Taborian Hall, Historic building in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.
Taborian Hall is a three-story masonry building with stone trim. Its recessed main entrance is framed by Ionic columns supporting a segmented-arch pediment, and brick pilasters articulate the upper-floor bays up to a projecting cornice and parapet.
Taborian Hall was built in 1916 as the Taborian Temple by the Arkansas chapter of the Knights and Daughters of Tabor, when Ninth Street was a hub of African-American commerce in Little Rock. The order lost its assets in the Great Depression, and the building was sold and subdivided repeatedly. During the early years of World War II the USO bought it, and it served as the only service club for African Americans in Little Rock during both World Wars. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The third-floor Dreamland Ballroom was a regular stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, the network of venues open to African American performers. Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, B. B. King, Ray Charles and Sammy Davis Jr. played there, and during the Depression its audiences mixed whites and blacks. By the mid-1950s the building held three clubs: the Twin City Club in the basement, the Waiters Club on the second floor and Club Morocco on top.
Visitors can view the building from the street to study its architectural details and appreciate the Neoclassical style up close. The location in the downtown area makes it easily accessible as part of a walking tour through the neighborhood.
Taborian Hall was saved from demolition in 1988, when neighborhood conservationist Mark Abernathy bought it at auction and mothballed it. Arkansas Flag and Banner, led by Kerry McCoy, purchased the building in 1991 and made it the company headquarters, later forming Friends of Dreamland in 2009 to restore the third-floor ballroom.
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