Little Rock's Historic Building To Get Another Shot At Life

The ballroom is on the top floor of the 91-year-old Taborian Hall. In its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, musicians like Duke Ellington, Etta James, Nat King Cole and many others played there. And people in Little Rock often rented it for socials and other community events. But all that ended in the 1970's and ever since, the ballroom has sat empty and decaying.

The bustling sounds that once filled the Taborian Hall have died down. Downstairs, Kerry McCoy uses the old store spaces for her flag and banner business, but the top floor's ballroom now sits quietly with no semblance of its former glory.

"I have to put down new floors, put legs under those balconies...," McCoy itemized while standing in the dilapidated room. "But the big thing I have to do is put in an elevator and a set of fire stairs and that's the most of the money."

She bought the building in 1992 and thought she could renovate it by 2000 and open it to the public. But it is a bigger venture than she anticipated.

"Last year I finally got the architectural plans done; all the engineering plans done, got approved by the city went to the bank. It turned out to be over a million dollars to renovate the building and there's just no way that I could do that," she said.

But she has not given up yet. She's working with a group of 10 volunteers who want to make sure the city doesn't lose the ballroom to time and decay.

The hall, located on the corner of 9th and State Streets, is the only remaining historic building that bears witness to what used to be called Little Rock's Little Harlem.

Some people suggest McCoy turn it into apartments or a restaurant, but her only goal is to make it an event center which doubles as a museum and an educational facility. She says out-of-towners come every week for tours of the old ballroom and that only reinforces why she wants the renovations done.

"It is a jewel in the crown of Little Rock, Arkansas, and we need to make sure we preserve it and keep it," she says.

Next for McCoy is fundraising. She's planning the first event for October 2010. Renovations should start in 2011 and the place opens to the public by 2012.

You can track the progress on the project at www.dreamlandballroom.com. There is also a book being written about the history of the place.