Dreamland Ballroom Public Access Project Blog, Phase 1

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11.23.20 With 2020 moving farther into the rear view, I feel it is time I start contributing to this blog again! A difficult year for almost everyone, things have really slowed down in the Dreamland Ballroom since the onset of the pandemic. Our annual fundraiser, Dancing into Dreamland, had to be cancelled, after the logistics of a virtual event proved to be a bit of a nightmare... While that loss of revenue is certainly significant, at times like these, it is important to find silver linings wherever they are visible. A big one for the Friends of Dreamland has been the 2nd National Parks Service (NPS) grant award for Phase 2 of the Dreamland Ballroom Public Access Project (DLBPAP). And the slow down gives us an uninterrupted planning year before we reopen. A year that would have likely seen a period of closure while the ballroom was under construction anyway. 

If you dig down a bit in this blog, you can find plenty of details on Phase 1 & 2 of the DLBPAP. We will be finishing up the elevator installation, adding a handicap bathroom on the 3rd floor, fixing historically appropriate but new windows all around the building, and the ballroom will finally be getting a central HVAC system. These updates will make the Dreamland Ballroom fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and usable all year round. About time, after 102 years! This. is. HUGE! For us and for our great city and state. Thank you to every Friend of Dreamland Ballroom over the last 11 years that has helped us to this point. And to everyone, over the last century, that made this place so special and loved.

Right now, we are between phases. Finalizing the designs to incorporate the bathroom and HVAC into the ballroom while the city reviews the plan. Once we have concluded the bid process, the NPS will have their turn to look over the design, approve it, and construction will start!  

Stay with us, on whatever platform you prefer, as more details unfold, and the date of our reopening becomes clearer. 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew 

P.S. Watch the addition rise in this super fun time-lapse of the Phase 1 construction!!

05.12.20 Since the start of the shutdown procedures and event cancellations due to COVID-19, things inside Dreamland have been slow. Luckily this strange new normal hasn’t stopped construction on the Public Access Project. The bricks have been laid, the scaffolding removed from around the building, and the sides of the building have been washed, removing the mortar dust. Now, the crew are hard at work on the interior. They have painted the rails and stairwells black; the elevator shaft is a rustic reddish-brown to blend with the exterior brick, and green ceilings to match the poured green floors, which coordinate with the floors inside the original building’s 2nd and 3rd floors. Gray walls cool everything off and make for an excellent backdrop to display art and showcase exhibits. The doors and glass are in on the first floor along with the exterior columns to match the entrance of the addition to the original building and the cornice pieces along the top front.

Another fortunate development during this quarantine has been the grant opportunity from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. A few months ago, we submitted a letter of intent to the National Trust of Historic Preservation. Earlier in April, FOD was one of 50 selected, from over 500 other submissions, to move forward in the application process. We turned in the full application last week. This ask was for restorative work on the Dreamland stage and to repair and/or replace a portion of the hammered tin ceiling tiles. The project was supported by Congressman French Hill, a longtime advocate of FODs mission, Mayor Frank Scott, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Philander Smith College, local social historian Edmond Davis, leader of the Unburied Truths edu-series we hosted before the quarantine, and John Cain of  KABF. We are eternally grateful for these endorsements. Personally, it is  very validating but more importantly, these endorsements strengthen FOD’s mission and purpose. Assuming funding comes through, these partnerships and a new and improved stage and front of house will give Dreamland the ability to actualize its potential as an interpretive museum and unique performance hall. Keep your fingers crossed for us! We’ll hear from the AACHAF in June.

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

03.25.20 In the midst of this Coronavirus crisis, the AMR construction team still works on the Dreamland Ballroom Public Access Project! One of the benefits to working outdoors, I guess. The masons are hard at work as ever, laying bricks. About halfway up the third story of the addition now. The rest of the builders are down to the details. Working on the round windows and ornamental elements of the cornice that will match the original building. Banging can be heard from inside the structure as well. Likely the crew putting up sheetrock, installing additional outlets, lights, etc.  

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

03.13.20 The masons are back! Over the last couple of weeks, the progress on the addition has been mostly internal. So, from the outside, it's been hard to see that anything is happening here at Taborian Hall. But with the recent warm, clear weather, the bricklayers are back in full force. They enclosed the first floor in brick last week and are now working on the second feverishly before the next several days of rainy weather. At their current pace, and assuming the rain clears up relatively soon, they should have the addition’s masonry set in no time. And with that, the housing structure for the elevator will be mostly complete, barring some electrical work and the elevator cab and mechanics. 

Word from Washington informs us the Department of Interior will award Civil Rights Preservation Grants in May. Here’s hoping that comes through and we can drop in the elevator, repair windows that desperately need some love, add our ADA bathroom and the AC/HV system for the ballroom. If not, we are still dedicated to installing the elevator in a timely manner, thanks to a donor who wishes to stay anonymous. Those other improvements would just have to wait a little while longer. 

Tuesday night (03.10), Friends of Dreamland hosted another of Edmond Davis’ Unburied Truths lectures. This “edu-series,” as he calls it, focuses on misconceptions surrounding historic topics and individuals, with special interest in African American history. This last one was special. Davis turned his attention to the late Kobe Bryant calling the event The Mamba Mentality of Kobe Bryant. The evening had a great turn-out with patrons dressed in their Black Mamba, Lakers, and Kobe-inspired gear. Artists brought work depicting Kobe’s visage, a local dance troupe paid tribute to Bryant with somber movements, a Kobe cake was made and ate, while Davis shared details of the legend’s life and legacy. His entrepreneurial spirit, his mentors, and those that he himself mentored or inspired, highlighting the attitudes and experiences that made Kobe Bryant a great basketball player, businessman, philanthropist, role model, father, and all-around person. At the end of the evening, a group photo was taken and shared with the Bryant family to show solidarity from Arkansas. Thank you to everyone who turned out for this fantastic evening. 

We ended the night with community announcements as usual. If you are interested in these lectures, the topic, dates and time, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram or check our website regularly. FOD will host Ed’s Unburied Truth lectures throughout 2020; the topic, date, and time for the next one will come soon.

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

01.12.20 From the outside, very little has changed over the last week or so. For the most part, our elevator structure is being worked on from the inside. Wiring, sheet rocking, painting, etc. The details are being added while we wait for the weather to clear up so the bricking can resume in earnest.

The most exciting thing that’s happened this week, I think, is the cutting of the wall to make the openings that will internally connect the original building to the new construction. The AMR crew will convert windows on the basement and ground floors into doorways, the third floor has long had a fire escape exit on the west side of Taborian Hall, that will be used for the entrance to the ballroom from the elevator corridor. So, the second floor is the only one needing a full doorway cut out of the wall. Our goal was to make as few incisions as possible into the 100-year brick. Not that it would make a difference in the structural integrity of the building. These walls are thick! And have been through MUCH worse. 

So far, they’ve only cut the first floor. Admittedly, I haven’t been to the basement in a while, they may have cut that door as well. 

Progress will likely be slow over the next few weeks. And eventually, we’ll go on a hiatus while we wait for more funding. Hopefully that won’t have to be for too long. *fingers crossed* 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

01.27.20 The concrete is SO green! Today they started pouring the light-weight concrete floors for the landings on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stories of the addition. The 2nd and 3rd floor have a green colorant mixed in to match the floors on the 2nd floor of the original structure and Dreamland Ballroom. Making a smooth transition from one the other. Right now, it looks MUCH darker than it will likely be when it is dry.

A team of construction workers operates a large crane with a tube pumping wet cement from the cement truck up the three stories. An interesting device I’d never seen used before. My mother and I couldn’t help but to go explore the site to get an up-close look. 

It’s been several months since I got to look around the addition. Most of the changes come as details like bracing and other structural necessities. The most shocking aspect of the addition was its size. Footage on paper did not accurately represent the real scale of the new building, not to me anyway. This really gets me excited about the possible utility of the glassed-in lobby for exhibits. And the open-air landings on the 2nd and 3rd floors as balcony space. Particularly the 3rd floor with its great view of the capital. 

All in all, it seems like everything is still moving toward fundamental completion of the addition by the end of next month. The only uncertainties still lie in the brick, since it can only be worked on when the weather permits (blog 01.06.20). And the NPS grant, which we still won’t know about for several months (see blog from 12.09.19 for details on that).

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

01.17.20 Weather has construction progressing slowly this week. Still hard at work on the roof but cold, rainy conditions have halted the laying of brick. 

An exciting opportunity presented itself to us earlier this week. A grant through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund came to our attention. We immediately jumped on the chance to apply, submitting a Letter of Intent Wednesday. With this grant, we wanted to start doing some of the work on our ‘wish list.’ The stage floor is uneven, and the front of the apron is rotting in places. So, we applied to fund work for stage recovery as well as repair and replace the tin ceiling tiles above the ballrooms front of house. These intricate hammered tin tiles once cover the entirety of the ballrooms roughly 5000 sq. ft. ceiling. Most came down with the roof before Kerry bought the building and today, the remaining are rusted and cracked. Plenty are still intact enough however to refurbish and cast molds so that new ones can be made. 

This work will not only bring some of the lost splendor back to the historic space but provide some practical improvements too. Making the stage more stable and spacious, allowing the addition of some much-needed stage amenities, like curtains and a backstage, etc. The tin tiles can also help with the reverberation of sound BACK to the stage. Sound carries out and through the ballroom very well but gets lost in the cavernous wooden roof, never returning to the performers on stage. The few that have played on the Dreamland stage in recent years have confirmed as much. 

Keep your fingers crossed for us! And Keep Dreaming, Matthew

01.06.20 Happy New Year Dreamers! Last week the bricks were put on hiatus due to weather. The construction crew moved on to the roof. Capping the structure so that they can begin working on cementing the floors and sheet rocking walls and other interior detailing, despite the weather. So, when the weather is dry and no lower than 40 degrees and rising, the masons can work on exterior brick and, in rainy or cold conditions, they can work under the cover of the newly constructed roof. This will also allow the brick layers to take the masonry all the way up with no delays.

Kerry (the building owner) and I sat down this morning with the project contractor, Manly Roberts. He updated me on the things I mentioned above, and we talk a lot about lighting and numbers, of course. I’m particularly excited about ‘marquee’ lights, the rows of globe lights with exposed filaments, under the main entrance to the new addition. The lighting and complementary painting will ideally give the addition an amber glow.    

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

12.19.19 Moving into the new year, we are seeing the addition rise higher and higher. Wood is being added to begin the construction of the third-floor ceiling and braces for the half-story roof.  Favorable weather conditions have even allowed the AMR Construction crew to begin laying bricks!! So far, only a few rows on the west and north side of the building, nothing on the front yet.

Well that’s all for today. Construction will be spotty through the next couple of weeks through the holidays. So, make sure the check back in with us after the new year for updates on the Dreamland Ballroom Public Access Project!

Happy Holidays to all! And Keep Dreaming, Matthew.

12.09.19 As I thought, the third-floor section of the elevator shaft was built this last week. 

We also submitted our application for a second round of funding from the National Parks Service and Department of Interior. We applied for the Civil Right Preservation Grant again. The same grant we were awarded back in 2018 to start the addition construction. 

This time we applied to complete the elevator installation, add bathrooms compliant with the American’s with Disabilities Act, add the drive-up porta cochere, repair and restore windows, & get a HV/AC system for the ballroom. Most of these were part of our original application to the NPS, but changes to the project scope to include the basement as one of the elevators stops and the increased tariffs made our applied bids from 2017 lower than the actual construction cost. So, the scope of work had to be further amended and the project split into two phases. Phase I including the housing structure for the elevator and the shaft. Phase II, everything I listed above. Keep your fingers crossed for us! We’ll hopefully know something about the award status by next summer.Things will probably be slowing down as we move further into the holiday season. Now that Dancing into Dreamland has passed, and this big application turned in. With our schedules opening up, we can turn our attention back to some different types of programming and projects. Keep an eye out for our next tour dates on our Facebook page. As well as some very interesting lectures from local history professor, Edmond Davis. His lecture series is called ‘Unburied Truths.’ Always fascinating and informative, Davis gives new perspective on well-known history while expanding into whole new realm of information and thought.

You can also look forward to viewing Dreamland’s history in a brand-new way. We’ve recently established a YouTube channel for Friends of Dreamland. Right now, you can check out “Magic of Dreamland” playlist, full of songs performed in the Dreamland Ballroom during its heyday. As well as, the highlights from Dancing into Dreamland 2019. And soon, we’ll be regularly publishing videos that walk through the history of 9th St, Dreamland Ballroom, Knights of Tabor, and the people who lived here and made this place so significant. Stay tuned for those!

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

11.27.19 The crew is hammering away before the Thanksgiving holiday, constructing the back wall around the second floor. Most of the addition’s second and third floor walls will be open-air. Only the back wall and necessary pillars will preclude the view of the sunset and capitol building to the west of Taborian Hall. 

Yesterday, they installed the next set of stairs from the second to the third floor. If observation has taught me anything, this means they’ll likely bring out the masons next. Once the second story framing has been sufficiently completed, the mason team will start setting cement blocks for the third-floor portion of the elevator shaft,

Every level has been completed in about a month, except the basement level which took the longest. With the holidays, I’m sure the third floor will take a little longer and we can expect to see it framed by the end of December. From there, the roof will go on and the brick will be laid. Apparently, laying brick in the cold months can be tricky. So, there is some variability in how long that phase will take to complete.

Happy Thanksgiving! Keep Dreaming, Matthew. 

11.20.19 Sorry for the long spout of inactivity. The elevator progress has been steady over the last few weeks. Now that they are working on the second floor, the fire escape had to be removed. The blocks for the elevator shaft are the first thing to be set.  And now we’ve seen the first and second floors framed with wood and steel.

Before I get too far into the headway made on the addition, I absolutely have to talk about Dancing into Dreamland. Last Friday, all the Friends of Dreamland celebrated under amber lights for the 10th year in a row. Ten years of fellowship, tens years of building, made for arguably the best Dancing into Dreamland fundraiser yet. There are so many to thank for the night’s successes, I won’t bore you by listing them all but simply say, THANK YOU to everyone who has ever considered themselves a Friend to this historic and beautiful piece of Little Rock’s legacy. I am personally so grateful and I know that every patron, dancer, performer, judge, volunteer, board member there Friday night is too. THANK YOU!

So, where are we on this construction thing?? We expect to complete the first phase of the project by the end of February. That will include the addition and elevator shaft but unfortunately, no elevator itself. In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be putting together a grant proposal to the National Parks Service, just like we did back in 2017, that will help us to continue to fund the Accessibility project. Things missing? The elevator, the porte cochere, replacing and repairing windows in the ballroom, and an ACHV system for the spacious old room as well. Cost will determine what we prioritize in the grant ask, with the elevator being the #1 priority. The grant application is due early in December, please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

10.25.19 Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen the first floor really come together. The walls outlining the different rooms, framed in wood and steel, rose over the end of last week and earlier this week. Particularly exciting to me, the stairs went in. And before the rain came today, they finished laying plywood for the second story floor. 

Walking through, you can really get a feeling for the size and the layout. Whenever the construction crew lets me, I’ll post a video walk-through of the space. The entry is spacious and shaping up to be an elegant entry way up to the ballroom. We’ll have hexagonal tiles in the lobby to match the ones set in the showroom of the original building. 

Behind the elevator will be an office. So visitors will have someone to greet them when they come to see us and the Dreamland Ballroom 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

10.11.19 This week I feel like the addition is finally starting to look like a building! Or a future building. On top of concrete foundation, we’ve got a rising elevator shaft and the beginnings of steel and wood framing. Over the next week or so, we’ll get to see the first floor fully framed. 

Now that we have moved out of the basement portion of the addition, construction is moving along at a much faster rate than before. A firm completion date still eludes us but hopefully we’ll ride the elevator to the Dreamland Ballroom sometime in the spring of 2020. Don’t hold me to that though!

Earlier this month, the National Parks Service gave the Friends of Dreamland a ‘shout out’ on their Facebook page. Acknowledging the work we’ve done in preserving the Dreamland Ballroom and congratulating us on receiving the African American Civil Rights Preservation Grant back in the spring of 2018. This is the grant that is helping to fund a large part of the addition. At the same time, they announced the posting of the 2019 AACRPG! We are very excited to apply for this grant opportunity again. We had to reduce the scope of work for the current project, taking out new windows, central ACHV systems, ADA bathrooms, and a paved parking lot. Wish us luck as we move through this next funding process and, hopefully, the next phase of improvements to Taborian Hall and the Dreamland Ballroom. There’s still so much work to be done in improving accessibility to the ballroom and rehabilitate this historic space. 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

09.25.19 How good it feels to have that giant pile of dirt gone! AMR’s construction team is working hard pouring concrete, spreading gravel, and working wood to lay out the foundation for the ground level of the addition. 

This last couple of weeks, I’ve been wrestling with our purpose. Friends of Dreamland’s mission: to bring back the history, music, and party of the Dreamland Ballroom. For so many years, FOD’s primary objective under this mission has been code compliance and the elevator. Basically, helping put the ballroom in a position to work to preserve itself and realize it’s historic potential as communal space and a performance hall. With the elevator on its way, the ballroom is more firmly on its pathway to preservation than ever before. A lot goes into running a historic theater/ballroom, the non-profit will always play a part in keeping the historic integrity of the physical space. But the question I’ve been asking myself and my board (and anyone who will listen) is: What can FOD do to serve our community? Beyond rehabilitating the room and sharing the important history, what do we need to be advocating; what is our message? 

I see a lot of potential in the history of this place, obviously. So many dynamic and fascinating characters involved in the legacy of the building. From people who ran various businesses within these brick walls to big performers who played in the ballroom. Over the last week, I met with local history professors Berna Love and Edmond Davis. They gave me great input on how to teach history in a compelling way, how to use that history as a lens for modern issues, and draw out powerful messages without being preachy, while also remembering to appreciate historic events as simply being good stories worth sharing. 

The significance of the musical legacy of the Dreamland Ballroom and 9th Street isn’t to be overlooked, either. Music programs, multi-media showcases, studio/gallery space, public performances; the ballroom’s potential as a venue is substantial. The non-profit can facilitate the growth of amateur and professional artists and performers to increase and hold onto the creative people in Arkansas, as well as creating important events for our city. 

Our mission allows us to reach outside of our building to 9th Street itself. This area is well overdue for new businesses and beautification. With organizations like Mosaic Templars, Philander Smith, and the new Little Rock Arts District all calling this area home, I think now is the time for this revitalization! 

What do you see in the future of Friends of Dreamland? Is there a project for our area that you have been waiting for? Is there something Little Rock needs that would make a good fit in our mission, building, or district? I encourage you to reach out! I’m only and email or call away and we are here to help. 

Keep Dreaming, Matthew

09.13.19 Sorry to skip last week guys! A light week though and I was out of office. I did come back to dry concrete walls around the basement floor of the addition. Monday the construction team waterproofed them and Tuesday they began back filling the pit!! YAY!!! Today, they’ve just about got it topped off.

On the administrative end of things, we’ve been picking brick colors, deciding on cornerstone honorees, landscaping, and scoping out a little interior design. I encourage all the Friends of Dreamland to reach out to me if you have any questions or comments about how we are moving forward with these creative portions of the project. Very little of that has been finalized, since it’s still a ways off. 

While the construction plugs along, we are in the throes of preparing for Dancing into Dreamland 2019. Our 10th year for the annual fundraiser, DID’19 is shaping up to be a spectacular event. Get more details from our Facebook event and purchase your tickets on our website! We’d love to see you there! 

We are always in need of your support. Other than Dancing in Dreamland, our year-round donation program is called Pave the Way. Your donation to this program gets you an inscribed brick, placed in the sidewalk outside the ballroom entrance. 

All efforts facilitate the beautification and revitalization of a historic district, contribute to the preservation of African American artifacts, back the cultural relevance of Little Rock and Arkansas, and support educating the nation and world about buried truths & American history.  

08.29.19 Rainy days early in the week caused some delays - another complication prevalent in working in a ditch. And it’s not the first time water in the hole has slowed construction. Can’t WAIT for this phase of the project to be complete! Though, with the cooler weather that came after, they are doing some fine detail work around the elevator shaft. 

One thing they have done in the last few days is cut into the basement. Last week they cut through the concrete egress that allowed basement access from the outside. Windows already existed in this pit, they have simply taken out the bars and are starting to open one up into a doorway. 

The basement of Taborian is really cool. Low ceilings and a layout similar to the showroom above it. This floor was the most recently used part of the building before Kerry McCoy bought it in the early 1990’s. That final tenant vacated in the late ‘70s. It has a very “speakeasy” vibe.

With construction slow and the basement in mind, I’ve delved back into some of Taborian’s history this week. I also met with all the boards I serve on, in some way; Celebrate! Maya [Angelou] Project, the new Little Rock Arts District, and a “think tank” preservation group with Annie Abrams and other conservation advocates in town. Talking with so many history buffs as I read about our local heritage can make one very reflective. And thinking back on Little Rock’s racial history is often unsettling, to put it mildly. But the inspiring people I have the pleasure of serving and conversing with give me a lot of hope as a “young professional” working in and trying to make-better my hometown.

Just like the basement (and all) of Taborian Hall, Little Rock has a rich history and so much potential. At the turn of the 20th century, Little Rock was one of the most progressive cities in the south. Less than half way through the same century, the pendulum of race relations swung the opposite way. I’d say that Little Rock’s on the mend from this and has been for a while. But looking back on the history of 9th St, I see a lot of parallels to some of our modern issues. Back then, we saw a portion of the (white) majority feel threatened by the successes of a minority (black) group, causing them to lash out. Today, we see this with more than just the African American community. Hispanics, women, LGBTQ, Jews, and Muslims can feel that stinging lash, too. As far as anyone can say, love and hate persist. The difference that can be made now is in how much anyone else cares. The downfall of 9th St was initiated by a few divisive city leaders. We see that in the efforts for urban renewal in this area. No one that lived or worked in the black business district at the time was asked, “what do you think should be included in the ‘renewal’? Should it even happen?” The 9th St decline was perpetuated when the rest of the white majority did nothing. We see that in the urban blight. Everyone was driven out and nothing was built or “renewed” to replace it. Back then it was easy for the white population to say, “not my community, not my problem” and move. We still live fairly divided. Sub-cultures living next to each other but not always with each other. It’s important to remember the unsustainable nature of living segregated. It can seem easier sometimes but, in the long run, it’s not. It’s tempting to ignore the slights of the past. Why rehash old offenses? I heard a man (former county prosecutor John Whitten in Sumner, MS) on the radio say “If nobody would stir that damn pile of stuff up, it wouldn't stink.” when asked about the infamous murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi. But I’d argue that it’s really important to “stir the stuff up.” One of the issues in the Emmett story is that the narrative is divided due to decades of ‘hushed’ talk on the subject. Blacks feared for their lives when talking about Emmett’s murder. The thought of anyone in American, the land of free speech, fearing for their well-being based on something they say, makes me feel sick and scared.

In the digital age, it’s harder to ignore these violations of human rights. They are regularly thrust in our face and feeds. I think, this has led to a more empathetic public. And, I hope to see that trend continue. Dreamland Ballroom exists as a physical space to house that “improved empathy.” Because, while injustice is more visible than ever, it's still easy to ignore a disturbing notification or headline, particularly when there can be so many. The Friends of Dreamland hope to create a space where people can practice unity in real time, face-to-face. 

Anyway, that’s enough of my rambling… Keep Dreaming, Matthew.

08.23.19 Walls are rising, up and up! We are moving out of the ground, little-by-little. This last couple of weeks (Sorry, I missed a post last week :/), the construction crew has been cutting into the building and they’ve started erecting the casts for the basement walls. Of course, we’ve run into a few more unexpected “snafus” in the process.

Portions of the back-part of the old building lacked a “true” foundation. The details of how one corrects that kind of thing, are beyond my understanding. But I trust the AMR Construction team to make it right. We are also working on sealing the basement. Water has leaked into it from various sides of the building for years. One of the many reasons it has been underutilized for a long time. These two recent (relative term here) developments are keeping the construction crew down in the pit for longer than expected.

Fingers crossed; the digging portion of the project offers the most variables in the building process. Once we have the basement complete and can fill the hole, we’ll start building up. Which should offer less surprises.

Keep dreaming, Matthew.

08.09.19 This week we’ve seen the walls rise. Everyday, employees of Flagandbanner.com hang out the second floor window with me. We’ve watched the lot go from a gravel flat, to a small hole, then a very big hole with an adjacent 2-story-high dirt mound (affectionately refereed to as Mt. Kerry), the hole was full of water briefly, and now the AMR Construction team has finally begun pouring concrete floors and walls. It’s probably been the most satisfying phase of the project to date. Finally getting something substantial to show off (sort of).

This week we’ve also held our first planning sessions for Dancing into Dreamland 2019. This will be the 10th year running for our annual fundraiser. So, we’re hosting an extra special Tournament of Champions. Tickets and tables are on sale now. Hope y’all will celebrate with us November 15!

During the meeting Thursday night, our board members toasted to the new construction. Some of these board members have been Friends of Dreamland since its founding in 2009. All were ecstatic when they saw the little structure at the bottom of the pit. Seemingly as satiated as me with the progress. I’m so thankful to them and to everyone that has served our mission.

~Keep dreaming, Matthew.

08.01.19 Over a year later, the construction has finally begun!! And by construction, I mean digging. It’s hard to believe how much goes into digging a hole… It’s necessary though. The new elevator addition will go all the way down to the basement. So, ultimately, four stops.

Kerry said before the project ever start, “We’ll hit water! We’re in downtown Little Rock after-all” Apparently, underwater springs are ‘a thing’ when digging downtown. They have indeed struck water and quite a bit else while excavating for the basement. Cables, 100 year old foundation, water lines, a funky-old glass bottle. A couple of those have posed some actually problems. Coupled with the bureaucracy involved in the federal granting process, its no wonder we are starting so many months after receiving the initial funds in the spring of 2018. Coordinating between an electric company, cable/internet providers, fiber-optic cable installers, the fire marshal and more has been a pretty big undertaking. All while working with an architect and contractor to figure out how to best improve the building without damaging the historic integrity of this great old structure.

Its all, without a doubt, very worth it. The plans we have now, are better then we ever dreamed. We have, as well, been blessed to work with some amazing people through this whole process.

Every Thursday afternoon, I’ll have an update for you right here. Keep an eye on our Facebook page too for more ‘in the moment’ updates.

~Keep dreaming, Matthew.

Little Rock’s Dreamland Ballroom Receives $499,668 African American Civil Rights Grant

Historic 100 year old ballroom frequented by the legends of African American entertainment, wins a major grant to help make the venue handicap accessible. Read the full release from PRWEB or AR Democrat Gazette.

On this page you will find short blog posts by our Director, Matthew McCoy. These are meant to be progress reports for the public the Dreamland Ballroom will soon serve. In weeks were progress is light, Matthew might talk about other projects Friends of Dreamland is working on. Or what he’s been thinking about relating to FODs mission. To learn more about the over all renovation and rehabilitation plan and how you can be involved, take a look into Our Future.

Dreams Come True

By Matthew Savage McCoy, Executive Director, Friends of Dreamland
as featured in BRAVE Magazine

The Dreamland Ballroom has been a part of my life for the whole of my life. Kerry McCoy bought the building in 1990, the year I was born.

By the way, my name is Matthew McCoy, I'm the Executive Director of the Friends of Dreamland, an employee of Arkansas Flag and Banner, and middle son to Kerry and Grady McCoy.

Growing up, I took the third-floor ballroom of the Arkansas Flag and Banner building for granted. A big old room. Beautiful? Sure, but ultimately my parents’ work place. The place I spent those incredibly boring days in anyone’s childhood, when school wasn’t in session, your parents still had to go to work, and you had to find some way to entertain yourself. And be quiet about it. Luckily for me and my three other siblings, we had this big, empty, kind of dangerous ballroom to help whittle away those hours that seem to go on forever when one is that young.

For most of my life, I remember the first two floors of the building being intact. I remember people working at desks, having meetings in meeting rooms, long tables dedicated to sewing large flags, screen printers, digital printers, all the hustle-and-bustle of a work place. But the top floor was empty and quiet. The floors were not reliable, the safe spots denoted by colored flag scraps, and the mezzanines held up by two by four "columns" wedged into place.

Around 2009, Kerry decided to take on the renovation of the third floor. Unable to acquire a loan, due to the unmarketable nature of a vacant, borderline decrepit, old room, she founded the non-profit Friends of Dreamland (FOD), dedicated to the restoration of the Dreamland Ballroom. This status made grant funding available and donations possible by other old building buffs like my mom.

However, the ballroom restoration was a bigger task than anyone anticipated. But its potential was even bigger. In 2012, FOD hosted their annual fundraiser, Dancing into Dreamland, in the ballroom for the first time. The previous years' fundraisers had been held at the Little Rock Governor’s Mansion. It didn’t take long for the Board of Directors and Kerry to find one very large problem with hosting any event in the historic space... no elevator.

Not being ADA compliant, the liability that FOD, Arkansas Flag and Banner, and my family assumed every time there was an event in the ballroom, regularly put my parents into near-cardiac arrest. So, eventually, Dancing into Dreamland was the only event we continued to host in this incredible venue.

In February of 2017, I moved back to Little Rock after attending college in Fayetteville, Arkansas and began working at the family flag shop. The ballroom’s condition had improved from when I was in high school. Being slightly more mature, I realized that untapped potential my mother always talked about. I began to familiarize myself with the history of this place and this district of Little Rock, and I was blown away. Like many of the people in the area, I had no idea what a jewel this building was to downtown Little Rock, although I had much less of an excuse— essentially being raised in it.

The Friends of Dreamland was doing a great job slowly restoring and maintaining the space, but the time had come to expedite the process. A friend and fan of our non-profit contacted us in the spring of 2017 about a grant, a grant that had Dreamland written all over it: a Civil Rights Preservation Grant awarded by the National Parks Service. I knew this was my chance. I volunteered to do all the paper work, facilitate meetings, contact contractors to make bids and manage files, anything to make it happen. With the help of an amazing team of people, we applied in October…the day the grant application was due! After that, it was all waiting and hoping.

February came and went with no word from Washington. I put the possibility of being awarded this grant out of my mind. Then, this past March, I received a voicemail on my personal cell phone. A month overdue, it was a call I didn’t anticipate. I listened to the message, eyes widening, as I realized what the woman on the other end was saying: “Congratulations! We are calling on behalf of the National Parks Service to inform you that Friends of Dreamland has been awarded $499,668.00…” I jumped out of my chair and ran down the hall to my mother’s office. Fumbling with my phone to replay the message for her, I put it on speaker and watched her face as it registered with her what the lady was saying. She screamed and jumped out of her chair, ecstatic. A lifetime goal—my lifetime at least— finally realized. 

Your support to the Friends of Dreamland and our mission means everything to us, literally! Find donation options in our site menu or make a general contribution by click the ‘DONATE’ button below. THANK YOU and never stop DREAMING!

All efforts support the beautification and revitalization of a historic district, contribute to the preservation of African American artifacts, back the cultural relevancy of Little Rock and Arkansas, and aid in educating the nation and world about buried truths & American history. Friends of Dreamland is a 501(c)3 and your donation is tax deductible