Past and Present

The BBLA was established in 1891 - Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.

The BBLA is a Czech and Slovak association which acts as an umbrella organization for individual compatriot organizations, and has, for over a hundred years, owned the Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan, built in 1896. Bohemian National Hall was for several decades the center of Czech culture in the USA. Generations of the Czech immigrant community were able to make use of its function rooms, two classrooms for children, a ballet hall, skittle alley, shooting range, and large hall in which the Sokol balls were often held. Lectures were organized, theater performances were put on and a restaurant served traditional Czech dishes. According to contemporary witnesses, with the arrival of television, modern transport and the pressure of the changing environment and times, the Czech-Slovak societies started to decline in the area. Gradually, the Bohemian National Hall along with it the BBLA scaled down their activities, until in the 1960s practically ceasing to exist. In 1995 the slow process of renovating the building commenced, the final phase of which will be completed on October 28th 2008. Even during this process, it has been possible to hold a number of cultural events in the areas that have already been renovated.