founding. Irish laborers and business leaders were influential in building the city. Irish laborers built the Illinois &amp; Michigan Canal (1836–1848) in addition to many of city's wharves, railroads, stockyards, and steel mills. With the arrival of Irish and other immigrants, Chicago became the world's fastest growing city towards the latter part of the 19th Century.&nbsp;<br><br>The Catholic influence on Chicago, notably from the Irish, proved highly influential. Catholic schools became prominent, with many nuns serving as teachers. Catholic churches provide&nbsp;numerous social services that aided incoming immigrants and. Over time, the growing Chicago police force and democratic party had ties to the Irish and Catholicism. Most notably, two long-time mayors (part of the "machine,") were Richard J. Daley and his son Richard M. Daley, both Irish Catholics.&nbsp;<br><br>The current church building was designed in a Romanesque style by two of Chicago’s earliest practicing architects Augustus Bauer and Asher Carter, inspired by the Celtic art exhibit at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and the Book of Kells in Ireland. Thomas A. O’Shaughnessy designed, constructed, and personally installed the 15 stained-glass windows of Old St. Patrick’s between 1912 and 1922. Meanwhile, the twelve&nbsp;side windows were inspired by the Celtic designs of Ireland’s Book of Kells.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In 1956, as part of the 100-year anniversary, the first St. Patrick’s Day downtown parade was restarted to commemorate the event. &nbsp;And then, in 1985, The first Old St. Patrick’s “World’s Largest Block Party” draws 5,000 people to Des Plaines Street and has since grown to become a &nbsp;large church and civic event.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In the late 1970s and early 1980s, membership had fallen dramatically, but by 1989, Old St. Patrick’s membership rose to 2,000 and boasted a mailing list of more than 10,000. Meanwhile, Old St. Patrick’s opened the first new Catholic grammar school in the Chicago Archdiocese region in more than a quarter of a century.&nbsp;</div>

Built in 1856, Old St. Patrick's Church predates the Great Chicago Fire and has long served as one of the landmarks of Chicago's West Town. The church served the growing Irish community of Chicago during the 19th century. Today, it is home to a large and active congregation and many events, including a festival known as "World's Largest Block Party."

Old St. Patrick's Church (St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church)

<p>

</p><p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Hundreds of thousands of Greeks immigrated to the United
States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in search of better
economic opportunities. Most of them settled in large metropolitan areas,
particularly New York, Boston, and Chicago. Many Greeks in Chicago lived
together in a neighborhood that came to be known as Greektown. Originally
Greektown was located around the Halstead, Harrison, and Blue Island areas, but
the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway and the University of Illinois at
Chicago forced the community to move several blocks north. It was once one of
the most vibrant ethnic communities in the city; today it is primarily a
commercial district, home to many Greek restaurants and other businesses. </span></p><p>

</p><p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In 1983 the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center was
founded in Chicago to promote Greek culture. It did not have a physical facility
open to the public until 1992 when it opened in a location on Michigan Avenue.
In 2004 the museum moved to a temporary space in the fourth floor of a building
on South Adams Street in Greektown and announced its intentions to build a
permanent location. After years of planning and fundraising, construction began
on the new museum building in 2010 at the corner of Van Buren and Halsted
Streets, on the site of a former hardware store. By this time the museum had
been renamed the National Hellenic Museum as part of a rebranding effort in
2008. The new museum building was completed and opened to the public in 2011.
The four-story, 40,000 square-foot facility incorporates elements of Greek architecture
from various periods of history; it was designed by Chicago-based Greek American
architect Demetrios Stavrianos, whose notable works include the U.S. Capitol
Visitor’s Center and the Food and Drug Administration Headquarters. In 2017
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the museum, the first Greek head of
state to do so. </span></p><p>

</p><p><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In the years following the opening of the new building,
the museum has been able to greatly expand its collection and operations. Today
it possesses over 10,000 artifacts relating to Greek and Greek American history,
displayed in several permanent and temporary exhibits. It includes the Frank S.
Kamberos Oral History Project, which preserves recordings of interviews and
memoirs from hundreds of Greek Americans and encourages others to participate
as well. The museum is home to the Gus and Mary Stathis Library and Resource
Center, which features a large non-circulating collection of books and
documents on Greek culture, history, religion, and language. The museum also operates
multiple programs including lectures, a popular series of Greek language
classes, and culture classes in topics such as music, theatre, dancing, poetry,
and art. It also hosts annual events such as a fundraising gala and a Greek
food festival known as Kouzina. </span></p><p>

</p>

Chicago's National Hellenic Museum is dedicated to promoting Greek culture. Located in the city's popular Greektown district, the current museum building opened in 2011. The museum contains thousands of artifacts spanning Greek history from ancient Greece to Greek Americans in the present day. It has multiple permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as an extensive research library. The museum also engages in community outreach with educational programs such as lectures, language classes, and culture classes. 

National Hellenic Museum

<div>In 1977, George Randazzo founded the Italian American Boxing Hall of Fame as a way to raise money for a struggling local Catholic youth program. Randazzo collected boxing photos and memorabilia, a hobby that inspired him to organize a fundraising dinner that brought together a list of boxing greats and celebrities. The dinner honored twenty-three former Italian American boxing world champions, including Rocky Graziano, Jake LaMotta, Sammy Angott, Willie Pep, and posthumously Rocky Marciano, Primo Carnera and Tony Canzoneri.</div><div><br></div><div>The results were so overwhelming that a friend and local businessman, Don Ponte, encouraged Randazzo to start a Hall of Fame to honor all Italian American athletes. One year later, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame was founded as a non-profit, educational institution. The first induction ceremony and banquet was a star-studded event, as the Hall of Fame honored Lou Ambers, Eddie Arcaro, Charlie Trippi, Gino Marchetti, Dom DiMaggio, and the Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio. Mrs. Vince Lombardi also accepted the posthumous induction of her late husband, Coach Vince Lombardi.</div><div><br></div><div>In the years that followed, celebrities from all walks of life have come to the annual induction ceremonies to pay tribute to outstanding Italian American sports champions and heroes. A special and uninvited guest took part in the 1980 induction ceremony, as President Jimmy Carter offered his congratulations and addressed the crowd. In 1988 the Hall of Fame moved from its original headquarters in Elmwood Park to Arlington Heights.</div><div><br></div><div>The NIASHF enjoyed a new beginning in 1998 with the help of Phoenix Suns Chairman/CEO Jerry Colangelo. A 1994 Inductee and Chicago Heights native, Colangelo was asked by Randazzo to serve as Chairman of an ambitious new Hall of Fame building project in the heart of Chicago's Little Italy. Colangelo accepted and has succeeded in bringing together civic-minded men and women from across the country in support of the project. In 2000 the new facility was dedicated as The Jerry Colangelo Center, a tribute to his efforts and leadership.</div>

Located in Chicago's "Little Italy," the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame honors important athletes of Italian descent. There are over 230 inductees enshrined in the Hall of Fame. To date, the organization has raised over $6 million for scholarships and charitable causes. In 27 years, the collection of sports memorabilia the Hall has amassed is second to none. The priceless artifacts include Mario Andretti's Indy 500 racecar, Rocky Marciano's first heavyweight championship belt, Vince Lombardi's last coat worn as coach of the Green Bay Packers, and swimmer Matt Biondi's Olympic Gold Medals.

National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

<span><p>Prior to the opening of the Mexican Fine Arts Center, there were no other institutions that focused primarily on Mexican art and culture. Founder Carlos Tortolero wanted to change that by establishing an accessible arts and cultural organization. In 1982 and only $900, he organized a team of fellow teachers and community activists to help design the museum. After five years of intense planning, the museum debuted under the name Mexican Fine Arts Center in 1987. Its inaugural exhibition Images of Faith: Religious Art of Mexico in the 18th and 19th Centuries showed the essential role that religion played in the interactions between Spanish missionaries and the Indians in Mexico1. The exhibit filled the longstanding Chicano-sized hole in the community. Having an exhibit specific to Mexican history was a large and much-needed step to gain respect for Mexican culture. Tortolero’s initiative helped others and even those within the Mexican community to appreciate the beauty of Mexican culture instead of letting it languish.</p><p>Initially, Tortolero received some pushback when he said that he wanted the museum to be located in the working-class neighborhood Pilsen. All of his peers believed that starting an arts museum in a blue-collar neighborhood was “crazy”, not to mention problems with funding if admission was free. Tortolero was told “it couldn’t be done”2. Tortolero disregarded these warnings, because he had a vision in mind. The aspects that others criticized worked out to be the strengths of the museum. Pilsen’s charm and free admission made the museum accessible and today the expansion of the neighborhood with new restaurants popping up nearby only make it more alluring. Also, outside the museum are the famous Pilsen murals that decorate the neighborhood.</p><p>In order to support its growth, the Mexican Fine Arts Center moved to a 48,000 square foot state of the art facility in 2001. In 2006, the museum was rebranded to the name it has today, the National Museum of Mexican Art. The change in name was to reflect the evolution of the museum into a nationally recognized institution, especially because the museum remains the only Mexican museum accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.</p><p> In 2014, the museum revamped their permanent collection. The new exhibit, Nuestras Historias, is filled with new art pieces from over 160 different artists. The curator, Cesar Moreno, stated that the “best of [their] collection is on display.” The transformation of the past collection to Nuestras Historias truly is a highlight of the museum because while the pieces are extraordinarily beautiful, they also capture the history and narratives behind Mexican culture. </p><p>The works of art focus on the identity of Mexican peoples over the years, capturing the diverse stories of Mexican individuals. The exhibit portrays Mexican identity as an idea that continually evolves over time, something that could not be encompassed by a singular concept or artist. This aspect of the museum is a pillar for Mexican society because it allows for individuals not familiar with Mexican culture to recognize the multiple, complex identities within Mexican communities.</p><p>Each work of art in the Pre-Cuauhtémoc section of the permanent collection represents an important aspect of ancient Mexican history and culture. The term “Pre-Cuauhtémoc” was frequented by Tortolero, who intended to de-emphasize the Eurocentric view of Mexican history. The museum places an importance on displaying all past Mexican interactions, even those that may prove difficult or complex, such as Spanish colonization and the Mexican revolution. All of the older art pieces are located in the indigenous wing of the museum, and as a result, each work of art plays an important role in depicting the historical and cultural context of the museum. One of the most influential pieces in the collection is Jesús Helguera’s 1940 painting La Leyenda de los Volcanes, depicting the legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The painting is integral to ancient Mexican culture, as the story of Popo and Ixta has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries between Mexican families. The permanent collection transitions from ancient Mexican culture to Mexican history in which Enrique Alférez’s artwork is commonplace. Alférez has twelve sculptures throughout the museum, most prominently located in an exhibit in the permanent collection titled “Arte Diseño Xicágo.” This exhibit focuses on art from the time period between the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the Civil Rights Era, which concluded in the early 1970s. Perhaps the most distinguished work of art in the exhibit is Alférez’s sculpture titled La Soldadera. La Soldadera contributes greatly to the indigenous wing of the permanent collection, tying together the exhibit with the enriching Mexican history associated with the Mexican Revolution, which allowed Mexicans to feel a strong sense of independence and freedom for the first time in their lives. Also included in the museum is world-renowned painter Diego Rivera. Rivera played a significant role in the expansion of Mexican art globally, helping to establish the Mexican mural movement. Rivera’s presence in the National Museum of Mexican Art conveys the museum’s commitment to exhibiting artists and works in the indigenous wing that prove meaningful in displaying the notable history and culture of Mexico’s past.</p><p>Many of the more modern pieces at the museum target contemporary political issues. Ranging from subtle to defiant, these art pieces challenge the status quo and unify Mexican and Mexican-American communities, past and present. Pieces such as Liberating Borders by Hector Duarte help exemplify the difficulties of Mexican immigrants coming to America and the racism that they face. The museum also holds pieces that are integral to Mexican political identity. In the Galeria Cardenas subwing, The Grapes of Wrath Poster exemplifies the Delano Grape Strike and boycott that many Mexican workers participated in to secure better working conditions and better wages. The museum also holds pieces that are significant to the museum’s history such as the jacket that Cesar Chavez wore at his last time to the museum. These pieces takes museum goers back to the past, especially the civil rights movements of the 60’s and 70’s. Three sculptures from the Deportable Alien Series showcase some of these hardships by representing the unfair repatriation under the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations. By keeping these pieces of work in their permanent gallery, the museum pays tribute to past generations whose perseverance created a better future for those today.</p><p>The museum hosts all sorts of cultural programs such as symposiums and theater/music/dance performances. The museum also celebrates their annual Sor Juana Festival which pays homage to accomplishments of Mexican women. The festival honors Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a 17th century Mexican nun who fought for equal rights in women’s education. The Sor Juana Festival places an emphasis on the importance of Mexican women in the art industry. Each year, the festival hosts a number of talented Mexican or Mexican-American female artists. Another annual event that the museum hosts is the Dia de los Muertos: Love Never Dies Ball. This dancing escapade honors the lives of those who have passed before us with live Mexican music, cuisine, and cocktails. The event shows a deep reverence for Mexican history and culture, a fundamental principle on which the museum was founded. The National Museum of Mexican Art continually hosts events in order to promote Mexican culture and praise the accomplishments of Mexican individuals.</p><p>In 2017, the museum celebrated its 30th anniversary with a new exhibit Memoria Presente: An Artistic Journey. Thiry Mexican artists, including famous names Alberto Aguilar, Maria Gaspar, and Juan Angel Chavez, were invited to furnish the museum with wild yet still politically charged instillations. The pieces cover the complexities of immigration, the ramifications of drug cartels, and the violence in Mexican-American communities. Despite the celebration, the museum used its anniversary as a platform to bring much needed attention to these controversial topics. </p><p>	</p><p>While the museum acquires its own art pieces, it flourishes because of support from the community. In 2005, the museum was able to run an exhibit purely from pieces borrowed from local collectors. The exhibit, Colecciones: Mexican Art from 50 Private Chicago Collections, featured 110 loaned pieces of art. Individuals such as Scott Hodes, a local Chicago attorney, and Gilberto Cárdenas, Executive Director of the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, willingly lent &nbsp;their prized pieces to the museum3. Cardenas eventually had a wing of the permanent collection named after him. Cesar Moreno, curator of the museum, found that instead of having to track down local collectors, they would freely volunteer their help. In addition, because admission is free, the museum relies on donations and grants to run daily operations and events. Some major contributors include the Anheuser-Busch, Southwest Airlines, Boeing, and JP Morgan Chase. They allow for the museum to stand as a monument of Mexican culture. In 2018, the National Museum of Mexican Art received another 5-year commitment award of $300,000 from the MacArthur Foundation because of its devotion to the community and its goal of developing appreciation for Mexican culture. Because of all these donations, the museum is able to achieve its goals of preserving Mexican art and culture, developing Mexican artists, and providing an arts education to local Chicago neighborhoods. The museum receives over 165,000 annual visitors, including nearly 60,000 K-12 students, who appreciate the beautiful exhibits on display and take part in the numerous cultural and artistic activities.<br></p></span>

Located in the Pilsen neighborhood, the heart of Chicago’s Mexican and Mexican-American community, the National Museum of Mexican Art is a shrine to Mexican culture and art. Founded in 1987 by Carlos Tortolero, the museum contains over 10,000 pieces of art in its permanent collection; pieces dating from 3,000 years ago to the present. The National Museum of Mexican Art also remains the only museum devoted to Mexican Art that is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum also has several famous traveling exhibitions that are lent out to museums across the United States and Mexico. Some of these exhibits include The Art of the Other Mexico, The African Presence in Mexico, and Frida’s Contemporaries: Women Artists of Modern Mexico.


National Museum of Mexican Art

<p>The Heritage Museum of Asian Art opened in June 2014 on 23rd Street in Chicago’s Chinatown. It was founded by Jeffrey Moy, a successful bookseller and publisher, as well as the grandson of one of the earliest community leaders in the community. Moy’s motivation behind opening the museum was to provide locals and visitors a chance to delve deeper into the ancient history of Chinatown’s residents: "People come to eat and do a little shopping, but there's nothing for them to see relating to Asian culture,” he is quoted as saying. [1]</p><p>The focus of the Heritage Museum of Asian Art is broad, covering not just historical Chinese art, but also pieces from Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. [2] The galleries contain artifacts dating from Neolithic pottery to modern painting. A large 18th century alcove bed on display is one of only about six in existence. [1] Artifacts made of precious jade, ceramic, porcelain, paper, and textiles fill the galleries. Past exhibition topics have included Asian mythology, ritual bronzes, empire maps, poetry, and religious icons. The museum also contains a research library with over 10,000 books, a media center, and a gift shop. [3] The museum’s website regularly hosts online exhibitions, with photos and informative resources on a variety of artifacts.</p><p>In June 2017, the Heritage Museum of Asian Art reopened in an expanded and renovated facility at 218 West 26th Street. [3] In late 2019, the museum announced that it was facing a deficit in operational funding and may have to close. [4] The museum started a GoFundMe account and waived its admission fee in the hopes of attracting more visitors who may donate.</p>

The Heritage Museum of Asian Art opened in 2014 in Chicago’s Chinatown. Local bookstore owner and third-generation resident of Chinatown, Jeffrey Moy, was motivated to start the museum as a way to expose people to Asia’s ancient history. The exhibits cover most Asian cultures, with artifacts such as jade sculpture, bronze vessels, ornately embroidered robes, folk pottery, and household décor. The mission of the museum is “to preserve and promote the tradition of Asian art for the enrichment of present and future generations.” The museum reopened in much larger facility on 26th Street in 2017. 

Heritage Museum of Asian Art

<p>In
1935 the Franklin Roosevelt administration established the Federal Art Project
as part of the Works Progress Administration. Its purpose was to alleviate the
plight of unemployed artists in the midst of the Great Depression, and to bring
culture and public art to new areas. Many artists were employed under the
project to create public murals, sculptures, and posters. The project also
funded the creation of over 100 community art centers around the country in
places deemed to be lacking in artistic culture. These centers provided artists
with a platform to exhibit their work, while also paying them to give art
lessons to the general public. By the time the Federal Art Project ended in
1943 it had employed as many as 10,000 artists, who produced hundreds of
thousands of works of art. </p>

<p>In
1938 the Federal Art Project sought to open an art center in Chicago
specifically for the African American community. This was significant, as the
racism and segregation policies of the time prevented African American artists
from being able to exhibit their works in most galleries. The Federal Art
Project would provide money for the artists’ salaries, but the center had to
provide a location itself. A group of artists, spearheaded by Margaret
Burroughs and Eldzier Cortor, organized numerous fundraisers to purchase a
brownstone building on South Michigan Avenue in Bronzeville. The structure was
originally built as a luxurious Classic Revival style home for wealthy grain
merchant George A. Seaverns Jr. and his family in 1892; some sources erroneously
stated that the home belonged to White Sox owner Charles Comiskey, who in
actuality lived farther down the avenue. As the demographics of the
neighborhood shifted from wealthy white families to African Americans, the home
was converted into apartments. After the house was purchased for the art
center, the interior was redesigned by Hin Bredendieck and Nathan Lerner in the
New Bauhaus style. </p>

<p>The
South Side Community Art Center was formally dedicated in a ceremony
broadcasted on CBS Radio and presided over by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on
May 7, 1941. It was one of only a few WPA-funded art centers for African
Americans, the others being opened in Florida and New York. The center was open
to people of all races, but focused specifically on African Americans who
otherwise lacked the opportunity to share their art. It offered free classes in
music, theater, poetry, creative writing, and various forms of art. Over the
years the center introduced a number of noteworthy artists such as Charles
White, George Neal, Bernard Goss, Margaret Burroughs, Archibald Motley, Eldzier
Cortor, and Gordon Parks. In 1943 the government ended all funding for the art
projects, and South Side was forced to keep fundraising to remain in operation.
The center nearly closed in the 1960s due to financial troubles, but was resuscitated
by the introduction of an annual art auction, which continues to this day. </p>

<p><span>Today
the South Side Community Art Center continues to serve the area’s artistic needs,
hosting programs and classes, as well as displaying art exhibits. It has a
collection of over 400 works of art spanning more than seven decades. &nbsp;In November 2017 the center was designated a “National
Treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Recently it has been
undergoing renovation and restoration efforts, such as replacing the aging HVAC
system and making the building more handicap-accessible. </span></p>

The South Side Community Art Center is an African American community art center and museum in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago. It was established in 1940 with funding from the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project, a Depression-era program aimed at providing employment to artists. Of the more than one hundred community art centers created by the program, South Side remains the only one still in operation in its original building. Today the community art center, supported by donations, offers a variety of art classes, and provides a platform for local African Americans to exhibit their artwork. It has been designated both a Chicago Landmark and a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is a member of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

South Side Community Art Center

The Congregation was founded in 1847 as&nbsp;Kehilath Anshe Maariv. In 1852, the community split off to form the second Jewish&nbsp;congregation, Congregation B'nai Sholom. Cultural differences between Eastern Europeans and German Jews, and differences about conservative vs. reform Judaism, prompted the split. In time, other Jewish congregations were founded and were located on the southside. Congregation B'nai Sholom, which had merged with another temple by this time, merged with Isaiah&nbsp;Temple (i.e., KAM) in 1924. The current name was adopted in 1971.

KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation is the oldest Reform Jewish congregation in Chicago and oldest west of Ohio. Its house of worship is located in Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago's southside. The synagogue was built in 1924 and designed by Alfred S. Schuler, who based the design on the Byzantine architecture.  

KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation

<div>This museum, like the city of Chicago itself, is named in honor of Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian of African and French descent, who in 1779 established the trading post and permanent settlement which would become known as Chicago.</div><br>The museum has over 15,000 pieces; including paintings, sculptures, prints, and historical memorabilia and also offers exhibits with artifacts on loan from individuals or institutions. The museum's permanent exhibits focus on art and Chicago history, such as one that focuses on the personal history of Harold Washington and another that looks at the experiences of African Americans in the military. There is also an exhibit that traces the experiences of people in African descent from slavery to freedom and another that looks at the culture and history of the African continent. The museum also sponsors lectures,&nbsp;&nbsp;musical performances, film festivals, and workshops with artists and educators.<br>

The DuSable Museum of African American History is the first and oldest museum dedicated to the study and conservation of African American history, culture, and art. The museum was founded in 1961 by educator and art historian Dr. Margaret Burroughs and works to preserve and interpret the experiences and achievements of people of African descent. The museum's permanent collection includes thousands of documents and artifacts, including many that are related to the history of Chicago. Visitors can also see works of art and tour special exhibitions throughout the year. The museum also sponsors workshops and lectures.

The DuSable Museum of African American History

University of Chicago professor James H. Breasted founded the Institute, with the help from John D. Rockeffer Jr. The expeditions were able to bring&nbsp;back large portions of what they excavated because laws were not put in place (in the Middle Eastern countries) yet preventing them from being taken.&nbsp;

The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago has been one of the world's leading research organizations dedicated to the study of the Middle East. It was founded in 1919 and most of the artifacts in its collection were retrieved on archaeological excavations the University sponsored between the 1920s and 1940s. These excavations took place in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran, Syria, Palestine, and Anatolia. Among the artifacts collected were relief carvings, statues, papyrus scrolls and inscriptions, sculptures, and objects of daily life. The museum opened in 1931 and is relatively small, but the artifacts on display are historically significant. The largest one is the ancient Assyrian stone sculpture called a lamassu, which depicts a human-headed winged bull.  

Diverse History of Chicago Tour

Nine Dragon Wall

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information