Cleveland’s Karlin Hall

Table decoration from Ceska Sin Karlin, Cleveland, 2010

According to John T. Sabol and Lisa A. Alzo - the authors of Cleveland Czechs - the city’s original Karlin Hall was “founded in 1935 by three lodges of the Czech fraternal insurance society the Catholic Workmen. [It] stood near East 53rd Street and Fleet Avenue. Of the Czech halls in Cleveland, Karlin represented the Catholic community.”


Place mat with recipes from Ceska Sin Karlin, Cleveland, 2010

The hall moved to 5304 Fleet Avenue in 1972 after a fire burned the first spot down. Several decades later, the Karlin Club’s long-term secretary Joe Kocab told local reporter William F. Miller that the new venue’s construction had been “a grass roots effort” which had been supported by club members who had “paid off the mortgage” and lent their own skills to the rebuilding efforts.


Polka band plays at Ceska Sin Karlin, May 2010

The second Karlin Hall building comprised of a bar, kitchen, and a dining room with copious space for dancing – especially to the sounds of Czech polka. These photos were taken on a visit to the hall in May 2010:


Folk art motif and Czech restroom sign, Ceska Sin Karlin, May 2010

In his article dating from busier times at the club, Plain Dealer reporter William F. Miller describes activity inside the hall almost 20 years ago:

“When the polka band cranks up each Wednesday, the floor at the Ceska Sin Karlin Club quickly fills with a lively crowd of dancers… Polka night at the Karlin Club on Fleet Ave. draws a 50- to 90-year-old crowd who enjoy twirling the floor the way they did at their high school dances. That kind of energy is needed to work off a hearty… Czech-style dinner of pork or duck with dumplings, a bargain at $6, including coffee and dessert.”


Hall for rent beermat from Ceska Sin Karlin, Cleveland, 2010

While specializing in the sorts of dinner-dances described by Mr Miller, the hall also hosted St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and even, from time to time, an Elvis tribute night. Here is an extract from the hall’s (busy) program for Autumn-Winter 2005:



One of the individuals instrumental in the running of Karlin Hall over the past several decades has been Joe Kocab. He showed me around the hall during a visit to Cleveland in the spring of 2010:



In June 2010, Karlin Hall was closed and sold. A large number of Cleveland’s polka stars took part in ‘The Last Dance at Karlin Hall’ on June 12. Photos from the event can be seen here.

In their oral histories, both Ludvik Barta and Melania Rakytiak talk about the role that Karlin Hall played in their experiences of moving to Cleveland.

-posted by Rosie Johnston