Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association

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Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association

Preserving Czech and Slovak culture in New York City since 1891. Talks, theater, art, music, and dance at the Bohemian National Hall on UES.

BBLA was founded in 1891 as an umbrella organization representing approximately eighty Czech and Slovak cultural, educational, and athletic community groups and clubs in New York. In 1896, BBLA commissioned architect William Frohne to build in Yorkville on Manhattan's Upper East Side a new social hall for the growing Czech and Slovak immigrant community. The Bohemian National Hall (Česká národní b

udova) was built two years later. Today, BBLA's member organizations include:

- American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies
- Association of Free Czechoslovak Sportsmen
- Czech and Slovak Solidarity Council
- Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, New York Chapter
- Dvorak American Heritage Association
- Sokol New York

BBLA's associate organizations include:

- Vaclav Havel Library Foundation
- Society for the History of Czechoslovak Jews
- The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

07/14/2026

Explore the cultural background to the Golem story, its traces in traditional Jewish literature, its resonances in Czech culture and memory – a talk by professor Hillel Kieval, available online.

In this lecture, Professor Hillel Kieval explores the cultural back...

07/07/2026

It takes a village to make theater magic. We'd like to thank them all - actors, playwrights, designers, technicians, and also the festival artistic director Edward Einhorn for making the 2026 Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival success.👏

Photos: Steve Prue

06/30/2026

The 10th edition of the Rehearsal for Truth International Festival is over. Thank you for joining us! We would also like to thank the festival artistic director Edward Einhorn for his brilliant curation and incredible experience; Vaclav Havel Center, our member organization, and all festival partner institutions. We hope to see everyone next year!

06/23/2026

Anyone coming to see "A Girl on a Trampoline" tonight? Find out more about what's behind the story – listen to this interview centered on the remarkable life and work of renowned writer, essayist and translator Josef Skvorecky, the author of novels such as "The Engineer of Human Souls" and one of the most important in 20th century Czech literature. https://english.radio.cz/josef-skvorecky-part-1-cowards-8557435

In this week’s Arts we will be looking back at the remarkable life and work of renowned writer, essayist and translator Josef Škvorecký who died earlier this month at the…

06/14/2026

A certain kind of extreme links twelve scenes in "Portal" written and directed by Dodo Gombar. It explores relationships, stereotypes, uncertainties, and tensions through language cut to the bone and silence that speaks.

Join us at the 2026 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival to see this piece in person, on our stage. RSVP https://bit.ly/4efTmkf

Portal (Slovakia): 🗓️ Friday, June 19, 7pm, Bohemian National Hall, UES

Address

321 E 73rd Street
New York, NY
10021

Telephone

+12129881733

Website

http://www.bohemianbenevolent.org/

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