A Peek Inside the Lemont Lithuanian World Center
Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are rich in culture and traditions carried here by immigrant families who settled in the region through the 19th and 20th centuries. Lemont is home to the Lithuanian World Center, a place to discover the history, art, language, and culture that still shape our community today. Step through the doors and you'll find a lot more than a museum.
More Than a Museum: A Look Inside the Lithuanian World Center
Set on 18 acres just off 127th Street, the Lithuanian World Center is widely described as the largest Lithuanian cultural center outside of Lithuania. Its 125,000 square feet welcome visitors from across the Chicago area throughout the year, and for many Lithuanian families, it's a true home away from home.
The building had a full life before all of this. It was originally the D'Andreis Seminary, a Vincentian Catholic seminary, and a group of Lithuanian-Americans bought the vacant complex in 1987, converting the old seminary quarters into apartments and gathering spaces. Today, 17 apartments house a mix of longtime elders and newly arrived families, so the Center isn't only a place people visit. It's a place people live.
It's also a busy gathering place. More than 50 Lithuanian organizations call the building home, and its banquet halls regularly host celebrations for other communities too, from cultural festivals to quinceañeras. The main hall seats a few hundred, and the gym can hold up to 900 for the biggest events.
What Brought Us Here: The Waves of Lithuanian Immigration in Chicago
The first wave of Lithuanian immigrants came to Chicago before WWI. They found work in the coal mines and stockyards, and what we know as Bridgeport became the first Lithuanian community in Chicago. That first wave was encouraged to assimilate into American life and often lost the language along the way, but the food was here to stay.
During the second wave, around WWII, Lithuanian immigrants settled in Marquette Park and Cicero, opening the taverns and restaurants that let families create their own jobs and earn a living. After the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s, a third wave settled in Lemont and nearby suburbs like Downers Grove.
Pro Tip: Grand Dukes operates out of the Lithuanian World Center on weekends and provides tasty Lithuanian treats like bacon buns and Šakotis (aka Lithuanian tree cakes) made in-house on a spit.
The Kids Are Alright: How Schools Preserve a Culture
The Lithuanian World Center is home to three schools. Maironis Lithuanian Community School is the largest Lithuanian language school in America, joined by two Montessori programs: Blessed Family Montessori School, taught in English, and Žiburėlis Lithuanian Montessori, taught in Lithuanian. All told, around 550 students come through each week.
Beyond the classroom, kids come to sing in choirs, train with sports teams, and learn traditional dance. The Center hosts tournaments and festivals for students across the region, from basketball leagues to international dance festivals, and adults are more than welcome to dance, sing, and play too. On the day we visited, a full opera was in rehearsal, with a dozen performers flown in from Lithuania for the production.
Pro Tip: Lithuanian for “hello” is “labas!”
Come for the Culture, Stay for the Art: The Art Museum at the LWC
Composition on Pyramids by Zita Biliunaite-Sodeika
While it tells the story of its people and teaches the next generation, the Lithuanian World Center is also home to the Lithuanian Museum of Art, with an expansive collection and a studio where students of all ages make their own work. Open on weekends and during special events, the collection features paintings, lithographs, sculptures, and more than 120 hand-carved wooden pieces from Lithuanian artists across the diaspora. A separate collection of woven art is a favorite of Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, himself of Lithuanian descent. Next to the studio, you'll find walls of autographs from the famous Lithuanians who've visited the Center.
The museum also serves as a residence for two to three Lithuanian artists at a time. A highlight of our visit was the massive wooden wall that tells the American story from a Lithuanian perspective. The collection rotates every two to four weeks alongside a set of permanent exhibitions.
Pro Tip: Because the galleries rotate every few weeks, there's almost always something new on the walls. Check the Lithuanian World Center calendar before you go so you know what's on display when you visit.
Lemont is a village of immigrants and we’re honored to tell their stories, share in their traditions, and embrace their culture. For more on the influence of immigrants in Lemont, check out our stories on The Seven Steeples of Lemont and Back to Central School.
