Czech & Slovak Museum & Library Grand Re-Opening

Surrounded by music at The Bohemian and signs urging people to come in for their pork lunches, hundreds spent Saturday morning and afternoon celebrating the grand opening of the Kosek Bulding, the new home of the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library.

Now located at 87 16th Avenue SW, in the heart of the Czech Village, the new museum also captures the experience so many along the west bank of the Cedar River felt during those days in June of 2008. The flood damage forced the museum to a temporary display at Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids before the move back to the Czech Village.

Marek Skolil came over for the ceremony from Chicago. As an Ambassador for the Consul General of the Czech Republic, Skolil remembered what he saw after the Flood of 2008 washed away so much that made the Czech Village special.

"I remember the street and I was wondering if life would return here," said Skolil. "This is a celebration of life returning to the Czech Village."

Inside the building is that celebration as stories of survival fill one of the exhibit walls, behind the gift shop out front. A day-by-day timeline of that week in June two years ago, when the water hit the highest mark, left its own mark on the people who walked through.

"I like the building and I discovered the exhibition today," said Skolil. "This is a temporary solution but to tie the history of Czech-Americans here with the flood and the history, it's very strong."

Governor Chet Culver told the crowd that this was his seventieth trip to Cedar Rapids and, for him, a welcome change from so many trips in the past two years, where flood recovery has often been the top priority.

"This really is a cause for celebration for the Czech Village and for Cedar Rapids," Culver said after participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "We're tough enough to overcome any challenge, whether it is the flood or the economy, we have complete confidence.” The governor also stressed the importance of the I-JOBS program and how that funding led to this day.

The Kosek Building will serve as the home for the new museum until the old facility is upgraded to withstand the water levels from 2008. Museum officials plan to keep garage-style parking under the new building's main floor, The NCSML is looking to use the Kosek Building until the museum's final move back to its old building in 2012.