East Indian, Spanish, Korean, Philippine, etc., as well as the American community. Since then, the theater has been cleaned, a thrust stage has been built, and the theater has been utilized for a wide variety of programs, not only Polish in nature, but also those of other ethnic groups which do not have their own facilities, e.g. The theater became a part of the cultural center in 1985 when the tenant, Plitt Theatres, vacated the premises. Foundation programs began in 1982 and have expanded ever since. Because the Gateway Theater historically was the first movie theater in Chicago built exclusively for the “talkies,” the Foundation decided to preserve the theater itself while remodeling around it, dividing the original 40-foot entry lobby and constructing three floors of office, meeting rooms and classroom space for the Cultural Center. In 1979, groundbreaking ceremonies took place at the old Gateway Theater Building located near Milwaukee and Lawrence avenues. In 1977, the search began for a permanent site to house the Polish Cultural Center in Chicago. It sits in front of the Adler Planetarium. The statue was dedicated in 1973, at no cost to the city. Through solicitations from individuals, corporations, and other organizations, over $300,000 was raised. Copernicus is credited with “stopping the sun and starting the planets in motion in the minds of man.” This project became the first mission of the Foundation. Chicago turned to the Foundation with a request that a statue of Nicolaus Copernicus, world-renowned Polish scientist and the Father of Modern Astronomy be erected to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Copernicus’ birth. The Copernicus Foundation was chartered as a not-for-profit organization in July 1971 to serve the metropolitan Chicago area as a major civic, cultural, educational, recreational and entertainment resource.
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