Bohemian National Hall (Cleveland, Ohio) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Bohemian National Hall (Cleveland, Ohio)
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Front facade of the Bohemian National Hall
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 Location in Cleveland
Location in Ohio
Location in the United States
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| Location | 4939 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44127 |
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| Built | 1896 |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001359 |
| Added to NRHP | May 28, 1975 |
The Bohemian National Hall is a historic building located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was built in 1896 to be a special place for the Czech people who had moved to Cleveland. It helped them keep their culture and learn new things. Today, it's still a busy place! It's home to Sokol Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Czech Cultural Center and Museum. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 28, 1975, which means it's an important landmark.
A Look at the Hall's Past
Over the years, the outside of the building got quite dark. This was because of smoke and dust from nearby factories.
In 1975, a group called Sokol bought the building. Sokol is a Czech American society that helps people stay healthy and active. They paid about $35,000 for the hall.
Big Changes and Renovations
The Bohemian National Hall had a big makeover in 1997. About $400,000 was spent to fix it up.
- The basement floor was lowered by about 2 feet (0.6 meters). This made the ceiling higher, which was much better.
- In the main lobby, old paint was taken off the beautiful wooden walls. A fake wall was also removed, showing a cool metal screen.
- The large ballroom on the second floor was cleaned. It had more than a hundred years of dirt on its walls!
- Two fancy, hand-carved pillars were saved and moved to the museum on the third floor.
- An elevator was added to the building. This made it much easier for everyone to reach the gymnasium on the fourth floor.
In 1998, Sokol started building an even bigger addition to the hall. This new part cost about $1.5 million and added about 12,000 square feet (1,115 square meters) of space. Once it was finished, the volleyball court and gymnastics area moved into the new addition. This freed up space in the old building.
