The Prague Hotel is located at 1402 South 13th Street on the southwest corner of South 13th and William Streets in the heart of the Little Bohemia neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by Joseph Guth and built−in 1898, this building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[2]

Prague Hotel
The Prague Hotel in June 2009
Prague Hotel is located in Nebraska
Prague Hotel
Prague Hotel is located in the United States
Prague Hotel
Map
Interactive map showing the location of Prague Hotel
Location1402 South 13th Street, Omaha, Nebraska
Coordinates41°14′44.45″N 95°56′7.55″W / 41.2456806°N 95.9354306°W / 41.2456806; -95.9354306
Built1898
ArchitectGuth, J.P.
NRHP reference No.87001148 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 9, 1987

History

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In 1869, Vaclav Stepanek built the first Czech dance hall where the Prague Hotel now stands.[3] Gottlieb Storz built the Prague Hotel in 1898, as a three-story brick building that provided Nebraska's Czech immigrants with familiarities in their new country. It opened on June 1, 1898.[4] In addition to a 25-room hotel, it included a restaurant and a tavern.[4] A sign in the tavern window proclaimed in Czech, "Pražská Pivnice, Dámy Jsou Vítány", which translated to English meant "Prague Hotel, Ladies Are Invited".[4] The tavern closed in 1942.[4] For more than forty years it had remained the only hotel catering to Bohemians between Chicago and the Pacific Coast.[5]

In 1987 the building was rehabilitated and converted into apartments.[6] Local architectural firm Prochaska & Associates won awards for their renovation work on the building.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "Prague Hotel," City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/30/07.
  3. ^ "Czechs in Nebraska." Archived 2007-09-18 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7/30/07.
  4. ^ a b c d "Prague Tavern to Close". The Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, Omaha, NE, USA. April 30, 1943. p. 6.
  5. ^ Mead & Hunt, Inc. (2006) Reconnaissance Survey of Portions of South Central Omaha, Nebraska: Historic Buildings Survey.[usurped] Nebraska State Historical Society. p. 15. Retrieved 7/30/07.
  6. ^ (2001) "Tax incentive program projects,"[usurped] Nebraska State Historical Society. Retrieved 7/30/07.
  7. ^ "Prochaska & Associates" Archived 2007-10-09 at the Wayback Machine Architects USA. Retrieved 7/30/07.