Czech-Slovak Museum shows off design options
Otto Mann
By Erika Binegar
Apr 16, 2008
CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is
looking into nearly tripling its size so it can enlarge its permanent
exhibit, build a new library and add more public program areas.
About 40 people last night clustered around easels at the museum, 30
16th Ave. SW, to offer feedback on four preliminary design options
that present ways to increase the museum's area from 20,000 to 60,000
square feet.
Three of the four options would take up the space now occupied by the
Riverside Roundhouse, which was home to the farmers market for four
decades until it moved in 2007 to Eighth Avenue and Second Street SE.
Gail Naughton, the museum's president and CEO, said feedback so far
indicates people see the Roundhouse as having outlived its purpose and
seem willing to accept changes that support the museum's growth.
"We have challenges with our site," she said. "There's only so much
space available to expand to."
About 32,000 people visited the museum and library in 2007, up from
16,000 in 1995. The library has grown from 5,000 to 30,000 titles,
and the items donated to the museum have also grown in number. The
museum also wants more space for visitors.
"We may not be able to do it all at once. It may take time," Naughton
said. "We have outgrown our current facility and we are in need of
more space to have the very best visitor experience that we can
provide."
Option D garnered the most support from those in attendance last
night. It has the museum expanding to the northwest in the shape of
an L, with a center plaza and riverfront terraces.
Option A would change the site the least, offering two 10,000-square-
foot, two-story buildings.
Lloyd Baird of Cedar Rapids said because the Roundhouse does not add
to the preservation of the Czech and Slovak immigrant experience, he
would be fine seeing it go.
Betty Gallagher of Shueyville said the loss would bother her because
she doesn't like change and she remembers how much business the
Roundhouse used to bring the Czech Village. But Gallagher, who is of
Czech heritage, said she thought an outdoor plaza would be a nice spot
for a farmers market, folk dances or festivals.
Naughton said the museum has talked to the city about the Roundhouse
property but no decisions were reached.
Denver Dvorsky of Toddville said he likes the idea of a central plaza
— part of option D — because it is reminiscent of a European square.
Others said they would prefer to see an expanded museum remain under
one roof and see the museum play up its proximity to the Cedar River.
The preliminary design options also incorporate an empty lot on the
corner of 16th Avenue and A Street SW, where the Bulicek's bar once
stood. The building was donated to the museum by Scott and Penny
Olson in June 2003 and demolished in July 2006. Options A and B would
put a new building there; Options C and D would reserve the area as a
green space for further expansion.
Durrant, an architectural firm in Dubuque, is leading the concept
design process. Organizers stressed the project is still in early
planning stages. Initial cost estimates will not be available until
June.
The museum is planning another community meeting for June 17 where a
final design drawing will be presented. It likely will incorporate
community ideas and may include components from all four design
options, Naughton said.
The national museum opened on March 21, 1995, and was dedicated Oct.
21 that year in a ceremony attended by President Clinton, President
Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and President Michal Kovac of the
Slovak Republic.
Czechs were a dominant ethnic group in Cedar Rapids, where they
settled from 1852 to 1910. In 1974, a group of Czech and Slovak
descendants joined to preserve that heritage, forming an organization
that in 1978 started the museum at its first location on C Street SW.
"I don't think they could have envisioned how fast and how big it
would grow," Naughton said.
Link: http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080416/NEWS/519292352/1006/news