Evolution of Our Ethnic Community in New York City
REBIRTH OF THE BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HALL
“The fateful struggle to preserve Bohemian National Hall as our ethnic heritage continued. In 1979 the president of BBLA Jochman, under pressure from 30 elderly board members, decided to sell the entire property. This act was stopped when Alex Čech of The Association of Free Czechoslovak Sportsmen, became the BBLA president. The following years marked a dramatic sequence regarding potential loss of the BNH.”
In 1989 the renowned New York architect Jan Hird Pokorný was elected a chairman of the BBLA. His influence as a member of the NY Landmarks Commission supported the goal of preserving the building. The street facade was renovated in 1995 to its original design. Despite an effort to save Bohemian National Hall as a historic landmark, in 1990 at a BBLA meeting the members of the remaining lodges still requested the sale of the building. There was a real risk of potential demolition of the building if a new owner decided to construct a skyscraper.
In 1999 a BBLA board meeting at the Bohemian National Hall approved the proposal to transfer the building to the Czech government for a symbolic $1, in return for the exclusive right for all space on the third floor of the building and a limited use of the ballroom to be assigned to our ethnic community.
It became unthinkable to renovate the Hall using resources of our ethnic community. At that time the cost of repairs was estimated at $5 million, with loan payments that would require to raise $600,000 per year. The actual cost of reconstruction became much higher.
The final transfer of the building to the Czech government, safeguarding this important monument of our heritage for the future generations, occurred in 2001.
