Queenswalk: Astoria’s Bohemian Hall and Park

To be Bohemian has long meant to be a free spirit, pursuing one’s artistic dreams and living a lifestyle of impermanence, beauty, freedom from convention and a genteel poverty. Europe’s Romani people were an inspiration, as it was thought Gypsies originally came from Bohemia. Like any popular fad, it soon took on a life of its own that had little to do with is original origins. In the late 1800s, it was the highly romanticized lifestyle of living in a garret while producing great art, music or poetry.

The French immortalized this with “la Vie Boheme,” the basis for the great opera “La Boheme,” which in turn inspired the modern musical “Rent.” In today’s world of fashion, design and lifestyle, the “Boho look” is exotic and Gypsyesque, in bright colors, a mixture of floral patterns, flowing fabrics, and a bold wildness of spirit and lifestyle. Rock star Stevie Nicks has been called Bohemian, as has movie star Johnny Depp.

Of course, much like the word Gypsy, this has very little to do with the real Bohemia. Most people don’t even realize there was a kingdom called Bohemia, or know where it was. The historical Bohemia was a kingdom that today comprises about two-thirds of the Czech Republic, including the capital city of Prague. It was part of the huge Hapsburg Empire that controlled much of Eastern and Central Europe for centuries. Prague was the center of that empire, and was one of the most important cities in Europe.

If you know anything about European history, you know that that empire, too big, and made up of too many peoples, cultures and kingdoms to be easily controlled, has been divided, rearranged, conquered, liberated and subdivided once again for hundreds of years. Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, after World War I. In 1993, the old Soviet Czechoslovakia was peacefully divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. That event was called the “Velvet Revolution.”

In the 19th century, people from every country in Europe made their way to the United States to start over and find their fortunes in a new land. The Bohemians were among them. By the end of the 19th century, a large community of Czech and Slovak peoples found themselves in Astoria, by way of Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood. A community center was organized, where traditional Bohemian culture could be preserved and celebrated, and where people could get aid and advice on how to make America home.

The Bohemian Citizen’s Benevolent Society was formed in 1892. Like all such organizations, it provided a home for traditional language, culture and education, and was an invaluable way for members to pool resources and provide financial aid to members and for community activities. Just about every ethnic and religious group that has come to this country has done the same, at one point or another. Funds were raised in the community for a center, and two plots of land, once part of a farm, were purchased on 24th Avenue in Astoria. The cornerstone of the building was laid in 1910.

The goals of the Society were grand. The bylaws stated that, “the purpose of the society shall be to encourage, support and maintain Bohemian Schools, Dramatics, Lectures and Libraries for Czech children and children of Czech parentage; to maintain a non-profit making social home for Czechs and people of Czech ancestry in which the Czech culture may be taught and blended with American traditions and culture; thereby tending to make the members better Americans.”

To that end, the Society built the hall and school, a Sokal club and a beer garden. Sokal clubs were part of a 19th century movement in Bohemia much like the German Turn Verein clubs. They were part gymnastics club, part social and cultural clubs, and part school. The word “sokal” means “falcon” in Czech, it’s a much admired bird and a national symbol. When Czechs immigrated to America, they bought their sokal clubs with them. Gymnastic training and competitions were a part of the cultural life. As was the beer hall. They were slowed by Prohibition but the center itself survived.

The Bohemian Society’s beer garden was the last part of the complex to be finished. In the 1930s, the large plot was walled in to make a traditional European beer garden. It opened up from the beer hall and had plenty of room for tables and chairs, and a large space for gatherings, dancing, singing and other cultural activities, wedding receptions, special occasions, and meetings. They planted linden trees in the garden, the national tree of the Czech Republic.

Beer gardens were once familiar sights in New York City. Most of the German breweries had large beer gardens on site, and they were common in German, Czech and other European communities. They provided a sense of community, and were places where people could congregate and relax. Prohibition closed most of the beer gardens in the city, destroying not only a place where someone could enjoy a beer, but the meeting place for many organizations and clubs.

But Bohemian Hall and Park survived Prohibition only to almost die out because of a lessening of interest in traditional Czech culture. One of the goals of the organization; to become better Americans, succeeded too well. As many ethnic groups find out, subsequent generations, people who have never even visited the homeland, and may not have even learned the language, often see little use for a club like the Bohemian Society. By the early 1990s, the Hall was in danger of closing forever. The building needed work, and the Society needed operating funds.

A group of people who remembered activities at the Hall as children began to realize what they would be losing if the hall closed. They joined with present members and rallied the community, and people responded, even those who were not Czech. Astoria, a community of immigrants, came together to save the Hall and the Society. “Save Our Hall” became a mission for Astoria, Czech and non-Czech alike.

Vaclav Havel, the hero of the “Velvet Revolution” for Czech independence from the Soviet Union, and former president of Czechoslovakia, visited Bohemian Hall in 2000. He was very moved by the Hall, its history and programs keeping Czech culture alive, and the effort of all kinds of people to save it. He stayed for hours, even arranging a press conference there, and planted a lime tree in the garden.

That visit was the highlight of the turning point for the Hall and Park. In 2001, Bohemian Hall and Park was entered into the National Register of Historic Places, cited for its contributions to Czech and Slovak immigration and culture, as well as for the building itself and its distinctive hall and beer garden design.

The most important step taken to save the Hall was to open up the beer garden to the public. It is one of the largest gathering spaces around, holding 800 people. The Beer garden soon became one of New York City’s favorite watering holes, bringing neighborhood people there as their “regular spot,” and people from all over the city. What can beat an open air garden with trees, tables and beer? Czech and Slovak beers are featured, and Czech foods are a specialty.

Bohemian Hall and Park celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2010. That makes it the city’s oldest surviving beer garden. Older Czechs, Slovaks and those who may still call themselves Bohemians still sit in the beer garden, speaking Czech and telling tales of the old country. They are joined now by locals, those always looking for the next “in” place, and tourists with guidebooks telling them this is one of the great out of the way bars in the city. They sit and quaff a Golden Pheasant or a Czechvar, and munch on grilled sausages and other Czech goodies from the kitchen. Each beer and plate of food helps preserve Bohemian Hall and Park for future generations.

Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden is located at 29-19 24th Avenue in Astoria. GMAP

(Photograph:Jim Henderson for Wikipedia)