Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association

Home
United States
New York, NY
Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association

Call Directions Website

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 budova) 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

09/21/2026

A remarkable literary discovery comes to life in the first public reading of "Warning" – a newly uncovered play by . Writer Adam Gopnik joins actor F. Murray Abraham for a world premiere staged reading of the play.

The world premiere of Václav Havel’s lost play, Warning, featuring Adam Gopnik and F. Murray Abraham.

09/10/2026

Four-time Grammy-nominated Czech musician Ondrej Pivec will perform at our 2026 Benefit Gala: Havel at 90. 🥳

09/08/2026

Happy 185th birthday to the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak who for a brief but extraordinary period in the 1890s lived in a vanished house on East 17th Street! There, Dvorak helped shape what American music could become.

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK: HIS LIFE, HIS MUSIC, HIS LEGACY By David R. Beveridge

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day! Have kids ages 1-15? Bring them on Wednesday to a youth open house at Sokol New York, our member organization. They can try gymnastics, dance, rhythmic gymnastics, handstands and partner acrobatics, aerial circus, and ground circus skills!

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…

Address

321 E 73rd Street
New York, NY
10021

Telephone

+12129881733

Website

http://www.bohemianbenevolent.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.