page_title: Lithuanians in the Chicago area
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Lithuanians in the Chicago area / Culture
caption_attribution_description: President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus
context_page_description: Lithuanians in Chicago and the nearby metropolitan area are a prominent group within the "Windy City" whose presence goes back over a hundred years. Today the Chicago area possesses the largest Lithuanian community outside Lithuania, who have dubbed the city as Little Lithuania, and many Lithuanian Americans refer to it as the second capital of Lithuania. Lithuanian Americans from Chicago have had a significant impact on politics in both the United States and Lithuania.
context_section_description: Today "Little Lithuania" is the center of Lithuanian culture in North America. It has a number of Lithuanian restaurants, bookstores, and other shops. The former president of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus 1998-2003 and 2004–2009, is a former resident of the Chicago area as well. Chicago is home to the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania, and the city's large Lithuanian American community maintains close ties to what is affectionately called the Motherland. Chicago's Lithuanian heritage is visible in the cityscape through its Lithuanian-named streets such as Lituanica Avenue and Lithuanian Plaza Court as well as an Art Deco monument in Marquette Park commemorating pilots Stasys Girėnas and Steponas Darius who died in the crash of the aircraft Lituanica in 1933. The area just east of Marquette Park features such institutions as Maria High School, Sisters of St. Casimir Motherhouse, Holy Cross Hospital, and Nativity BVM Catholic Church, which have been associated with Lithuanians.
caption: Valdas Adamkus was an active member of the Lithuanian community in Chicago for decades before becoming President of Lithuania.
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