I get asked a lot how all this got started. Kerry McCoy, my mom, bought this building back in 1990. I was born the same year, so I guess you could say the Taborian Hall's next life and I are the same age.

She tells the story better than I do, but the short version is she drove past this place on I-630 for years, saw the hole in the roof, and just couldn't let it go. When she finally worked up the nerve to walk inside, birds were flying around where the roof used to be and the sun was pouring straight down onto the old Dreamland Ballroom stage. She was pregnant with me at the time and always says her nesting instincts kicked into overdrive. Whatever it was, she never looked back.

Growing up, this building was just my parents' work place to me. A big old room upstairs that was fun to explore but mostly off limits because the floors weren't exactly trustworthy. I didn't think much about what it meant. Kids don't, I guess.

It wasn't until I moved back to Little Rock in 2017 after college that it actually hit me. I started digging into the history, hearing the stories, and realized I had grown up inside one of the most important buildings in Arkansas and had no idea. That same year I got to help chase down our first big National Park Service grant, and let me tell you, getting that voicemail saying we'd been awarded almost half a million dollars is a moment I will never forget. I wrote about the whole thing a while back if you want the longer version.

Anyway. My mom fell in love with a building. I fell in love with its story. And now here we both are.

One more thing before I go. The Dreamland Lounge on the first floor of Taborian Hall finally got its liquor license! They are officially open for business Thursday through Saturday, 5 to 10 PM. Come on by, grab a drink, and if I'm there, I'll tell you another one of these stories in person.