Highlights of our January 4, 2010 meeting of the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids taken by our Ripples From The Rapids newsletter ...
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was originally established in 1974 and a new 16.7 thousand square foot building was dedicated in 1996 by President Clinton, Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Mishal Kovac of the Slovak Republic. Unfortunately the building received devastating damage in the Flood of 2008 which nearly submerged the entre structure.
In September 2009 the museum’s board voted to build a new exhibition center and library in Czech Village on the property adjacent to the flood-damaged museum building. In November 2009 the board approved a plan to move and then elevate the flood-damaged building to become part of a new and expanded facility. The main floor of the old museum will be elevated three feet above the 2008 flood level and there will be parking on the lower level. In total the complex will cost approximately $25 million.
It will be incorporated into a new facility with a total of 60 thousand square feet; all of which will be above the 2008 flood level. The move of the old building will occur in 2010 and the new section to which it will be incorporated will be built in 2011 and open to the public in 2012.
At the time of the flood the museum was enjoying growing attendance and was at the 35 thousand visitors a year attendance level. Over 350 thousand visitors have visited the museum during its history. It had no unsecured debt, a professional staff of 13 and a board of 25 members. A national advisory board, which includes members like Madeline Albright, is also in place.
The first major step back to normalcy for the museum will be the occupation of the historic Kosek Building in Czech Village which is scheduled for March 2010. Museum offices will be located on the second floor, classroom facilities on the lower level and an exhibition space on the main floor.
The first exhibition will be titled “The Story of a People and the Flood.” It will answer the question of why the national museum is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the story of Czechs and Czech Village and the story of the flood which is now part of that history. The exhibition will include an interactive flood map and stories of the flood through news accounts and photos. There will be a topographic model of Cedar Rapids showing the effect and magnitude of the flood. There will also be a model of a flooded home.
The flood was a powerful story we need to remember. The Kosek exhibit is part of a larger plan to understand the immigrant experience and raise up universal values of freedom, identity, democracy, family, sacrifice and leadership that underlie out nation. It will contribute to the understanding of freedom as both an ideal and a process to educate younger generations to understand the freedom they have in America that t was forged by people who experienced and escaped oppressive conditions and regimes for a new life in America.
Our next meeting and program will be:
- CLUB SOCIAL ANNOUNCED at Theatre Cedar Rapids
- Gail Naughton, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was our speaker and program for January 4, 2010
- The deaths of fellow Rotarians George Baldwin and John Naber
- Two New Members were introduced: Dr. Malinda Lamb and Bruce Vander Sanden
- Member Birthdays and Club Anniversaries for January
Gail Naughton, National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library was originally established in 1974 and a new 16.7 thousand square foot building was dedicated in 1996 by President Clinton, Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Mishal Kovac of the Slovak Republic. Unfortunately the building received devastating damage in the Flood of 2008 which nearly submerged the entre structure.
In September 2009 the museum’s board voted to build a new exhibition center and library in Czech Village on the property adjacent to the flood-damaged museum building. In November 2009 the board approved a plan to move and then elevate the flood-damaged building to become part of a new and expanded facility. The main floor of the old museum will be elevated three feet above the 2008 flood level and there will be parking on the lower level. In total the complex will cost approximately $25 million.
It will be incorporated into a new facility with a total of 60 thousand square feet; all of which will be above the 2008 flood level. The move of the old building will occur in 2010 and the new section to which it will be incorporated will be built in 2011 and open to the public in 2012.
At the time of the flood the museum was enjoying growing attendance and was at the 35 thousand visitors a year attendance level. Over 350 thousand visitors have visited the museum during its history. It had no unsecured debt, a professional staff of 13 and a board of 25 members. A national advisory board, which includes members like Madeline Albright, is also in place.
The first major step back to normalcy for the museum will be the occupation of the historic Kosek Building in Czech Village which is scheduled for March 2010. Museum offices will be located on the second floor, classroom facilities on the lower level and an exhibition space on the main floor.
The first exhibition will be titled “The Story of a People and the Flood.” It will answer the question of why the national museum is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the story of Czechs and Czech Village and the story of the flood which is now part of that history. The exhibition will include an interactive flood map and stories of the flood through news accounts and photos. There will be a topographic model of Cedar Rapids showing the effect and magnitude of the flood. There will also be a model of a flooded home.
The flood was a powerful story we need to remember. The Kosek exhibit is part of a larger plan to understand the immigrant experience and raise up universal values of freedom, identity, democracy, family, sacrifice and leadership that underlie out nation. It will contribute to the understanding of freedom as both an ideal and a process to educate younger generations to understand the freedom they have in America that t was forged by people who experienced and escaped oppressive conditions and regimes for a new life in America.
Our next meeting and program will be:
MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2010
THE CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
IOWA'S SENIOR SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY
THE CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL
IOWA'S SENIOR SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY
Local News that is not related to Rotary, but of interest ...
Cedar Rapids Restaurant "Blend" Closing, Victim of Flood, Economy ... - KCRG-TV9
Jan 4, 2010 ... CEDAR RAPIDS — A downtown Cedar Rapids restaurant that reopened after being flooded in June 2008 will close Thursday, an apparent victim of ...
Jan 4, 2010 ... CEDAR RAPIDS — A downtown Cedar Rapids restaurant that reopened after being flooded in June 2008 will close Thursday, an apparent victim of ...
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