The Bohemian Citizens' Benevolent Society is a private benevolent society founded in 1892 in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

to support

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

and Slovak immigrants to the area, as well as people of Czech and Slovak ancestry. The Society is commonly known as "Bohemian Hall", for the historic structure ( NRHP) in which it is located.

Description

The founders of the organization said that the purpose of the society is to encourage, support, and maintain Bohemian schools, dramatics, and libraries for Czech children and children of Czech heritage; to maintain a non-profit-making home social for Czechs and people of Czech ancestry in which the Czech culture may be taught and blended with American traditions and culture which makes the people better Americans. The organization has an annual revenue of $1,000,000 and employs a staff of approximately 14. The current president of the organization is Alan Svoboda. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying 20 photographs''
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Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden

The Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden has a big indoor and outdoor bar complex. The bar complex can hold 800 people and is open year-round. Food that the bar serves is Czech specialties. There is a

linden tree ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

that was planted by

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

. There are old signs and flags from the Czech Republic inside the bar. There are

beers Beers may refer to: * plural of beer, an alcoholic beverage * Beers (surname) * Beers, Friesland, a Dutch place in the Friesland municipality of Littenseradiel * Beers, North Brabant Beers (Brabants: ''Bèèrs'') is a village in the former Dutc ...

from the Czech Republic and Slovakia like

Golden Pheasant The golden pheasant (''Chrysolophus pictus''), also known as the Chinese pheasant, and rainbow pheasant, is a gamebird of the order Galliformes (gallinaceous birds) and the family Phasianidae (pheasants). The genus name is from Ancient Greek ...

, BrouCzech,

Pilsner Urquell Pilsner Urquell (; cs, Plzeňský prazdroj ) is a lager beer brewed by the Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzeň (German name: Pilsen), Czech Republic. Pilsner Urquell was the world's first pale lager, and its popularity meant it was much copied ...

, Krušovice,

Czechvar Budweiser Budvar ( ) is a brewery in the Czech city of České Budějovice (german: Budweis), best known for its original Budweiser or Budweiser Budvar pale lager brewed using artesian water, Moravian barley and Saaz hops. Budweiser Budvar is th ...

, and

Staropramen Staropramen Brewery (Pivovary Staropramen s.r.o.) in the Smíchov district of Prague is the second largest brewery in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1869 and the brand name Staropramen, literally meaning “old spring”, was registered ...

. Most of the workers speak

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. Most of the regular people that are there are middle-aged and elderly immigrants. The Hall hosts holiday parties, ethnic festivals, local jazz groups, Czech rock bands, and touring acts. The Bohemian Hall hosts the annual Czech and Slovak festival. The hall also has a

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

club and a Czech school. The Bohemian Hall keeps the people linked, visually and materially, to the past.

Closure

Revenue was so low in the early 1990s that the hall threatened to close. A large group of people, not all Czech, started a "Save the Hall" meeting.

, the former president of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, was so moved by the outcome of the meeting that when he stopped by in 2000 he stayed for hours and held a conference.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in New York Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Neoclassical architecture in New York City Buildings and structures completed in 1910 Buildings and structures in Queens, New York Clubs and societies in the United States Friendly societies Czech-American culture in New York City Sokol in the United States Slovak-American culture in New York (state) Astoria, Queens Ethnic fraternal orders in the United States Beer gardens in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York Beer in New York City