CJS Enterprises Inc. is handling construction of The Hall at 721 W. Ninth St. in downtown Little Rock. Inset photo courtesy of The Design Group. (Parcel lines are approximate and shown for illustration only.)
Live music is returning to the end of West Ninth Street in Little Rock with the opening of The Hall, a music and events space that will pay tribute to a neighborhood landmark where Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington once trod the stage.
A former industrial warehouse with 16,000 SF at 721 W. Ninth, The Hall — through its interior design and branding — will evoke the storied past of Taborian Hall at 800 W. Ninth, just across the street on the next block, and now home to Kerry McCoy’s Arkansas Flag and Banner business.
The Hall, now booking events for the fall, is a project of Marathon Live, an affiliate of Marathon Music Works of Nashville.
During World War II and for years after, Black-built Taborian Hall was site of the Dreamland Ballroom and other nightclubs that created a “mecca for entertainment in the South” on Ninth Street, the city’s African-American commercial and cultural nexus before urban renewal and construction of Interstate 630 bisected the neighborhood starting in the late 1960s.
Dreamland, later called Club Morocco, presented Nat King Cole, Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, B.B. King, Sammy Davis Jr. and many other top acts. An Arkansas PBS production, “Dream Land,” documented its history.
After more than a month of construction and renovation inside, The Hall will be a multipurpose space for up to 1,200 people. CJS Enterprises Inc. of North Little Rock is handling the $1.5 million finish-out project.
Ticketing and Branding Manager Jeremy Hicks said in a news release that the Hall will be suited for receptions, fundraisers, corporate events, video shoots, trade shows and conferences.
The Hall’s retro and gritty red-and-cream brand mark, the release said, is a throwback to the 1950s, a booming period for West Ninth Street. Hicks also expects the venue to drive renewed economic activity in the area.
“We are excited and honored to be a part of bringing back live music on West Ninth Street,” Hicks said. “We want to be an asset to the Little Rock community and add to the diverse live music and events scene that already exists. Our goal will be to create unique live experiences while also highlighting the rich history and culture” of the area.
Marathon Music Works got its start a decade ago when it turned an early 20th century auto manufacturing plant into a concert and event venue in Nashville. That experience spawned Marathon Live, according to the company’s website, and the company expanded into managing and operating midsize venues in Kansas City in 2017 and Chattanooga in 2018.
Marathon hopes to bring the same energy to West Ninth Street, where Ray Charles and Billie Holiday once sang.
“Little Rock can expect that caliber of talent to perform at The Hall,” Hicks said. “We’ll work with local and national concert promoters to bring the very best artists to perform everything from blues, to rock, to hip-hop, country, R&B, traditional and contemporary gospel, indie, pop and everything in between.”
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