NEW YORK — Guitar Center Profressional (GC Pro) helped cap the $45 million renovation of the Bohemian National Hall on Manhattan’s Upper East Side with the integration of an all-new audio/visual system. The five-story, neo-Renaissance structure, built in 1896 by the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), served as a cultural center for Czech and Slovak immigrants throughout the 20th century. In 2001, it was gifted to the Czech government, which provided the funding for the upgrade.
Today, it houses a 32,000-square-foot, 300-person ballroom, the Czech Consulate, the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, the Czech Center, a 60-seat THX-certified screening room and a library.
GC Pro provided the components for the building’s new AV system with a range of gear that included a large PA system for the theater (using four JBL SRX 722F speaker systems flown from the ceiling, fed from a Soundcraft GB4 32 console) to a security system (involving19 Sony SNC-RZ30N NTSC cameras and a Sony NSR-25/500 Network Recorder).
Also featured are a Panasonic PT-DW7000 projector with Panasonic Lens ET-D75LE2; signal sources including a Marantz Professional PMD570 and a Denon Professional DN-V310; and three Samsung FPT6374 plasma video displays.
These diverse systems were designed and installed by systems integrator AVC Prague, with GC Pro serving as the turnkey vendor. The New York City office of GC Pro met every delivery schedule set by the integrator, often working via international emails and phone calls, even though the restrictions of working within a high-security governmental environment.
GC Pro experts also helped consult on equipment and technology decisions. “The Bohemian National Hall is an architectural gem inside and out, as well as an extension of the government of the Czech Republic,” said Michael Yorky, the GC Pro account manager, who worked with fellow account manager Niyi Adelekan as liaison for the project.
“The technology had to be consistent with an installation of this type,” Yorky said, citing “the use of ceiling speakers to keep the paging system as much in the background as possible visibly. We were very proud to have been able to bring the collective expertise and experience of GC Pro to such a culturally and architecturally significant project as this one.”
For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.
