C.S.P.S. 125

Since 1887

C.S.P.S. Hall: Beginnings

A C.S.P.S. Hall history published on the occasion of its Centennial 1987

Another hall at this location
Work for the Fire Department

St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 25, 1886

The hall at the corner of West Seventh and Von Minden* streets, owned by the C.S.P.S. Bohemian Society, was partially destroyed by fire yesterday (May 25, 1886) morning. The loss on the building is estimated at $800. The fire is supposed to be of incendiary origin, as no one had been in the hall since Saturday night.  The society intends to rebuild a brick structure.

* Michigan Avenue was once known as Von Minden

CSPS Hall: Beginnings

By Karleen Sheppard, first published in Slovo August – October 1978

The property the CSPS Hall is situated on was purchased in 1879 by Rad (Lodge) Čech, No. 12, CSPS (Česko-Slovanský Podporující Spolek, parent organization of the CSA) for $600 from William and Mary Dawson a banker, and at the time of the sale he was mayor of St. Paul. IN March of 1887 the CSPS took out the first building permit and hired a neighborhood contractor, W.J. Gronewold, who had offices where Mancini’s now stands. The estimated cost of the two story building was $10,000. After years of legal snarls, the construction was completed in 1890.

As soon as the new CSPS Hall was ready to rent its corner space in 1889, Václav Pícha moved in, advertising “Wines, Liquors and Cigars”, and his 25-year occupancy was legendary. The saloon had a wide reputation, and when anyone came in from out of town they knew where to go. At the end of the bar was a free lunch counter. A person could buy a big glass of beer for a nickel and go to the lunch counter and eat for nothing.

Pícha was a free-thinker, and his friendship with Father Jan Rynda priest at St. Stanislaus Church around the corner, was something remarkable. The men had great respect for each other and spent many hours in conversation in Picha’s rooms back of the saloon.

Václav Pícha died at the age of 73 in 1914 and his funeral was held in his living quarters. His son Karel, who had been helping his father tend bar throughout the years, and Petr Nekola, who was married to Václav’s daughter Gustie, continued the saloon.  But somehow things didn’t go well, and after five years the store was occupied by Fishbach and Bespalec Meat Market.

The south half of the main level has been a bakery, dry goods store, and even storage space.  The canopy above the entrance to the upper level is a unique architectural feature of the exterior of the building, as are the flag pole and parapet on the roof.

2nd floor pre-1917Formerly, a stage occupied the area where the women’s restroom is now located. The stage was quite small, there was a cubbyhole off the stage and the piano was attached to the cubbyhole wall on the side of the stage. There was another entrance to the stage from the other lobby. This lobby was used to reach the bar room across the end of the room and behind it were the kegs. The present 8’ x 8’ bar area once served as the kitchen and the bar, on the other hand occupied the area of the present kitchen. The ladies never stood around in the bar room; they had to pass through it and drink their beer in the  assembly hall.   There was a gas plate but no water in the kitchen, it was necessary to go behind the bar for that.

Since Sokol’s beginning, the small room to the north of the bar has been the site of many animated and serious fraternal business meetings. The small, circular, pivoting , wooden piece on the inside of the door goes virtually unnoticed today. It covers a peep-hole once sued for passwords.  The trophy case in memory of Ben Fisher, contains gymnastics awards, and the plaques honoring Frank Verner, Ben Fisher, and Besie and Albert Smolik.

2nd floor post 1917The main hall is a multi-purpose room serving as a dance hall, gym, meeting room, and auditorium. It was in this room the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák “was hailed with great applause and cheering” in 1893 when he visited St. Paul enroute to Spillville, Ia. where he composed his “Symphony from the New World.”

Sokol began primarily as a gymnastics and physical fitness organizations, and it continues that tradition today, hence the screen covered windows, basketball hoops and sideboards, plethora of gym equipment, and metal plates in the floor, used for securing gym apparatus.

The “drops” and “flats” on stage were used a great deal in the early part of the century, when Sokol presented many Czech and Slovak plays and musical reviews. The 3 mail drops were painted by the late Victor Hubal Sr. They represent a scene of the Vltava River in Prague, with Charles Bridge (Karlův most) and Prague Castle (Hradčany) in the background, a city street in Prague, and the Bohemian Forest.

The large room on the third floor is now used as the meeting room, and eventual museum and library of Sokol Minnesota. The heavy carved chairs and tables are museum pieces today. The photos are important historical data, recording names and likenesses of every member until the mid-twentieth century.

The balcony, overlooking the second floor, with its glass folding doors, is a point of architectural interest. It was added in 1917, ostensibly to accommodate a spotlight for the frequent dramatic presentations. Also of interest is the old ticket booth, or “cage”, used in the past for selling tickets at dinners and dances.

In 1977, the CSPS Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During the restoration which followed, the membership chose an interior color theme of cram and brown, with gold highlights, and armed themselves with buckets and paint brushes. Indeed, most of the restorative and repair work has been executed by Sokol members themselves, to keep costs down. Later, white lace curtains and red geraniums were added to create an “Old World” atmosphere. The cataloguing and shelving of many Sokol books and files has to be done, so that they will be accessible to Sokol members and to students of Slavic studies.

Sokol Minnesota is committed to preserving the CSPS Hall, so that generations to come will be able to use and appreciate this find, historic building.

Present history and restoration

The St. Paul Sokol Gymnastic Society purchased the Hall from the CSA (Česko-Slovanský Podporující Spolek) a fraternal insurance lodge. The Sokol had rented the hall since its existence and by mutual agreement and a nominal purchase price took possession of the CSPS Hall of August 25, 1978. The St. Paul Sokol Gymnastic Society to reflect the larger area from which its members came, voted to change their name to Sokol Minnesota on August 25, 1978.

After the Hall received historic status restoration began. Architect John Larson was hired to make plans for the building. Work started July 1980 with restoring the store fronts and the 381 Michigan store to their original appearance. The basement was cleaned to and floor joist stabilized to the bearing wall. Rocon Construction were the general contractors. This phase also included new electric service for the building. Many members lent their skills to cleaning and painting the ceilings and walls of the 381 store.

The two lots west of the Hall were purchased for a parking lot. New security fencing was installed around the rear of the property.

After various rentals for short periods, and vacancy for some time, the Hmong Enterprises rented for a period of a year. When they moved, an opportunity for a restaurant arose. More space for a kitchen for the restaurant was required. Through the efforts of some members donating their time, the back room of the 385 Michigan was developed into a restaurant kitchen. New insulated windows with weather stripping were installed on the second and third floor by the Beisel Company in February 1983. In August of 1983 insulation was blown into the ceiling between the second floor of the 381 store for sound proofing. Insulation and ventilation was also added to the cocklofts of the second and third floors.

Carpeting was laid on the third floor meeting room and the stairway to the meeting room. The ornamental high chairs were reglued, stained and varnished. The desks tops were covered with vinyl. This third floor is not only used for meetings but many of the ethnic possessions of CSA and ZCBJ as well as Sokol are here.

Probably the most significant and noticeable part of the program was the tuck pointing and painting of the exterior brick of the building. One thousand new bricks were replaced and 110 gallons of red paint mixed with cement was blown onto the exterior walls with 3,000 pound of hydraulic pressure. The work was done by the Historical Building Restoration Corporation with Dale Zoerb as director.

During the winter of 1985 a new steam boiler was installed and new controls were updated for more efficiency of the heating system. During this time the old roofs of the second and third floors were town off and new roofs put on.

One of the last projects was new insulated front doors to the Hall were installed with panic bars. Also a new fire exit door to the second floor fire escape was installed. City inspectors also required that we put new panic bars on the restaurant doors.

The florescent lights on the third floor were removed, the wiring updated and the original hanging globes replaced.

Our Website histories:

Early "Bohemian" immigration | Establishing St. Paul's C.S.P.S.  | CSPS Hall's chronology |
Histories from the C.S.P.S. Centennial 1987 | Czech and Slovak Sokol Minnesota chronology |
History from the Sokol centennial 1982 | Immigrant philosophical convergence