The historic queen movie theatre in Wilmington has been reborn into what could become a hot music venue for performers well known and otherwise.
"We are broadcasting live from World Cafe Live at The Queen in Wilmington, Delaware."
The main stage still mirroring the days of old, the Queen, a former movie house on the corner of 5th and Market in the early 1900's is a place of memories for many of the people who showed up.
"A friend of mine's father was a projectionist here," said Cathy Tidball. "They used to have a great shopping district here, so you'd come down and shop and go to a matinee or something."
"My connection goes way back," said Dale Southam. "We had propane heat and barely enough electric to run our business, but we were here. We knew it was a great building and a pleasure to see it redone."
The transformation of the 40,000 square foot historic building is beyond what even the governor could imagine.
"The place was falling apart. It takes unbelievably special people to see what this could become," said Governor Markell.
WXPN and Real Entertainment Group were behind the $25 million project. Their goal was to bring new interest and hope to the city, and with the help of a few elected officials and some generous pockets, it finally happened.
"The pleasure, the joy that Garret and I have from doing this in our lifetime, it's incredible," says Tatiana Copeland.
"This place will revitalize and will change the city of Wilmington," said Senator Tom Carper. "This place will change Wilmington forever."
Upstairs there is a restaurant and local musical acts, downstairs you'll find established performances.
Long live The Queen.
http://queen.worldcafelive.com/