What Is the Polish National Home?
This Art Deco community center served Hartford’s first Polish community!
What Makes It Historical?
In the 1800s, Poland had been conquered and divided up among the Russian, Prussian, and Austro-Hungarian empires, making things downright miserable for the Poles! In the late 1800s, lots of Polish folks fled their homeland for the United States, and the first to reach Hartford settled in the Governor Street area starting in 1889, getting jobs in local factories! Originally, the Polish community revolved around their church, Saints Cyril & Methodius, but on November 14, 1917, Reverend Stanislaus Musiel made things a little more secular by founding the Polish National corporation.
When the church moved in 1918, the corporation planned to use the old lot for mercantiles, but it didn’t have enough funding to tear down the old church. So, rather than open up mercantiles, the Polish National corporation began hosting community activities in the old church, renamed White Eagle Hall after the national emblem of Poland! Nine years later, though, the newly updated Polish National Home Corporation took in loans, donations, and stock shares from 90% of the neighborhood to build a new community center, better suited to meet their needs!
Architect, Henry Ludorf, got the commission, fresh out of Columbia University School of Architecture, and it was up to him to design both the outside and the inside in the most modern way possible! He chose an Art Deco style, incorporating specifically Polish symbols into the outside, from the eagle over the main door to the initials “PNH” on the glass of the entrance lights! It opened its doors on Pulaski Day, October 12, 1930, and partnered with Sts. Cyril & Methodius for wedding receptions, holiday celebrations, and social events all the way until December 4, 2022, when a combination of low funds, low interest, and low membership forced the PNH to sell the building to a different church.
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Donate to the Saints Cyril & Methodius Church!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
60 Charter Oak Ave
Hartford, CT 06106
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
You can visit the exterior whenever you like, but the building is closed for tours!