Chicago– Lech Aleksander Kaczyński, the former Polish President killed in a recent plane crash, will have a street named in his memory in Chicago. It will be on the the Avenue of Honor. The street will be run at the crossing of Belmont – Central avenues in a very popular area of Portage Park. There will be dedication events on November 12 and 13th. Tickets are available at the Jolly Inn (773) 736-7606.
At the first intersection near Belmont – Central, a ceremonial unveiling of a plaque with the name of the street Lech Kaczynski will be hung. During the ceremony, a special letter from Jaroslaw Kaczynski will be read by the cousin of the president, Jan Tomaszewski.
Daniel Pogorzelski of the Historical Society North-West Chicago got the ball rolling for the street naming. Two councilmen, Ariel Reboyras and Thomas Allen helped with support from the Mayor of Chicago, Richard Daley.
Also, on November 11, there will be a celebration of Polish Independence Day at the Jesuit Millennium Center, at 5835 W. Irving Park Rd. at 7:00 PM
The iintersection of Belmont Avenue and Central Park is more than a hundred years old and the neighborhood was mostly Polish immigrants.
The district around the streets of Belmont and Central Park was known colloquially as Wladyslawowo. One of the central points of the area was the beautiful church of St. Ladislaus. Another reminder of those old, romantic days is nearby Frederic Chopin Park. For those families that come from the old Polish neighborhood, everything there has been preserved from the times of their fathers and grandfathers. It is a reminder of the old-city. A time of past Polonia.