"It's just a lot of work. It was a work of love, every time you put a nail you feel happy you accomplished one more goal," says Alma Rodriguez, the owner of Queen Bee's Cultural Center.
For the past 16 years, this is the place Rodriguez has called home. After she transformed this building into Queen Bee’s Cultural Center, which has become a hub for the performing arts in the Mid City area.
The building itself has been around since the 1920s.
Rodriguez says, “ It was the original Dixie Lumber. And it was passed on to the Hitch family. During the family’s era, it was different businesses from appliances, furniture store, and 99 cent stores.”
Shortly after, Rodriguez moved in and changed this place from the ground up while keeping the structure and unique characteristics of this building intact.
She created different spaces to accommodate the changing needs of the community, which is what the former landlord wanted.
She adds, “His dream was to turn this into a community space. We were working together to turn Queen Bee's into what it is now."
ABC 10News was there a few months ago when Rodriguez shared the news that Queen Bees would have to move out because their building was bought out. She talked about her mission to preserve this building’s history; by getting it declared a historical building.
She adds, “At one point, I want a plaque outside or something that recognizes the people who have put effort into our dreams. Everyone has a dream.”
Today, when we followed through with Rodriguez, she told us they will likely have to close up the show next year. So she’s working to raise funds to pay for her efforts to find a new place while keeping this building’s history alive.
You can learn more about Thursday night's gala event here.
