Chicago Lawn in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Darius and Girenas Memorial
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 1, 2025
1. Darius and Girenas Memorial Marker
July 17, 1933
[On left side:]
Darius
1897-1933
[On right side:]
Girenas
1895-1933
Erected 1935 by Lithuanian Consulate of Chicago.
Topics and series. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Disasters • Immigration. In addition, it is included in the Art Deco series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 17, 1933.
Location. 41° 46.292′ N, 87° 41.625′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Chicago Lawn. It is at the intersection of West Marquette Road and South California Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Marquette Road. This memorial is in the northeast corner of Marquette Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Chicago IL 60629, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker and memorial is in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Our Lady of Fatima (approx. 0.4 miles away); St. Bakhita (approx. 0.4 miles away); Martin Luther King, Jr. Living Memorial (approx. half a mile away); The MLK Living Memorial (approx. half a mile away); (Former) Marquette Park State Bank
this page online
More about this marker. According to a Chicago Tribune report about the memorial from 1936, efforts to honor of Darius and Girėnas in Chicago began almost immediately after their death on July 17, 1933. In October of 1933, the city's Lithuanian community hosted an air show to raise funds for the memorial. The memorial was dedicated on July 28, 1935, in front of 40,000 people who had gathered in Marquette Park, which was the heart of a large Lithuanian-American population in Chicago. The memorial's design was meant to evoke a broken airplane wing.
The memorial's sculptor, Raoul Josset, was born in Tours, France, and fought for France in World War I. He immigrated to Chicago in the 1920s to work on decorative features for buildings, and he made a name for himself designing ornamentation for famed structures such as the Palmolive and Carbon & Carbide buildings in Chicago. At the time this memorial was designed in the mid-1930s,
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 1, 2025
2. Darius and Girenas Memorial
Regarding Darius and Girenas Memorial. Steponas Darius was born in Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire) and immigrated to the United States as a boy. In 1917, he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War I as a telephone operator. After the war, he returned to Lithuania and was a member of the country's football (soccer) team at the 1924 Olympics. He later returned to the United States, where he worked in civil aviation and eventually settled in Chicago.
Stasys Girėnas was born in Lithuania and moved to Chicago at age 17. He served as a mechanic for the U.S. Army in World War I. After the war, he learned to fly planes and became a noted pilot in the Chicago area.
In 1932, Darius and Girėnas acquired a Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker airplane, which they would later dub the Lituanica, with plans to make a journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Kaunas, Lithuania. In early
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 1, 2025
3. Darius on left side of memorial
The plane departed Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, on July 15 in the early morning. The duo made it across the Atlantic as planned before diverting north at the British Isles due to stormy weather. They finally reached the European mainland during overnight hours of July 16-17. Early on the 17th, after about 37 hours and almost 4,000 miles of travel, they were about 400 miles from their destination of Kaunas, Lithuania, when the plane crashed in a forested section of eastern Germany (now part of Poland), killing both Darius and Girėnas. The cause of the crash is unknown. Although there was speculation that it may have been shot down, most believe that Darius and Girėnas may have encountered a severe storm and were attempting an emergency landing when they crashed. Both are buried in Kaunas.
Darius and Girėnas are the namesakes of this Chicago neighborhoods American Legion post.
Also see . . .
1. The Heroic Transatlantic Journey of Lituanica A Pillar of Lithuanian Heritage
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 1, 2025
4. Girenas on right side of memorial
Excerpt: "Their remarkable story has since inspired Lithuanian aviators and engineers, illustrating how determination, expertise, and a clear purpose can surmount even the most formidable challenges. The legacy of Darius and Girėnas continues to fuel national pride and commemorates Lithuanias rich cultural and historical heritage."(Submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. The Unsolved Mystery Of The Lituanica: A Transatlantic Flight That Went Wrong. From the Simple Flying website (Submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
3. Darius and Girenas Memorial.
Excerpt: "In the late 1990s, the Chicago Park District restored the artwork. Today, Marquette Park's Darius and Girenas Memorial is considered noteworthy not only for marking an important event in Lithuanian American history but as one of the few Art Deco-style memorials in Chicago."(Submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 1, 2025
5. Close-up of the memorial's globe
The globe features the route that the Lituanica plane took from New York to Kaunas, Lithuania. The plane traveled more than 4,000 miles before crashing about 400 miles away from Kaunas.
Courtesy of the Chicago Public Library Special Collections & Preservation Division, July 1935
6. Dedication of the Darius and Girenas Memorial in 1935
An estimated 40,000 people attended the dedication of this memorial to the two Lithuanian-American pilots who died in 1933 while on a transatlantic flight from New York to Lithuania.
Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
7. Steponas Darius (1896-1933)
Public Domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
8. Stasys Girėnas (1893-1933)
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, July 1933
9. The Lituanica flies over New York City
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, July 1933
10. Lituanica crash site
The plane crashed in Soldin, Germany, which is near modern-day Myślibσrz, Poland.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 108 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 1, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on October 2, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
