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"Dimensions: Sculpture: approx. H. 15 ft.; Base: approx. H. 15 ft.
Inscription: (On east side of base:) KOSCIUSZKO/Erected by the/Polish-American Citizens/of the United States/A. D. 1904 (On west side of base:) KOSCIUSZKO/Thaddeus Kosciuszko 1746-1817/Son of Poland, General and Military Engineer/of the American Revolution/Fortified Saratoga/and the West Point/Hudson River Complex./First dedicated on September 1, 1904 in/Humboldt Park, the monument was moved to/this site and rededicated October 22, 1978 / Bohaterowi/Dwoch Swiatow Polacy W Ameryce/P. P. 1904
Artist: Chodzinski, Kasimir, 1861-ca. 1920, sculptor. Swenson, John, contractor. American Bronze Company, founder. Winslow Bros. Company, founder. Charles G. Blake Company, contractor.
Dates: 1904. Originally dedicated Sept. 11, 1904. Rededicated Oct. 22, 1978.
Medium: Sculpture: bronze; Base: Concord granite.
In 1886 the Kosciuszko Society (Chicagoans of Polish descent) initiated the idea of honoring Kosciuszko with an equestrian statue. American of Polish descent attended the original dedication in Humboldt Park. The memorial was moved to Burnham Park and rededicated on October 22, 1978. Cost thirty thousand dollars. John Swenson was the contractor for the base."
From the waymark posted for the Statues of Historic Figures category:
"Thaddeus Kosciuszko was born to an influential family in Poland on February 4, 1746. He was well educated and studied in Paris on a scholarship awarded to him by the King of Poland. After spending a brief time in the Polish Army, Kosciuszko decided to help America in its struggle for independence. He traveled to Philadelphia and because he studied engineering in school, Congress named him the Colonel of Engineering. Because of his brilliant strategies, he is considered to have played a major role in the American win at the Battle of Saratoga, a pivotal point in the War. After his performance in battle, George Washington asked him to secure West Point, an important task as Washington thought West Point to be the "key to America." In 1784, he returned to Poland as a Brigadier General in the United States Army. Kosciuszko again served the Polish Army, but after the country's military loss, he decided to use the experience he gained in the American Revolution, and led a revolt against the Russians. Unfortunately, the Poles lost and Kosciuszko was captured. He was later released when a new ruler took over Russia. As a condition of his freedom, Kosciuszko returned to Philadelphia where he maintained his friendship with Thomas Jefferson. In the last years of his life, he lived with friends in Switzerland where he died in October of 1817. He was buried in the Royal Crypt in Krakow, Poland. In 1916, Thaddeus Kosciuszko was honored in Chicago, when a park located at 2732 N. Avers Avenue, was given his name."
From the Chicago Park district's pdf website (
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"In the late 1880s, a large group of Chicagoans of Polish descent began raising $30,000 for a monument to Thadeus Kosciuszko, Polish hero of the American Revolution. After arriving in America in 1776, Kosciuszko joined the Continental Army. As a skilled engineer, he made significant contributions to the war by designing fortifications for several strategic places such as Philadelphia, West Point, and Saratoga. Kosciuszko later returned to Poland to lead his native military in a 1794 uprising. The Kosciuszko monument committee selected Humboldt Park as the site for the sculpture because many Polish immigrants lived nearby. Many generous contributions soon came in, including a $500 donation from the celebrated pianist (and eventual Prime Minister of Poland) Ignaco J. Padrewski, who had met with the monument committee during a visit to Chicago. The group commissioned a sculptor from Poland — Kasimir Chodzinski (1861–1920) to produce the bronze equestrian sculpture of Kosciuszko. During his brief period in America, Chodzinski also produced a Casimir Pulaski Monument for Washington D.C.More than 50,000 Polish-Americans gathered in Humboldt Park for the dedication of the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Monument in 1904. Ceremonies included a parade, choral performance, the reading of a congratulatory letter from President Theodore Roosevelt, and addresses by dignitaries. Throughout the decades, similar festivities took place in Humboldt Park near the monument in observance of Poland’s Constitution Day in May. In the mid 1970s, the Chicago Park District removed the statue when an adjacent ball field was enlarged. In 1978, the Polish National Alliance, Polish Roman Catholic Union, and Polish Women’s Alliance sponsored the conservation and relocation of the monument to newly-renamed Solidarity Drive on Northerly Island. The groups installed a time capsule beneath the sculpture containing many documents relating to Polish history. In 2008, the time capsule was rediscovered during a roadway improvement project that required the slight relocation of the sculpture. The items from the time capsule were conserved. Additional items were added and the time capsule was placed under the monument once again at its new location."
Click this wikipedia link to hear how to correctly pronounce this Polish name: (
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A number of nice waymarked statues, sculptures and museums in this area.