The Restoration (1990)
Kerry McCoy is the owner of Taborian Hall and the founder of Arkansas Flag and Banner. She bought the abandoned building in 1990 for her growing business, with no idea that she was walking into one of the most significant structures in Arkansas history. As the old-timers started stopping by to see who had restored the building, they brought their stories with them. At that point, Kerry understood that she was a steward of a historic legacy - and she has spent the decades since working to honor that responsibility.
What follows is her own account of falling in love with Taborian Hall. She calls it her love letter to the building.
A Love Letter to Taborian Hall
by Kerry McCoy
I first fell in love with Taborian Hall from its outside appearance: a stately three-story red brick building, standing alone on I-630, abandoned with a huge hole in the roof letting in the sun and rain. I always envisioned my company, Arkansas Flag and Banner, housed in a building of such grandeur.
After driving by many times, I finally got up the courage to come inside. Stepping over debris and skirting the homeless people, I worked my way to the third floor and… it was beyond love at first sight. Because the roof was missing, birds were flying around, and the sun was illuminating the scene. Staring across the open hole in the floor to the Dreamland stage and box seats, I had a feeling that was indescribable, a kind of euphoria. It could have been because I was pregnant with my third child and my nesting instincts were heightened; but whatever it was, it sent me on a chain reaction that I have never regretted.
I love this old building. I have had many offers to purchase it, renovate it, make a club of it, or some apartments and even a school. But I keep to my original vision - maybe not the best business decision, but a decision of the heart - to renovate the Dreamland Ballroom into an event center to be shared with the whole community.
If you are ever lucky enough to go upstairs and see the Dreamland, I think you will feel its magic too. I have become accustomed to the aura, but people tell me upon seeing it for the first time… it still feels indescribable.
Living in a Construction Zone
by Kerry McCoy
Anyone who has ever remodeled knows how hard it is to live in the place you are remodeling. It is the same for Taborian Hall and the Dreamland Ballroom because a business is housed within the building. Arkansas Flag and Banner has been in business for nearly four decades in Little Rock, and for the last twenty years the business has been housed within the historic walls of Taborian Hall. While renovating the Dreamland Ballroom, workers had to endure falling debris from the floor above, skill saws, hammers, air compressors and other bumps and banging while trying to do business on the phone or with customers in the showroom on the first floor.
The Friends of Dreamland are grateful to the employees of Arkansas Flag and Banner for having been such great sports about the renovation process over the years. There is still much more to do in the future - and rather than being resigned about future construction projects, the employees are excited about what's coming next for Taborian Hall and the Dreamland Ballroom.
To learn more about the three-phase renovation that made the Dreamland Ballroom fully ADA compliant and open to the public, visit The Renovation (2019-2024).
To tour this incredible space in person, contact us to schedule a visit. Or purchase the book Temple of Dreams by Berna J. Love, which chronicles the full history of the Dreamland Ballroom.