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Slavic and East European Collections: Slavic New York: Czechs and Slovaks

History of Czechs and Slovaks in New York City

The first Czech in New York was likely Augustine Herman Velký New York(Czech: Augustin Heřman, c. 1621–1686), a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam from 1640. Other individuals of Czech background arrived over the next two hundred years, but mass immigration only began in the nineteenth century. František Vlasák, who later changed his name to Francis W. Lassak (1793–1889), was a furrier who started his business in Manhattan in 1837, likely in cooperation with John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), the founder of the Astor Library, the predecessor of the New York Public Library. Slovaks began to arrive in New York City after the Revolution of 1848. The first concentration of Czech and Slovak immigrants was between Avenues A and C, from 8th Street to Houston Street on the Lower East Side, near Tompkins Square Park. Avenue B became known as Czech Boulevard. They also lived on the Upper East Side (Yorkville) and in the South Bronx (Morrisania). The First Hungarian-Slovak Sick Benefit Society was organized in new York in 1883. The most important center of Czech life, culture, and language is located in Astoria. The Bohemian Citizens Benevolent Society, established in 1892, raised the money to build the Bohemian National Hall on 24th Avenue, between 29th and 31st Streets, to which an outdoor bar and park were later added. The Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side has been an important center for Czech and Slovak culture in New York City since 1896. Slovak immigrants who came to the US after World War II founded the Slovak American Cultural Center. Two churches have served the community: the Jan Hus Church on East 74th Street for Czechs and the Saint John Nepomucene Church on East 66th Street for Slovaks. [Nolte, Claire E. "Czechs." In The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 338-339. New Haven: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, ©2010].

Czech immigration passenger lists / by Leo Baca (1983-2000). It includes: v.4. New York, 1847-1869 -- v.5. New York, 1870-1880 -- v.6. New York, 1881-1886; -- v.7. New York passenger lists, 1887-1896.

Events and commemorations (in chronological order)

Czech and Slovak collections at the NYPL

The oldest Czech item in the holdings Expositioneof the New York Public Library is Expositione in apocalypsim by Haimo, of Auxerre. it was written in Bohemia (?), [1393?]

On the Czech collections of the NYPL, please see

Archival resources:

Private libraries donated to the New York Public Library

New York-based Periodicals

Exhibitions of Czech and Slovak Art in New York (A selection in chronological order)

Czech and Slovak-born Artists, Writers and Businessmen in New York

  • Thomas Čapek (1861-1950) was a Czech American journalist, editor, politician, lawyer, banker, and author. See his memories Moje Amerika, vzpomínky a úvahy (1861-1934) [1935] as well as an article by David Z. Chroust, "Toward a Biography of Thomas Čapek (1861–1950). Sources, Life Sketch, and Biographical Models," in Clinton Machann, ed., Czech-Americans in Transition. Austin (1999), s. 97-120.