$150.00 - Luxembourg American Heritage Information Center

John Keil — Grand Trustee
George J. Meyers, Jr.
Grand Lodge Historian
The second day of festivities for the Royal Family
started with a tour of several cultural centers. After an early
visit to City Hall, where the Grand Duke was presented
with a key to the city by His Honor, Mayor Washington,
the City Council proclaimed the day as "Luxembourg
Day" in Chicago.
From City Hall the visitors were taken to the new Art
Institute building on Columbus Drive, where they were
given a guided tour of the "New Impressionist Art Exhibit."
It was here that the Grand Duke was pleased to see the
painting, "The Beach at Cabassan," by Henri Edward
Cross, which portrayed the location of the Ducal summer
home in France.
After viewing the art exhibit, the party was escorted to
the refurbished Trading Room of the Chicago Stock
Exchange where they were served a delightful luncheon,
hosted by Mayor Washington and members of the Chicago
City Council. The Honorable Phillip Rock acted as Master
of Ceremonies.
The next stop was the Field Museum where they
viewed an American Indian Exhibit. The museum presented
the Grand Duke with a hand-carved totem pole as a gift.
As a grand finale, Grand Duke Jean and his party traveled
to the Museum of Science & Industry. It was here that they
opened the month long exhibit of "Luxembourg Immigration
to the United States." During his tour, the Grand
Duke saw a picture of his mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte,
riding in a motorcade with the late Mayor Richard J.
Daley during her state visit in 1963.
The month long exhibit portrayed in photos and news
stories the immigration of Luxembourgers to America dur-
ing the past 100 years. A complete story about the Royal visit appeared in the December,
1984 issue of the Luxembourg News of America, which is reprinted here:
LUXEMBOURG IMMIGRATION EXHIBIT
AT SCIENCE & INDUSTRY MUSEUM
The Grand Lodge was instrumental in getting the Luxembourg Immigration
Exhibit at the Science & Industry Museum during the Month of December, 1984. The
exhibit was prepared by the Luxembourg National Library. The material was well
researched and covered many facets on immigration to America during the past 100-150
years.
The first wave of immigrants came to America during 1828 and 1840. These people
settled in Western New York and Ohio. The next group came between 1840 and 1860 and
settled in Chicago, Eastern Wisconsin, the Mississippi Valley, Eastern Iowa, Dubuque
and St. Donatus, Iowa. The group from 1880 to 1900 moved further west to Northern
and Southern Minnesota, the Dakotas and Eastern Iowa.
During the 19th Century Luxembourg yielded no fewer than one out of every five
immigrants to U.S.A. In the 50 years from 1841 to 1891, population increased from
175,000 to 213,000 in Luxembourg. Some 72,000 Luxembourgers immigrated during the
50 year period, mostly to Paris and United States.
1860-1870 5,000 came to America
1870-1880 8,000 came to America
1880-1890 8,000 came to America
1890-1900 6,000 came to America
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