Rita Moreno and Cicely Tyson Honored With Buildings in Their Names at Hollywood Arts Collective

variety.com:

Wilson Chapman editorRita Moreno is not only an EGOT winner, but now the Hollywood legend is having a building with her name on it in Hollywood.The “West Side Story” star was on hand on June 23 at the naming ceremony of the Hollywood Arts Collective’s Rita Moreno Arts Building in Los Angeles.Set to open in summer 2023 at 1630 Schrader Blvd., the Entertainment Community Fund’s Hollywood Arts Collective complex will also house the Cicely Tyson Residential Building for low-income residents.“This really came as a surprise to me, and I was asked if I would allow them to put my name on it and I did two things: I almost peed, and I damn near fell down on the floor,” Moreno told Variety. “I said, ‘Really?’ And then I wanted to say ‘Why?’ but I figured that would be kind of rude.

If they had chosen me there was something just wonderful about me that I needed to be reminded of. So that’s how it happened.

And I really am just thrilled to pieces. I can’t believe it.” Moreno also reminisced about the last time she saw Tyson, who died last year at the age of 96, when the two visited the White House during the holidays.“We’re taking pictures in front of the tree, and I’ll never forget this — this is so Cicely Tyson — a young girl was rounding us up and she said, ‘Okay, you guys,’ and Cecily took after her.

She said, ‘Excuse me. We are not guys. How dare you,'” Moreno said. “She let her have it. This poor creature who didn’t know any better, obviously, was so embarrassed.